If you’re dealing with the visible signs of aging on your skin — fine lines and wrinkles, deep creases, lax skin, and lost volume — you’re probably looking to “de-age” your face, but not necessarily go under the knife. Fortunately for you, there are injectable treatments that can resolve your issues quickly and attractively.
At Med Physique Center for Aesthetics, our team of expert aestheticians offers two types of injectable anti-aging treatments: neuromodulators and dermal fillers. Each one tackles aging skin in a different way, but since they play well together, you should consider a “double dose” treatment to address all your concerns. Here’s the scoop.
Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA), and its close cousins Dysport® and Xeomin®, is an injectable drug made of purified botulinum toxin, the same toxin that causes food poisoning. However, when diluted and administered by a trained professional, it’s completely safe. The FDA approved its use for cosmetic procedures in April 2002, initially to treat glabellar lines (brow furrows) in adults 65 and younger.
Today, Botox is primarily used cosmetically to treat dynamic wrinkles, those produced by muscle contractions. Whenever you make a facial expression, the contracting muscles tug at the skin; after years of repetitive contractions, that leads to wrinkles between the eyebrows and around the eyes and mouth.
Botox prevents the nerves from signaling the muscles to contract. And when the muscles can’t contract, they can’t tug on the skin. Your face relaxes, and the fine lines and wrinkles disappear.
There’s no downtime associated with the treatment, and according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAOS), most people see noticeable effects within a week of the injections. Side effects are minimal, and they usually disappear quickly. Your results should last about 3-4 months, at which time you can come back for another session.
What Botox can’t do is treat wrinkles caused by collagen breakdown and hollows created by lost volume. Those can be addressed with dermal fillers.
Unlike Botox, dermal fillers treat static wrinkles and creases caused by collagen breakdown and loss of fat deposits that develop with advancing age. This includes volume loss in the lips, cheeks, and hands.
Dermal fillers were introduced in the 1970s, but they were nothing like today’s products. One of the first fillers came from bovine collagen; however, since it’s a foreign substance to the human body, it caused allergic reactions, as well as swelling and short-lasting results.
In the early 2000s, the FDA approved the use of synthetic fillers made from hyaluronic acid (HA). HA is found naturally and abundantly in our bodies, especially in the skin, where it binds and holds moisture. These new products were safer and lasted longer than collagen (about 6-12 months), so they quickly became the fillers of choice. The first HA filler introduced was Restylane®, followed by Juvéderm®.
Restylane is formulated to add firmness and volume to your skin — specifically to the lips — as well as to improve moderate-to-severe wrinkles and creases in other facial areas. It’s both biocompatible and biodegradable, attracting and binding moisture within the skin to make it look both fuller and softer. In addition, it fills in the spaces between the decreasing supply of collagen and elastin fibers, evening skin tone.
Juvéderm comes in a whole line of products, each of which targets a different area of the face and hands, and works in a fashion similar to Restylane.
At Med Physique Center for Aesthetics, we also use Belotero Balance® and Radiesse®. Belotero is another HA filler, while Radiesse is composed of calcium hydroxylapatite, a substance normally found in bones and teeth. It triggers new collagen production, restoring volume from the inside out.
As you get older, it’s perfectly normal to develop both dynamic and static wrinkles. Since Botox addresses the former and dermal fillers address the latter, you should consider combining the two treatment options to give yourself a totally rejuvenated appearance.
Are you dealing with the visible signs of aging? Med Physique Center for Aesthetics can help. To learn more, or to schedule an appointment for treatment, give us a call at 512-361-2650 or book online with us today.
