If your face has started to show the fine lines and wrinkles that come with aging, chances are those wrinkles come from more than one problem. That’s why no single treatment can address everything at once.
At Eterna Vein & Medical Aesthetics, our team of master aestheticians offers several choices to address your aging concerns. Two treatments that complement each other nicely are Botox® Cosmetic and a range of dermal fillers. Between the two, you can turn back the clock and regain a younger-looking, smoother complexion.
Botox and its uses
Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) is an injectable drug composed of purified botulinum toxin derived from the Clostridium botulinum bacterium. In April 2002, the FDA approved its use for cosmetic procedures, initially for treating glabellar lines (brow furrows) in adults 65 and younger.
Today, Botox is used cosmetically to treat dynamic wrinkles, those caused by muscle contractions. Whenever you smile, frown, or raise your eyebrows, the contracting muscles pull at the skin above; after a lifetime of making facial expressions, that leads to wrinkles around the eyes and mouth, as well as between the eyebrows.
By preventing nerves from signaling the muscles to contract, Botox temporarily paralyzes the muscles. And when the muscles can’t contract, they can’t pull at your skin. Your face relaxes, and the lines and wrinkles disappear.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAOS), most people see noticeable effects within a week of their treatment, and there’s no downtime associated with it. Side effects are minimal, and they usually dissipate quickly. Results last about 3-4 months, at which time you can come back for another treatment.
Things Botox can’t fix are wrinkles caused by the breakdown of collagen and hollows created by lost volume. Those are the domain of dermal fillers.
Dermal fillers and their uses
Dermal fillers treat static wrinkles, those resulting from collagen breakdown, as well as areas that lose fat deposits, and therefore volume, with age. This includes the lips, cheeks, and hands.
Fillers were introduced in the 1970s, but they were very different from today’s products. One of the first fillers was made of bovine collagen; since it’s a foreign substance to the human body, though, it produced allergic reactions. Other problems included swelling and short-lasting results.
In the early 2000s, the FDA approved the use of fillers made from synthetic hyaluronic acid (HA), a substance found naturally and abundantly in our bodies, especially in the skin where it attracts moisture. The HA products were safer and lasted longer than collagen fillers (about 6-12 months), so they quickly became the go-to choices. The first HA filler introduced was Restylane®, followed by Juvéderm®.
Restylane is both biocompatible and biodegradable. It’s formulated to add firmness and volume to your skin — specifically to the lips, as well as to improve moderate-to-severe wrinkles and folds in other facial areas. It attracts and binds moisture within the skin, making it look both fuller and softer. It also fills in the spaces between the dwindling supplies of collagen and elastin fibers, evening skin tone.
Juvéderm Ultra XC is also used to plump up the lips and perioral area, and it’s a good choice for nonsurgical lip augmentation.
Juvéderm VOLUMA® XC is used for deep injection into the cheek area to correct age-related volume loss, augment the chin region, and improve the chin profile.
Other Juvéderm products are formulated for specific areas of the face and hands to reduce the appearance of aging.
As you age, you develop both dynamic and static wrinkles and endure volume loss due to collagen breakdown. Since Botox treats the former, and dermal fillers treat the latter, combining the two treatment options makes sense to give yourself a totally rejuvenated appearance. And here at Eterna Vein & Medical Aesthetics, we’re proud to offer these complementary treatments to our patients in the Puyallup, Washington, area.
To learn more, or to schedule a consultation with one of our aestheticians, call our office at 253-268-3400 today.