Only a doctor specializing in plastic surgery, dermatology, face and neck surgery and maxillofacial surgery and trained in the technique can perform injections.
Which wrinkles are treated?
Botulinum toxin is used in local, low-dose injections to induce targeted muscle paralysis (e.g. forehead skin muscles) to temporarily reduce wrinkles (for five to six months). Typically, the treatment is applied to the lion’s wrinkle (corrugator and pyramidal muscles), the forehead muscle and the outer fibers of the orbicularis muscle (crow’s feet wrinkles).
What are the results?
It takes two or three days before you notice an improvement. According to a clinical study, some patients see a clear change one week after the injection. Glabellar wrinkles are visibly reduced, and the skin on the forehead looks smoother and more relaxed. The eyes, too, take on a more youthful appearance. During the first two months, botulinum toxin remains highly effective: 39% of patients still saw an improvement on the 120th day. But the effect disappears after three to four months. A new injection may then be decided upon.
Botulinum toxin injections are often combined with hyaluronic acid injections. The former have a tensor effect (in the sense that they relax the muscle) while the latter have a wrinkle-filling effect, and it is often useful to use both techniques to treat an entire face.
Botox injections only act on dynamic wrinkles, or wrinkles of muscular origin, and will have a resting effect on the targeted muscles.
Hyaluronic acid injections
What is hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid is naturally present in our bodies. It helps to keep our skin hydrated by capturing water and holding it in the deeper layers. Hyaluronic acid is a molecule that acts in some ways like a sponge.
The principle of hyaluronic acid injection
No need for heavy anesthesia or skin incisions. Hyaluronic acid wrinkle treatment involves gel injections. Once infiltrated into the skin, the gel retains water and mixes with hyaluronic acid in the dermis. The volumizing effect returns the skin to its original appearance, and the wrinkle is resorbed.
It’s a biodegradable product that naturally depletes in the body. So you’ll need to repeat the operation if you want to look younger on an ongoing basis. The advantage is the reversibility of these procedures, which is less frightening than the definitive aspect of some cosmetic surgery operations.
What areas are treated?
Hyaluronic acid is mainly used for the lower face, with two favourite targets: the nasolabial folds (on either side of the wings of the nose up to the corners of the mouth) and the bitterness folds (on either side of the mouth up to the chin). You can also use hyaluronic acid to treat cheeks, cheekbones, forehead or crow’s feet. Lips are increasingly being reshaped with hyaluronic acid.
The products in the syringes can be adapted to each individual case, and are referred to as “personalized injections”. All skin types are therefore eligible for hyaluronic acid injections. Even black skin (thicker and more sensitive to scarring than others) can benefit. And above all, only an experienced practitioner will be able to select the right products to suit the particularities of your wrinkles.