Antiseptics are used widely throughout the world as a way of minimising infections. The use of antiseptics to prevent infection is increased in the hospital and clinical setting, particularly during invasive techniques like cannulation or injections like lip filler. What you may not know is that disinfectants, antibiotics and antiseptics all have a similar focus, which is to kill bacteria or prevent them from multiplying.

The difference between antibiotics, antiseptics and disinfectants is largely how they are used. A common word to describe their action is as "antimicrobial" or against microbes. Antibiotics as you would know, can be ingested orally, applied topically or given intravenously. Disinfectants are usually used to clean hard surfaces (think floors, chairs, benchtops) whereas antiseptics are used to prepare, or clean the skin of potential contaminants, which is particularly important during invasive medical procedures like lip filler or other dermal filler procedures.

Antiseptics come in a number of different forms and their benefits differ depending on the intended use. Whilst there are a number of different types of antiseptics, we have chosen to cover off three commonly used antiseptics including Alcohol based antiseptics, natural antiseptics and iodine-based antiseptics and will discuss how these may be used to prevent infection during cosmetic procedures like dermal filler. Your cosmetic injector will use a number of factors including clinical evidence, allergy, type of procedure and skin condition to determine what antiseptic agent they prefer to use when preparing your skin for a procedure to minimise the chance of infection. One equally important step to preventing infection during a cosmetic procedure is the correct hand washing technique or use of alcohol-based hand rub. Immediately before your procedure (to protect you) and immediately after your procedure (to protect them).


Alcohol

Alcohol is widely used as an antiseptic, with optimal efficiency being found at concentrations above 60%. A common alcohol-based antiseptic is Isoproyl alcohol and Chlorhexidine. Chlorhexidine is a commonly used antiseptic in the hospital setting and is often used to prepare the skin before an invasive procedure like insertion of a cannula or needle. One benefit of Chlorhexidine is that it remains on the skin after evaporation of the alcohol. This done mean that the clinician needs to wait a few seconds for the Chlorhexidine to dry prior to performing the invasive procedure. Because most cosmetic injectables procedures are performed on the face, Arnicare prefers to steer clear of alcohol based products as they can be drying to the skin. Prior to lip filler for example, the skin is prepared with an antiseptic which is also used to massage the product into the lips following insertion. Dermal filler contains Hyaluronic acid which attracts water, with the aim being to hydrate the lips. Applying an alcohol-based antiseptic would counteract the hydrating benefits of the hyaluronic acid.

Natural Antiseptics

There are a number of known natural antiseptics on the market with the most widely known being Teatree oil, Calendula and Aloe Vera.

Aloe Vera is known for its anti-inflammatory, wound healing and antiseptic properties. With studies showing it is generally more effective on chronic wounds rather than acute wounds. Aloe Vera is also commonly used to treat burns, due to its decreased histamine activity and anti-inflammatory properties it can reduce the chance of infection, speed up recovery time and reduce itchiness.

Tea tree has been used for more than a century in Australia as an alternative treatment due to its medicinal properties. Tea tree, also known by its botanical name of Melaleuca alternifolia is a tall shrub, with white flowers native to Australia.

Tea tree is commonly used as a natural topical antiseptic and is highly favoured in many pharmaceutical products such as topical antiseptic creams due to its efficacy and safety profile. Tea tree oil, amongst others, presents persistent and long-lasting activity on the skin after application. In dermatology, essential oils are primarily used for treating skin infections (62% of total cases), followed by skin inflammation and general skin maintenance at 20% and 18%, respectively.

When used as the main component, tea tree oil has broad spectrum antimicrobial activity which can be principally attributed to terpinen-4-ol (Southwell et al., 1993; Carson and Riley, 1995). Studies have shown most bacteria are susceptible to tea tree oil at concentrations of less than 1%.

Arnicare has chosen to utilise Tea tree in its clinical antiseptic cream for both its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Arnicare’s clinical antiseptic cream is the first antiseptic cream on the market in Australia specifically designed for use in cosmetic procedures like dermal filler. The inclusion of hyaluronic acid within the antiseptic cream promotes hydration, and the addition of 20% arnica works to reduce the appearance of bruising, making the antiseptic cream highly effective when applied as part of cosmetic procedures like dermal filler.


Iodine

Iodine has been used for its antiseptic properties for over a hundred years. Povidone-iodine is one of the more commonly used agents, largely in the hospital setting. One of the biggest disadvantages of Iodine solutions is the brown staining that occurs to the skin which is why Iodine is not used as an antiseptic for dermal filler or other facial cosmetic procedures. Iodine can also be unstable, meaning once opened that bottle of antiseptic needs to be discarded within a short time frame and it can also lead to skin irritation in some people.

Still have questions about the different types of antiseptics? Be sure to ask your cosmetic injector prior to your procedure what antiseptic they use.