There are very few people in the developed world who have yet to hear about BOTOX®. This purified form of the botulinum toxin has made waves throughout both general medicine and the cosmetic industry. When it comes to anti-aging treatments, nothing works quite like it. If properly applied, BOTOX® has the power to quickly turn back the hands of time by releasing dynamic fine lines and wrinkles. If you’re starting to develop fine lines and wrinkles around your mouth, at the corners of your eyes, or in the middle of your brow, this powerful, popular, and FDA-approved injectable could be right for you. Below is more information about how BOTOX® can be used to restore confidence, erase dynamic creases, and ultimately slow facial aging.
Facial Expression and the Development of Dynamic Wrinkling
Dynamic wrinkles are movement-related creases. This means that they are most likely to form in areas that see the greatest amount of movement due to facial expression. When you smile, the corners of your lips turn up, but there are other movements that occur at the cheeks and eyes that ultimately have an impact on the appearance of your skin. For instance, people who smile a lot often develop tiny creases at the corners of their eyes called crow’s feet. These creases appear only when a person is actually smiling, and they instantly disappear when the facial muscles are at rest. The more that you make any single facial expression, the more pronounced the resulting dynamic wrinkles will be.
How Facial Movement Affects the Overall Structure of Your Skin
It’s easy to see the connection between crow’s feet and the act of smiling when these dynamic wrinkles start manifesting on your own face each time you grin. However, learning why this connection exists is key to understanding how BOTOX® actually works. Constant and repeated facial movements cause tension to build in major and secondary muscle groups. Just beneath your skin lies a smooth layer of supporting collagen. It is this smooth, unblemished surface that lends to a youthful complexion’s unlined appearance.
When you were very young, this layer of collagen was fresh, durable, regularly replenished, and quick to recover from minor damages. As you grow older, however, ongoing wear and tear and a marked decrease in new collagen production can result in the development of significant and lasting harm. More specifically, repeated facial movements and the resulting tension can cause this collagen layer to crack. Soon, these tiny cracks will start manifesting as dynamic wrinkles at the surface of your skin, each time the responsible facial expression is made. In its anti-wrinkle applications, BOTOX® releases muscle tension by temporarily relaxing select muscles, thereby allowing the collagen layer to regain its seamless and smooth appearance.
Key Differences Between Dynamic Facial Wrinkles and Static Wrinkling
Dynamic wrinkles are usually the very first facial wrinkles that people develop. That’s because hormonal changes and diminished collagen production make the underlying collagen layer more likely to crack with age, even as the structure of the skin continues to maintain its general integrity. People typically see frown lines, perioral or smoker’s lines, and crow’s feet, long before they start dealing with the deeper and far more pronounced creases that are commonly associated with advanced facial aging. As the aging process progresses, however, skin elasticity will also start to decline, and a significant amount of facial volume will be lost.
These are changes that can result in deep creases at the nasolabial folds and the development of marionette lines. Much like the lines on a small, stringed puppet, marionette lines travel from the corners of the mouth to the outer edges of the chin. The easiest way to determine whether you’re dealing with dynamic or static wrinkles is by paying attention to the depth and location of facial creases, and more importantly, by inspecting the surface of your skin when all of your facial muscles are at rest. While dynamic wrinkles are only evident when the facial muscles are engaged, static wrinkles remain all-too-visible, all of the time.
BOTOX® Works by Blocking Key Movements That Cause Facial Creasing
Now that you know more about dynamic wrinkling, it might seem like the obvious solution is to simply become less expressive. Some people will try just about anything to preserve their youthful good looks once the aging process starts to rear its head. In reality, however, the movements that are responsible for creating cracks in your skin’s supportive layer of collagen occur on a very minute scale. These are very moderate, secondary muscle movements that you cannot easily prevent or control. Rather than being caused by the major facial muscles that are actually helping you produce frowns and smiles, dynamic wrinkles are more frequently the result of tension and stress in smaller, supporting muscles.
As a neurotoxin, BOTOX® has the power to temporarily relax these supporting muscles so that the accumulated tension is released. This way, when you express frustration or joy, this tension won’t be advancing the facial aging process by further cracking the collagen layer at the foundation of your skin. More importantly, once these muscles achieve their relaxed state, you’ll won’t develop dynamic creases around your lips and eyes, or at your brow, regardless of how physically expressive you become. This injectable is able to accomplish this by blocking the nerve signals that control the movements of the muscles in question. Best of all, given that key muscles will remain undisturbed by this treatment, you will still be able to make a very vast range of common and natural-looking facial expressions.
Why BOTOX® Injections Are Sometimes Called “Lunchtime Face Lifts”
In its cosmetic application, BOTOX® consistently proves to be one of the most convenient solutions to facial aging. Patients can have their dynamic wrinkles erased within just a matter of minutes. In fact, with most procedures lasting just 15 to 20 minutes, BOTOX® treatments are often referred to as “lunchtime face lifts”. Given that there are no significant aftereffects that people must contend with, it is possible to receive these injections during your normal lunch break, and without anyone being any the wiser. There is no downtime, and aside from a small amount of redness and swelling, there are also very few post-treatment issues to contend with.
How Long Will It Take for the Results of This Treatment to Manifest?
This injectable is often associated with instant results. In reality, it can take time for the full effects of this product to manifest. As the targeted nerves and muscles gradually respond to this neurotoxin, muscle tension will be released, and the collagen that supports your skin will start slowly regaining it’s smooth state. Some people see an immediate, albeit modest reduction in dynamic wrinkling as soon as their last injections are complete. Additional changes will continue to manifest, however, over the days that follow these procedures.
How Long Do These Treatments Last?
The effects of this injectable can last up to four months. After this time, the body will have broken down and metabolized the neurotoxin, and its effects on local nerve communication will have worn off entirely. This means that normal nerve and muscle functioning will invariably resume post-treatment. As tension returns to overworked expressive muscles, existing cracks in the supportive collagen layer will again manifest as crow’s feet, frown lines, and vertical, perioral wrinkles. The good news is that it is possible to have these injections safely repeated several times per year. Devoted users of this product often receive BOTOX® three to four times annually.
Discover the Real Benefits of Short-Term Results
For many people, the most daunting part of any cosmetic procedure is the fear of getting stuck with undesirable results. This is certainly understandable in the case of facelift and brow lift surgeries that involve the removal of facial tissues. The changes wrought by a surgical cosmetic procedure are usually semi-permanent to permanent. This means that if you don’t like them, it will take yet another surgical procedure to effectively undo them. This is hardly the case with BOTOX®. Once several months have gone by, all of the resulting aesthetic changes will gradually reverse. Normal nerve and muscle functioning will resume, and you’ll have the power to decide exactly how you want to continue managing the aging process going forward. Cosmetic procedures boasting short-term results are sufficiently flexible for accommodating many different comfort levels and cosmetic goals.
What You Need to Know About Muscle Conditioning and Its Benefits
This fast-acting, FDA-approved solution has been around for several decades. Millions of people have used it to reverse the earliest signs of facial aging successfully. One thing that both patients and providers have discovered throughout the years, however, is that extended use of BOTOX® will eventually create extended results. This is currently referred to as muscle conditioning. Like all muscles in your body, facial muscles that are not used for any extended period will become more likely to maintain their state of rest over time. As such, after several years of routine BOTOX® injections, many patients only need to have these anti-wrinkle treatments repeated just once or twice annually. If you’re a true fan of BOTOX®, you may be happy to know that moderate amounts of muscle conditioning as the result of repeated use will allow you to retain your smooth, line-free appearance much longer.
What Patients Can Expect When Receiving BOTOX® Injections
These procedures are incredibly quick and virtually pain-free. The application of a mild, topical numbing agent will get things started. Next, your face will be assessed for evidence of muscle tension and cracked collagen. You may be asked to make a series of facial expressions, and to spend several seconds holding your facial muscles absolutely still. This way, the ideal treatment locations can be identified. This solution is delivered to the targeted areas using a very tiny, fine-tipped needle. This tool is not unlike the needles that diabetics use when injecting their insulin. Once the topical numbing agent takes effect, a quick series of injections will be made across all areas with dynamic fine lines and wrinkles. As soon as this process is complete, you can grab your belongings and head out the door. You won’t have any in-office recovery time, nor will you have downtime when you get back home. In fact, you can immediately resume any of your normal activities.
The convenient and hassle-free nature of this process makes these treatments ideal for anyone who is planning for a major event or special occasion. If you are looking to freshen up your visage ahead of your wedding or a family member’s wedding, these injections will produce the improvements that you want, without taking up a lot of your time. This is also a great way to make sure that you look your very best ahead of a big vacation, or right before an important job interview. You’ll look younger, be more marketable, and have a lot more confidence as a result.
Are You a Good Candidate for This Treatment?
This is classified as a minimally-invasive treatment. There is no downtime, no tissue removal, and no major risks associated with this procedure. There are, however, several factors that are considered when determining a person’s candidacy for BOTOX®. For instance, this neurotoxin should not be used by anyone living with known neuro-muscular disorders. Although no incisions will be made during this process, BOTOX® may not be ideal for anyone with a bleeding or clotting disorder. These conditions increase the risk of serious bruising post-treatment.
People are also advised against using this product while pregnant or breastfeeding given that the long-term risks of doing so are not fully known. This procedure can be the perfect remedy to early and superficial facial aging for anyone over the age of 18 who is currently dealing with dynamic creases at the eyes, around the mouth, or at the brow. Not only is this product excellent for eliminating dynamic wrinkles, but it has also proven to be a very reliable method of early wrinkle prevention.
Addressing Multiple Age-Related Cosmetic Issues
As effective as BOTOX® has proven to be in the treatment of dynamic facial wrinkles, it is not an acceptable solution to static wrinkling or any other signs of more advanced facial aging. Static wrinkling, however, can be safely and easily treated with injectable dermal fillers. Dermal filler procedures are comparably short and hassle-free. Best of all, for patients who are dealing with both dynamic and static wrinkling, this injectable neurotoxin can be safely used along with a high-quality dermal filler to achieve a more impressive range of benefits. These popular, combination treatments are sometimes referred to as liquid face lifts. They’re capable of dramatically reversing the facial aging process within a very nominal amount of time. Much like standalone injectables, these combination procedures do not entail a lot of aftercare or any marked amount of downtime. As such, they are fast-becoming the preferred alternative to invasive facial surgeries among those dealing with the signs of advanced facial aging.
To find out if BOTOX® is right for you, feel free to visit us at Boulder Plastic Surgery in Boulder, CO. Contact us today to schedule your consultation!