Anti-wrinkle Injections

Anti-Wrinkle Injections

IT IS NOW PROBABLY THE TOP-RANKING NON-SURGICAL COSMETIC TREATMENT IN THE UK.

A Toxin was first used in the 1970s to treat children with squints. It’s cosmetic potential was then recognised, and it has been used to treat wrinkles since 1990, but much longer for medical reasons. A convenient alternative to surgery, it is possible to use injections with the toxin to reduce and relax frown lines, forehead lines and laughter lines around the eyes. The benefits of toxin injections are visible within 7 to 10 days of the treatment. They will last for three to four months when you first start having these injections, giving the face a smoother, more rested appearance. This is a preventative treatment, and with repeat injections over time, the less you will need. Yvonne, who is an advanced aesthetic practitioner, can also use toxins for the lower face and neck.

WHAT CAN BE TREATED?

Relaxing horizontal forehead lines
Relaxing vertical frown lines
Relaxing laughter lines (crows feet)
Gummy Smile
Lip Flip ( raising the top lip )
Scrunch lines (bunny lines) on the nose
Excessive underarm perspiration
Smoothing a prune type chin
Tightening the jaw line (Nephertiti lift)
Smoothing platysmal bands on the neck
Raising the corners of the mouth
Reduce teeth grinding and reduce a square jaw
Soften smoker's lines above the top lip

BENEFITS

The toxin is known to help your body ‘naturally’ retrain itself to help further reduce such things as frown lines. When injected with the toxin, the muscles are temporarily immobilised which means that you will not be using those muscles that form the face into a frown. As a pleasant side effect of this, tension headaches and migraines will be reduced as well. These are benefits that you will receive at the hands of a renowned Facial Aesthetics Nurse, Yvonne.

After an initial consultation with Yvonne, you will be set an appointment for your anti-ageing injections. The actual ‘procedure’ only takes about five minutes. Continuing the example of relaxing the frown lines, your practitioner will ask you to frown so that she can assess your muscle activity and depth of lines produced.

It takes up to 14 days days for the toxin to become effective and at this time you will notice that it is getting increasingly hard to frown. After a period of two to three weeks those muscles will be ‘asleep’ and frowning will be, for all intents and purposes, a thing of the past. Most people frown without even noticing they are frowning, so anti-wrinkle treatments help to correct this inadvertent reflex. The process works in the same way for all the other conditions.

It is also nice to know that your post-treatment review at the two-week mark will accrue no further charges. Whilst some people may still be able to use a few of the muscles needed to form a frown, they will almost certainly need to work at it very hard in order to actually get that to happen. If you can frown after working at it, don’t despair as it doesn’t mean the treatment hasn’t worked. It simply means that you need to work very hard to frown whereas before it was a reflex action.

Allow 30 minutes appointment time.

A WORD OF CAUTION

Those lines caused by sun-damaged skin or age-related sagging of the skin cannot be effectively treated with the toxin.

FAQ’S

**WHAT ARE ANTI WRINKLE INJECTIONS - BOTULINUM TOXIN OR BOTOX*?**

Botox* is a naturally occurring protein produced by the Bacterium Clostridium Botulinum. In its purified form Botulinum Toxin is a very safe, effective treatment not only used for cosmetic purposes, but also for medical conditions.

Botox* is injected into a muscle and temporarily relaxes it by blocking the nerve impulses. It is a licensed brand of Botulinum Toxin A.

Other licensed brands include Azzalure*, Dysport*, Xeomin* and Bocouture*.

WILL THE TREATMENT BE PAINFUL?

Yvonne uses only the finest needles available, made by TSK and called “the Invisible Needle”. Not all practitioners use them in view of their higher cost. However, they complement Yvonne’s injection skills gained over 20 years to ensure minimal patient discomfort. Indeed sometimes patients say they have not even felt the needle being inserted into their skin.

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHERE AND HOW MUCH BOTULINUM TOXIN TO INJECT?

The exact locations and number of units to inject varies because every patient

is different– there is not a “one size fits all’ approach.

During consultation we will discuss whether you want “baby Botox” with some residual movement, or if you prefer no movement at all. Some patients have what we call ‘commas’ above the top of their eyebrows, some wrinkles are low, some are high on the forehead. Sometimes it is best not to treat certain areas. Yvonne is trained in advanced techniques, so that every movement is taken into consideration. This could include an eyebrow lift or wrinkles under the eye, or bunny lines at the sides of the nose. Botox is also used to treat Platysmal bands on the neck and to tighten the jawline.

Please visit the Anti- wrinkle page to see all the areas Botulinum Toxin can treat on the face and neck.

It can also help with excessive perspiration!

**HOW LONG IS THE APPOINTMENT FOR BOTOX*?**

The appointment is for 30 minutes.

This allows all the medical forms to be completed such as those for Medical History, Consent, and Treatment Records. This is necessary to determine that it is safe to proceed with the treatment.

Photographs are taken before treatment and the vial of Botox is freshly reconstituted. The skin is cleansed where the injections are to be inserted.

Patients do not require any anaesthesia, as injections with the invisible needle are virtually painless.

**WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT AFTER BOTOX* TREATMENT?**

Immediately after Botulinum toxin on the upper face small raised pink lumps may be visible at the injection sites. These will go down after 30 to 60 minutes.

You should not bend your head over your feet for the rest of the day as this may disperse the Botox into unwanted areas.

You should not lie down for 4 hours after treatment.

Strenuous exercise and yoga should be avoided for 48 hours. These can raise your blood pressure and pulse rate, causing bruising and swelling. You should not wear a tight hat or helmet for 3 to 5 days after treatment, avoid facials for 7 to 10 days and do not rub your face.

It can never be 100% guaranteed that you will not get a bruise. If you do get a bruise, and some bruising may only appear the following day, very gently apply Arnica cream to the site 2-3 times a day. Eating fresh pineapple may help, as it contains an anti-inflammatory enzyme.

The results of your treatment may not be fully optimised until day 14, although some people start to see results after 3 or 4 days.

It is strongly advised that no Botox or filler treatments are scheduled within a month of a big event just in case of bruising.

HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

Botox* is a temporary procedure, and will last on average 3 to 4 months. Occasionally a few patients start to see wrinkles or movement reappear after 2 to 3 months, whilst others may have the full effect for up to 6 months.

The effectiveness of Botox* will last longer with successive regular treatments, that is to say the effect is cumulative.