Anti Wrinkle
Anti-Wrinkle Treatments
Frontalis | Forehead Lines
We get horizontal forehead lines primarily from our forehead muscles contracting when we raise our eyebrows. This movement is often created by contraction of the frontalis muscle and in some people can create a tired or stressed appearance. As with frown lines, anti-wrinkle injections are the best treatment and often gives excellent results, especially when combined with the frown area creating a natural unopposed effect.
Glabellar | Frown Lines
Frown lines are vertical lines between and above your eye brow that are the result from frowning, excessive expressions and ageing skin. Similar to forehead lines, as we age these frown lines become more prominent often creating an angry, stressed or tired appearance.
Crow's Feet
These lines and wrinkles are formed by contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle around the eyes, and occur on smiling, laughing or squinting. In some people they are present at rest and can deepen with time to extend into the cheek areas creating a ‘tired or stressed’ appearance.
What Can Be Done...?
The lines in all three areas can be worsened by sunlight or smoking and depending on the dose used and the age treated, anti wrinkle injections can be used to prevent lines developing/deepening or to soften existing lines. Elimination of these wrinkle lines leads to a more rested, approachable and fresh appearance and the best result will be seen with a combination of these areas.
Bunny Lines
These lines are created by contraction of the ‘upside down horseshoe muscle’ called the nasalis. The lines created can be static (seen at rest) or active (seen on movements such as laughing or talking). They can progress towards the cheek and eye area and can result in a ‘stressed appearance’ for some.
What Can Be Done...?
These lines can be relaxed by injecting Anti-Wrinkle product into each side of the nose and are often combined with upper face Anti-Wrinkle treatments to the frown and crow’s feet areas.
Chemical Brow Lift
Certain muscles play “tug-of-war” with areas of the face. For example, the outer part of the eyebrow: The squinting muscles pull the eyebrow downwards while the forehead muscles pull it upward. Overtime this upward holding effect weakens due to excessive use and gravitational pull. In addition, loss of skin fat creates a ‘sagging’ look, particularly over the lateral aspect of the eyes, making the eyes look tired or sleepy. Previously this was always treated with a belpharoplasty (excision and removal of excess skin), but with the emergence of anti wrinkle injections, these procedures are reducing in frequency.
What Can Be Done...?
An anti-wrinkle product can be injected just under the eyebrow into the orbicularis oculi muscle, relaxing it and causing unopposed pull from the muscles lifting up the eyebrows, hence lifting the skin up and opening the eye. Where the anti-wrinkle product is injected will depend on the look achieved, so one can choose to have a ‘Kylie kick’ or ‘mid-brow’ peak. Anti-wrinkle injections can also be used here to correct facial asymmetry. The injections are quick, painless, extremely effective and can last around 3-4 months.
Lower Face Anti-Wrinkle Treatments
Pebbled or Dimpled Chin
The mentalis muscle, which together with the jaw bone forms the chin, can be hyperactive or too large, resulting in an appearance to the lower face that is less than ideal. For some patients, chronic spasm of the muscle makes the chin move in an uncontrollable fashion, resulting in short lines that mar the skin of the chin, creating a ‘dimpled/pebblestone’ appearance.
What Can Be Done...?
Some people also have a liner crease/shadow under the lip and above the chin, or a very narrow chin giving the appearance of a retracted face. All of these can be corrected with Anti-Wrinkle product to the chin muscle.
Gummy Smile
The prominence of gum tissue on smiling results from the elevation of the upper lip by muscles called the levator labii superioris alaeque nasi. This can sometimes be a source of embarrassment when smiling in front of others. Often people claim to avoid smiling in photos to avoid feeling self-conscious or being unable to fully close the mouth.
What Can Be Done...?
Small dosages of Anti-Wrinkle product can simply be injected into the top half of the muscle to relax it allowing it to slightly drop.
Smoker Lines
Vertical lines above lips in the distribution of the orbicularis muscle, they can be static ( present all the time ) or active ( present on contraction ).
What Can Be Done...?
This area can be treated by Botulinum Toxin or dermal filler or combination of both.
Downturned Smile
Gives a look of being annoyed or depressed due to drooping corners of mouth. They appear when muscles that keep the corners of the mouth turned down fail to relax and remain contracted.
What Can Be Done...?
Botulinum Toxin can be advised as a treatment which will help to relax the muscle.
Advanced Treatments
Jawline Slimming
Jawline reduction using anti wrinkle injections is a specialized technique to reduce the width of the jawline changing an overly square jawline to a more attractive oval or heart shaped face. In some patients, the masseter muscle, a chewing muscle, is enlarged creating extra facial width. Anti-Wrinkle Treatment selectively weakens this muscle over time leading to an overall reduction in the size of this muscle. Jaw reduction surgery used to be the only option for many patients. However, patients had long recovery times, inconsistent and unnatural results.
What Can Be Done...?
Now Anti-Wrinkle Treatment has revolutionized facial reshaping. Anti-Wrinkle Treatment allows for changing the shape of the face without a scalpel, pain, swelling and zero downtime. The procedure is quick and virtually painless, and can also help with medical conditions such as Bruxism (painful teeth grinding).
Necklift
Ageing around the jawline and the neck are the main reasons why some women look older than they actually are. Over time loss of muscle tone, skin fat and gravitational pull lead to the appearance of the famous ‘turkey neck’. The contour of the jawline disappears and platysmal bands look more prominent.
What Can Be Done...?
Small diluted concentrations of an anti-wrinkle product can be injected into this muscle at various points across the platysmal bands and beneath the jawline, relaxing this muscle and causing unopposed pull from the musculature above and hence a mini non-surgical facelift. The procedure ‘Nefertiti Lift’ was named after the Egyptian queen Nefertiti for her sharp jawline, and is highly regarded as a sign of ‘attractivity’.
Hyperhidrosis (Excessive Sweating)
Hyperhidrosis (Excessive Sweating) is a common problem affecting the armpits, hands and feet, and a major cause of distress and anxiety. It’s often known as ‘the silent handicap’ and many people live with it not knowing their treatment options.
Humans have up to 4 million sweat glands distributed over the body. Eccrine glands secrete an odourless, clear fluid that serves to aid in the regulation of body temperature by allowing heat loss by evaporation. These glands are in higher density on the soles of the feet. Apocrine sweat glands are located in the axilla and genital regions—and produce a thick, odourless fluid that undergoes bacterial decomposition, leading to substances with strong odours, often known as ‘B.O’.
What Can Be Done...?
Anti-Wrinkle injections can help relieve sweating in all these areas through blocking nerve control of sweating. Although routinely used in the hands and feet it is only currently licenced for the armpits. Anti-Wrinkle injections are quick, painless, extremely effective and can last between 6-8 months.
