What are wrinkles and how do they form?
Wrinkles are a natural part of the aging process. With age, our skin gets thinner, drier and we lose elastin. The ability for our skin to protect itself is reduced as we age. Eventually, wrinkles, creases and lines form on our skin.
Continuous muscle contraction is also another major contributor of facial wrinkles. Continuous muscle movement causes 'dynamic wrinkles' which only appear when the muscle is used, however, over time, if untreated, these wrinkles can become 'static wrinkles' which means they become permanently etched in our skin.
- Forehead Lines – Forehead lines are horizontal lines that form through the repetitive use of your eyebrows. Over time, these dynamic wrinkles form permanent lines.
- Frown Lines – Frown lines are the vertical lines between your eyes and are also known as your 'glabella lines'. Repeated muscle movement and contraction leads to permanent static wrinkles.
- Brow Lift – Your brows can sometimes appear uneven or asymmetrical. Muscle relaxing anti-wrinkle injections can increase facial symmetry and in certain cases provide a brow lift.
- Crow's Feet – Also referred to as 'smile lines' or 'character lines', these lines appear on the outside corners of the eyes.
- Bunny Lines – Also known as nose lines, can appear from the constant scrunching of the nose muscle. They appear as horizontal wrinkles which form across the ridge of the nose.
- Vertical Lip Lines – Vertical lip lines appear on the top and bottom lip. They can be defined lines that become apparent with any movement of the mouth.
- Jaw Re-Shaping – Facial re-shaping is a treatment used on the lower face muscle known as the 'masseter', or the muscle of the jaw. The masseter muscle is used for chewing and if overactive, can cause teeth grinding. This muscle can cause the appearance of a square jaw, and whilst this may be appealing to the male face, many women are seeking a softer more feminine look. With the use of anti-wrinkle treatments, we can reduce the bulk of this muscle and in turn reduce the appearance of the square jaw, giving the face a more oval appearance. This treatment may also reduce the severity of teeth grinding.
- Chin – As we age our chin muscle pulls upward forming a line between the bottom lip and chin in an arch. This muscle can be relaxed using anti-wrinkle injections taking pressure off the chin and causing the line to soften.
