Anti-Wrinkle Injections – Awesome Guide to Botox® treatment

What are wrinkles?

A wrinkle, also known as a rhytide, is a fold or crease in the skin. This skin-crease occur because the skin loses elasticity and becomes saggy.

There are two types of wrinkles.

‘Dynamic wrinkles‘, which appear when the muscles move to create facial expressions and ‘Static wrinkles‘ which appear even when the face is at rest.

Basics of anti-ageing treatment with anti-ageing injections (in a nutshell)

Let me explain this in a little detail. (Trust me this little detail will serve as the foundation for understanding everything about anti-ageing treatments.)

The skin has three layers

• Outer most layer, called epidermis, contains colour producing cells(melanocytes) and skin cells for body defence.
• The middle layer, called dermis, contains elastin and collagen fibres. These provide strength and elasticity to the skin(i.e. The ability to snap back)
• The innermost layer is the fat which gives smooth contour. 

Just below the skin lies the muscle layer containing all the muscles of facial expressions. These muscles move to make us smile, laugh, frown, speak, show anger etc. These muscles are attached to the bone below and the skin above. As the muscles move, the facial-skin moves along with it.

Now, when we are young, the skin is thick and elastic. So, muscle movement hardly forms any wrinkles. But ageing causes the skin to thin out, and the muscle activity is far more visible as wrinkles. Gradually these convert to static lines which are visible even when the muscles are at rest causing the ‘Always angry’ or the ‘Always anxious’ look.

We have two choices now.

Very deep skin-crease not responding to cosmetic procedures is filled with dermal fillers to smoothen out the skin.

This is all about the anti-ageing cosmetic procedures in a nutshell.

How do Anti-Wrinkle Injections work?

Anti-wrinkle injections contain purified and titrated form of a naturally occurring toxin called Botulinum Toxin from a bacteria(Clostridium botulinum). This toxin acts at the muscle and nerve junction and blocks neurotransmission resulting in loss of muscle activity. The receptors get irreversibly blocked but over time new receptors are formed, and the muscle activity reappears in about four to six months. This is precisely how long your effect will last. It usually takes 5 to 7 days for the toxin to act adequately.

Botulinum toxin is not only used for aesthetic enhancement. It is used to treat a myriad of clinical conditions such as excessive sweating, muscle spasticity, migraine etc

What happens in an anti-wrinkle injection treatment session?

• You will be called at the surgeon’s office at a previously fixed time.
• You will be expected to turn up on time without any makeup.
• The attending nurse will hand over the consent form for you to read and sign. Read it carefully. If you any more concerns now is the time to discuss.
• Once you consent to the procedure, some preoperative photographs will be taken to establish a baseline and compare results in the future.
• You will be taken to the procedure room where you lie comfortably on the procedure chair.
• Usually, the procedure is done by anesthetising your skin with a topical ointment, so it is not painful.
• The surgeon then marks all the areas to be treated and may take a couple of photographs for record keeping.
• A syringe with a thin needle is then used to inject small amounts of Botox® in the treatment areas.
• Once the treatment is complete your face is cleaned and a topical cream is applied.
• Before you leave the clinic, you will be explained all about the aftercare and a printed post-procedure sheet will be provided to you.