wrinkle treatments

For many people, Botox® or Dysport® injections are one of the first treatments they receive to reduce signs of aging. While it is a low-risk, minimally invasive, brief procedure, it can still feel like a leap of faith for patients who have never had professional facial rejuvenation treatments or those who have only had mild skin treatments like chemical peels. How do you know when you’re ready for Botox® or Dysport® injections?

As a double board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in facial rejuvenation, I have helped many patients ease the anxiety of their first injection appointment. While wrinkle reduction injections and other cosmetic treatments should be an entirely personal decision, there are a few signs that indicate you may be ready for Botox® or Dysport®.

You Have Crow’s Feet in the Corners of Your Eyes

Among the first signs of aging that tend to appear are wrinkles called crow’s feet. These lines start in the outer corners of your eyes and extend outward.

Crow’s feet develop as the result of making the same facial expressions for decades. Over time, your muscles become tense and create a wrinkle in your skin. Botox® or Dysport® can ease these wrinkles by relaxing those tensed muscles for months at a time.

You’ve Developed Persistent Forehead Lines

When you raise your eyebrows or tense your forehead, you see horizontal wrinkles across your forehead. In the same way crow’s feet develop, these forehead lines occur because your forehead muscles eventually become tense in a prolonged way so that you have wrinkles even when your facial expression is neutral. Botox® or Dysport® injections can smooth these lines to give you a more youthful appearance.

You’re Noticing Frown Lines When You Aren’t Frowning

When you frown and furrow your brow, you’ll notice that vertical lines appear between your eyebrows. As with crow’s feet and forehead lines, though, for many people, these wrinkles eventually reach a point when they don’t fade after you stop frowning. This can make you look older and you may appear irritable or unhappy when you aren’t.

If you have noticed these persistent frown lines, Botox® or Dysport® injections are the ideal way to ease them for several months with each treatment. These injections will relax the targeted muscles to give you a more positive and refreshed look.

You’re Looking for a Minimally Invasive Way to Reduce Wrinkles

There are many treatments and procedures available today to reduce wrinkles, but they each have their own pros and cons and are ideal for different types of wrinkles. If you want a way to reduce expression lines with a quick and simple treatment that is minimally invasive and requires no time off work to recover, Botox® or Dysport® injections are likely a good fit.

You Want a Way to Minimize Future Wrinkles

The best way to treat aging is to prevent it as much as possible. Botox® and Dysport® injections have a unique advantage of slowing the development of expression lines. Expression lines appear because the facial muscles become progressively more tensed after years of repeated facial movements. Botox® and Dysport® relax these muscles for months with a single treatment. During that time, not only are your wrinkles smoother but because the muscles aren’t contracting, they aren’t making your expression lines worse. This is why many younger adults are starting Botox® or Dysport® injections even before they have significant wrinkles

Beginning Your Botox® or Dysport® Treatments

If you can identify with the signs above, you may be ready to start using Botox® or Dysport® injections to enjoy a more youthful, refreshed appearance in a non-surgical, minimally invasive way. To learn more and decide whether Botox® or Dysport® injections may be right for you, schedule a consultation with me, Dr. John LeRoy. For more insights, follow me on Facebook.