Wrinkles can be a bane or boon. On one hand, they may hint of a fading youth or convey false impressions of anger and frustration. On the other, they speak of a wealth of experience and add character to our faces. Most people do not mind some wrinkling, but don’t want them to be too obvious and become the focus of attention on our faces. Here is an introduction to wrinkles and some treatments to reduce them.
What are wrinkles?
A wrinkle is a line or fold on our skin. Dermatologists usually divide wrinkles into static wrinkles (wrinkles unaffected by facial expressions) or dynamic wrinkles (wrinkles caused by contraction of facial expression muscles).
Here are some common ways to minimize wrinkles on our faces
Botulinum toxin injections
Botulinum toxin is most commonly used to treat horizontal forehead lines, vertical frown lines between the eyebrows and wrinkles at the sides of the eyes. In addition, botulinum toxin can help reduce unwanted wrinkling due to excessive muscle activity such as bunny lines, cobblestoning or dimpling of the chin, radial lines around the lips and platysmal bands on the neck. Some other desirable effects of botulinum toxin include facial lifting, improving the skin texture, slimming of face for people with overdeveloped masseter muscles, reduced sweating and preventative purposes in younger adults.
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Filler injections
Dermal fillers are substances that are injected beneath the skin to restore volume, reduce lines and wrinkles, or enhance facial contours. Fillers can help with some types of wrinkles, such as at the nasolabial folds and marionette lines.
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Microneedling with radiofrequency
Microneedling with radiofrequency is a minimally invasive treatment that creates perforations in the skin and delivers radiofrequency-generated heat energy (RF) into the underlying dermis to stimulate collagen formation. The mechanical effects of microneedles on the skin also allow for improved delivery of products applied during the treatment. Microneedling with radiofrequency is useful for skin rejuvenation, improving wrinkles, skin laxity and skin texture. It may also be used for the treatment of acne scars, other types of scars such as surgical and traumatic scars, facial brightening and reducing pore size.
EMFACE®
Fractional resurfacing of face
Laser resurfacing helps with superficial skin surface improvements such as wrinkles, photoageing and scarring. Fractional laser resurfacing has largely replaced fully ablative laser resurfacing, as fractionated lasers can often achieve similar results with a lower risk of complications, reduced discomfort and faster recovery. Fractional lasers deliver energy in microthermal areas, maintaining untreated skin tissue between treatment areas, which allowing faster skin repair and healing.
Biostimulators
Collagen biostimulators are a form of injectables that enhances the formation of collagen in our skin. Unlike traditional fillers, the results are not immediate, and can take several weeks to months to achieve. Biostimulators not only help with the improvement of skin wrinkles, but also improve skin texture, elasticity, hydration and brightness.
Some examples of biostimulators include poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and calcium hydroxylapatite and highly concentrated hybrid non-crosslinked high and low molecular weight (MW) hyaluronic acid (HA).
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