We use anti-wrinkle injections (the muscle-relaxant variety) to partially disable the muscles that contribute to wrinkles. This may be as a forehead wrinkle treatment, for example, helping to prevent further creasing while smoothing out the lines that already exist.
Anti-wrinkle injections can in some ways ‘undo’ wrinkles and help prevent new ones. We can’t make you a teenager again, but we can smooth out your skin in ways that just weren’t possible before.
A note on naming names
‘Anti-wrinkle injections’, when used in Australia, refers to a specific class of product that we are unable to, for legal reasons, name, as it is a prescription-only medicine. If you’re looking up anti-wrinkle injections, it doesn’t mean dermal fillers – which we call dermal fillers – but the muscle-relaxant.
This nomenclature is across the board in Australia.
Anti-wrinkle injections = muscle relaxant
Dermal filler injections = dermal filler
Anti-wrinkle injections are anti-ageing treatments that strategically target certain facial muscles to reduce the repetitive facial movements that cause wrinkles for a more youthful appearance.
Smoothing skin with anti-wrinkle injections – muscle relaxants
Muscle-relaxant injections are a great tool in the fight against wrinkles since they stop creases appearing. That is, frowning, laughing, talking, and concentrating. Don’t worry – we’ll make sure you can still express yourself fully!
The smoothing effect comes from the very tiny muscles in your face no longer pushing your skin together. The skin stays smooth. This process helps prevent future lines from developing, so anti-wrinkle injections can be used as a preventative or in conjunction with dermal fillers as part of an ongoing anti-ageing plan.
What happens during anti-wrinkle injection treatments?
When you come into our Melbourne clinic for your appointment, first you will have a chat with one of our specialist anti-ageing clinicians who will discuss your desires and carefully evaluate your skin. Once a choice has been made to go ahead with anti-wrinkle or anti-ageing injections, the following process is typically adhered to.
First:
The skin is cleaned, and ice may be used to numb the area. There are several options for numbing, but anti-wrinkle injections are usually mild in terms of discomfort. Talk to your practitioner beforehand to discuss any concerns you may have.
Second:
The anti-wrinkle treatments are injected with a very fine needle. (This is the same type of needle that diabetic uses to inject themselves with daily insulin.) It produces a small sting and lasts only a few seconds. This injection will be repeated in specific areas to get the best results.
How long does it take to see results from anti-wrinkle injections?
Muscle relaxants take up to seven days to work, but the maximum effect is seen between one and three weeks. The impact softens over time as the effect starts to dissipate.
Dermal filler injections have a volume-enhancing action immediately, by comparison, but this works over several months as the cells bump up the production of collagen and elastin, and the treatment works on your fine lines and wrinkles.
Are there any side effects to anti-wrinkle injections?
Initially, you may see some small red bumps, similar to a mosquito bite, but these should disappear within half an hour. Sometimes a small bruise may appear, which will disappear over the coming week.
Headaches sometimes occur, but many people have actually reported that muscle relaxant injections have actually solved their headaches, and muscle-relaxing injections are used in some people for migraines. Allergy is rare.
From time to time, someone will get a drooping brow, eyelid (either the upper or lower), cheek, mouth, or puffiness around the eyes. It is the result of improper application of the muscle-relaxant injection. The effects of muscle-relaxant injections are temporary, and any of these symptoms will resolve themselves.
Smoothing skin by combining anti-wrinkle treatments with dermal fillers
Dermal fillers are one of our tools in the fight against wrinkles. Our dermal filler ingredients are naturally found in skin and are the element that provides hydration and stimulates collagen to keep our skin firm and healthy.
This substance decreases as we age, and we lose volume, hydration, and collagen as a result. We can now inject specific areas of your face with dermal filler or do a once-over with the glow gun. The dermal filler acts as a substitute for your natural supplies, providing extra stimulation to the fibroblasts to produce more collagen.
Boosting collagen has the benefit of gently repairing some fine lines and wrinkles, improving your skin so long as the dermal filler is present. Dermal fillers are naturally absorbed over several months, so repeat treatments are required for maintaining your results.
How long will my anti-wrinkle injections last?
To keep the effect, you will need to have repeat treatments every 3-6 months, though discuss this with your doctor, as the nature of your specific anti-wrinkle or anti-ageing treatments may vary.
Complements to anti-wrinkle injections
We use the muscle-relaxant anti-wrinkle injections most often with a combination approach that utilises the magnificent powers of dermal fillers. To get the best results, we encourage our patients to use medical-grade skin care at home, with dermal fillers to replace volume and moisture and radiofrequency or laser treatments to get the most out of your skin’s surface.
What can these treatments do?
- Smooth skin using anti-wrinkle and anti-ageing injections
- Hydrate skin from underneath the surface with dermal filler
- Refine pores and scars with dermal filler
- Improve skin tone significantly with hydrating dermal fillers and radiofrequency or laser treatments
- Provide anti-ageing treatment and preventative measures to keep you ageing gracefully
Anti-wrinkle injections can treat:
- Wrinkles and folds on the face
- Eye squints
- Facial muscle spasms
- Tight muscles in children and adults with cerebral palsy and after a stroke
- Head and arm tremors
- Headaches
- Bladder leakage (incontinence)
- Teeth grinding (bruxism)
- Sweating(hyperhidrosis) of the armpits, hands and feet