First We Overfilled. Then We Over-Dissolved.
The Wall Street Journal recently called what's happening in aesthetics the "Great Deflate." Filler spending has fallen, dissolving became increasingly popular, and the ultra-natural, almost "untouched" aesthetic took over.
But here's where it gets interesting.
We think the pendulum may have swung too far in the other direction.
We started seeing patients who didn't just dissolve bad filler—they wanted to dissolve everything. In some cases, patients went from wanting an overfilled appearance to wanting absolutely no evidence of volume or augmentation at all.
Now we're beginning to see the pendulum settle somewhere in the middle.
Patients are once again asking for fuller lips, stronger jawlines, more projected chins and more noticeable facial contouring. Not necessarily the overfilled look of five or ten years ago—but they're also not always asking to look completely untouched.
Maybe the Sweet Spot Is Somewhere in Between
The conversation around filler became so focused on looking "natural" that we sometimes forgot something important:
Some patients actually want augmentation.
They want their lips to look bigger.
They want their jawline to look stronger.
They want their chin to project more.
And there are things that hyaluronic acid filler can accomplish extremely well that biostimulators, lasers and skin treatments simply cannot replicate in the same way.
That doesn't make biostimulators or regenerative treatments less exciting. They just do something different. Treatments such as Sculptra and Radiesse can stimulate tissue remodeling and collagen production, while filler can be used to physically create projection, shape and volume.
Filler Isn't Dead. We're Just Getting Smarter About It.
At Plump, we still love filler.
The difference is that today we have a much bigger toolbox—and a better understanding of when each tool makes sense.
Sometimes the answer is 0.4 mL.
Sometimes it's a syringe.
Sometimes it's Sculptra, a laser or a skin treatment.
And sometimes a patient genuinely wants a little more volume—and that's okay too.
The interesting part isn't that filler is disappearing.
It's watching the definition of "good filler" change in real time.
Maybe we're finally moving away from the extremes—neither overfilled nor afraid of filler—and finding the sweet spot somewhere in between.
Sources & Further Reading
- The Wall Street Journal — America Fell in Love With Filler. Then Came the Great Deflate
- Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (2026) — Injectable Filler-Based Chin Augmentation: A Systematic Review of Non-Surgical Volumetric Techniques
- Acta Dermatovenerologica Alpina, Pannonica et Adriatica (2026) — Safe and effective restoration of jawline definition with hyaluronic acid injectable gel: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum (2026) — Hyaluronic Acid Injection Techniques for Lip Augmentation—Comparison of Linear, Retrograde, and Microdeposit Approaches: A Systematic Review
- Aesthetic Surgery Journal — The Role of Calcium Hydroxylapatite (Radiesse) as a Regenerative Aesthetic Treatment: A Narrative Review