Those new lines in your face that you see in the mirror might make you frown, but frowning just makes your wrinkles worse.
When it comes to the upper face, the intense emotions you express create unwanted lines, including:
If you want to smooth out these types of dynamic wrinkles, no amount of cream or lotion is going to do the job. You must go behind the scenes — that is, under the skin — to reach the muscles causing the lines.
At The Center for Dermatology, Cosmetic & Laser Surgery in Mount Kisco, New York, our skilled dermatologists smooth your furrowed brow with neuromodulators such as Botox®, Jeuveau®, or Dysport® injections.
So how do these products work behind the scenes to calm your wrinkles? It all starts with your brain.
You’re worried and trying to figure something out. Without even noticing, your concentration manifests as a frown.
You raise your eyebrows when you’re surprised. You laugh so hard your eyes squint. Maybe you even wrinkle your nose.
All of these expressions give life to your face and make your emotions apparent, but they also cause wrinkles over time. Just as a piece of paper develops a permanent bend if you keep folding it, your skin eventually reshapes itself to the expressions you make.
Whatever’s happening on the outside —your boss gave you an extra-hard assignment, you’re laughing over a comedy on TV — your brain reacts to the emotional trigger. It sends signals to the nerves in your muscles to make the appropriate expression.
So, if you want to erase those laugh lines, squints, and frowns, you have to stop the signal from reaching the muscles. That’s where Botox and other neuromodulators such as Jeuveau and Dysport come in.
Since neuromodulators dull the nerve signals that your brain sends to your muscles, once they take effect, your muscles no longer flex and contract into the shapes that create wrinkles.
Instead, the muscles stay calm. That allows your skin to relax too. By tamping down the display of strong emotions on your face, you have a more relaxed and younger look.
Of course, too much of any neuromodulator might give your face that “frozen” look we associate with a bad Botox job. That’s why it’s important to find an expert with the medical experience to inject the proper sites with the right amount of Botox, so that your muscles relax just enough — but not too much — allowing you to still express a full range of emotions. In addition, you’ll want your doctor to have a fine-tuned sense of aesthetics - helping you to look like the best version of yourself!
The best thing about Botox and other neuromodulators is that they train your face to be more subtle in its expressions. Over time, you need less Botox to get the same results. That’s because your muscles lose the impulse to contract severely.
You might also find that you can take more time between treatments because your muscles have learned to relax again - and that’s nothing to frown about!
But Botox and other neuromodulators aren’t just for facial lines and wrinkles! Among the most frustrating signs of aging are the vertical bands of loose skin and cords that show on your neck (sometimes referred to as “turkey neck”). That loose skin is caused by a stretched and sagging platysma muscle.
By injecting Botox into the platysma, we deactivate the muscles that stretch and pull your neck downward, so your lifting muscles have no opposition. The result is a firmer, smoother neckline without surgery.
Botox, Jeuveau, and Dysport each last for months at a time, and we schedule your follow-ups at appropriate intervals so you can enjoy the results without interruption.
If you’re ready to treat your wrinkles from the inside out, contact our team at The Center For Dermatology, Cosmetic and Laser Surgery, for a Botox, Dysport, or Jeuveau treatment today!
