Botox® and dermal fillers such as Juvéderm®, Restylane®, and Radiesse® have helped women and men around the world erase the signs of aging from their faces for several decades. These injectable therapies may help delay more drastic procedures, including surgical face-lifts.
However, you may wonder if you’re too early to the party or if you’ve already missed the boat. When’s the best time to start minimally invasive Botox and dermal fillers? Is it ever too early? Is it ever too late?
Our team of expert dermatologists at The Center for Dermatology Cosmetic & Laser Surgery in Mount Kisco, New York, recommends therapies based on your individual facial and skin type and specific issues you’d like to resolve.
What’s the right age for Botox and fillers? It may be the age you are right now.
Women and men in their 30s or even 20s can take control of the aging process by treating the signs of aging before they’re entrenched. Sometimes referred to as “prejuvenation,” these treatments aren’t actually preventive. They’re just resolving issues in their earliest stages.
By the time you’re 25, you’ve already lost some facial bone to the aging process. Bone atrophy continues as you age, as does the atrophy of fat, collagen, elastin, and even facial muscles.
When you lose the bone that supports your facial muscles and overlying skin, your muscles can’t fully relax. So, if you’ve made an expression such as frowning or lifting your brows, the skin doesn’t smooth out completely again. Instead, the creases stay in the skin.
No matter your age, if your face has lost bone and muscle and your skin has lost fat, collagen, and elastin, dermal fillers and neuromodulators such as Botox, Jeuveau®, and Dysport® significantly improve your appearance.
Each type of injectable has its own mechanism of action to resolve volume loss and wrinkling.
Injectable neuromodulators block the signals your brain sends to muscles that make them contract. So, even though your muscles don’t have enough bone to allow them to fully relax naturally, Botox and similar products smooth out the muscle anyway.
Once the muscle has relaxed, the skin does too. Depending on which neuromodulator you use, you may notice smoother, silkier skin within days or weeks. Results can last several months.
However, the neuromodulators are only appropriate for wrinkles caused by dynamic muscle contractions, such as those in the upper face and brows and around the eyes. You can use neuromodulators to smooth out neck wrinkles too.
Static wrinkles that remain in place whether or not you make expressions are a sign the skin has lost collagen, elastin, and fat. Dermal fillers instantly replenish that volume by literally “filling in” everything from fine lines to deep creases.
Some dermal fillers replace lost volume with hyaluronic acid (HA), one of the components of healthy, moist skin. Others use microparticles to stimulate your body to produce more of its own collagen over time. Dermal fillers can last a year or two.
Botox and fillers are ideal when you’re young or middle-aged. In some cases, they help you look and feel fresh and youthful as you move into older age.
However, since neither addresses the underlying bone and muscle loss, you may reach a point where these helpful therapies no longer achieve your goals.
One way to give a boost to Botox and fillers is to improve the health and strength of your skin. We may recommend laser treatments to encourage cell turnover and increased collagen and elastin production.
No matter your age, you can smooth out wrinkles and lines with Botox and dermal fillers by booking a consultation today. Reach out to our helpful team by phone or online form.
