What Are Crow’s Feet and How Does BOTOX® Reduce Them?
Can BOTOX® get rid of crow’s feet? Our Los Angeles-area team at Palm Desert’s Cosmetic Surgery Institute believes that this injectable is one of the most effective strategies for softening these wrinkles.
Crow's feet are the fine lines and wrinkles that develop around the outer corners of the eyes. They are one of the most common signs of aging, and they are caused by a combination of factors, including a natural loss of skin elasticity, repeated facial expressions, and exposure to environmental factors like sunlight and pollution. While crow's feet are a common part of the aging process, many people are self-conscious about the fine lines and seek ways to reduce their appearance.
One popular treatment for crow's feet is BOTOX®, which is an injectable neurotoxin made from a purified form of botulinum toxin. BOTOX® works by temporarily relaxing the muscles that cause wrinkles to form. When injected into the muscles around the corners of the eyes, BOTOX® relaxes the muscles involved in squinting and prevents them from contracting, which in turn reduces the appearance of crow's feet. The skin smooths out, generating results that are most noticeable when you laugh.
Using BOTOX® for crow's feet is relatively simple and straightforward. Once you have decided to move forward with the treatment, we will inject small amounts of the medication into the muscles around your eyes using a fine needle. Only a small number of units of BOTOX® will be needed. The treatment session typically takes only a few minutes, and there is minimal discomfort or downtime.
The effects of BOTOX® treatments for crow's feet typically last for several months, and the results can be seen within a few days of the procedure.
In addition to BOTOX®, there are other treatments that can help reduce the appearance of crow's feet. These include over-the-counter creams and serums that contain retinol, vitamin C, and other antioxidants. Additionally, lifestyle changes like protecting your skin from the sun by wearing sunglasses, sunscreen, and hats or limiting sun exposure, using over-the-counter products, quitting smoking, managing stress, and eating a healthy diet with foods high in antioxidants can help prevent the development of crow's feet in the first place.
Our team at Cosmetic Surgery Institute team can tell you more about how this injectable works. Call us at (760) 837-0364 or submit a contact form to request a consultation.
What Are the Benefits of Preventative BOTOX®?
People tend think of BOTOX® as a corrective treatment to soften lines and wrinkles that have already formed on the face because of repetitive facial expressions. For decades, it has been marketed as a treatment for visible signs of aging on the face. However, it’s often easier to prevent the effects of aging than to treat them after they have developed. Consider this, many of our patients want to know: Does preventative BOTOX® really work? Our Palm Desert-based team believes that this treatment is highly effective for preventing the formation of lines and wrinkles on the face. The idea is that you can receive the injections before the onset of pronounced wrinkles to stop them from developing.
The best candidate for preventative BOTOX® would be someone who is just starting to see faint expression lines developing on their face. Lines could become deep wrinkles in the future, and you can see where they’re going to develop.
Botulinum toxin injections work by directly targeting specific active muscles that are responsible for these lines. The active ingredient presents nerve signals from reaching the proper receptors, thereby preventing contractions. By limiting a few contractions related to certain expressions, you can prevent the associated wrinkles.
When you start getting BOTOX® injections at a younger age, there will be fewer lines and wrinkles to treat as you get older. You may therefore need less BOTOX® compared to another person who never had preventative botulinum toxin injections. Because of this, people in their mid to late 20s and early 30s may benefit most—especially if they have very expressive faces.
Just like traditional applications of BOTOX®, the treatment is simple and straightforward. Injections are typically completed in just a few minutes. Furthermore, there’s no downtime, so you can go back to work or your normal activities right away after an appointment. If you’re accustomed to buying topical anti-aging products, botulinum toxin injections can save you money as time goes on.
If you’re searching for answers to such questions as, “Does preventative BOTOX® really work?” our Palm Desert-based Cosmetic Surgery Institute team can explain more during your consultation. Call us at (760) 837-0364 or submit a contact form to request an appointment if you would like to discuss wrinkle injections.
Can a Facelift Reduce Wrinkles?
It’s natural for your skin to lose some of its elasticity as you get older. Not to mention, wrinkles and depressions begin to form when levels of collagen—one of the building blocks of healthy skin—begin to decrease over time. One of the major facelift benefits for Palm Desert patients is that this surgical procedure can tighten skin significantly in a way that wouldn’t be possible with non-invasive cosmetic treatments on their own.
Although the facelift is most well-known for its ability to lift sagging cheeks and jawline skin to rejuvenate the face, patients are often curious about whether this form of cosmetic surgery will also reduce other effects of facial aging, such as fine lines and wrinkles.
The word “rhytidectomy”—which is the medical term for facelift—comes from the words “rhytid” meaning wrinkle and “ectomy” meaning excision or surgical removal of something. The truth is that while facelifts are excellent for correcting loose skin to improve facial contours, they aren’t designed for smoothing superficial wrinkles; other forms of sun damage; creases around the nose and upper lip; and wrinkles around the eyes, forehead, and mouth. They also will not address uneven skin or areas of irregular pigmentation, such as hyperpigmentation and age spots.
In other worlds, facelifts are great for making deep folds and creases less noticeable, but they won’t change the texture, look, or tone of the skin itself. In fact, experienced plastic surgeons avoid pulling the skin too tight during a facelift because this strategy can give the patient an overly “windswept” or artificial look.
Facial cosmetic surgery is meant for correcting “sags and bags,” jowls, or weakened muscles. If you hope to improve the overall quality of your skin, BOTOX® and fillers are the better options for reducing most facial wrinkles, and laser treatments, microneedling, and chemical peels are rejuvenation techniques that can enhance your skin’s quality and appearance. These treatments can be done before or after a facelift to optimize results.
For more details about improving the look of the face, contact Cosmetic Surgery Institute by calling (760) 837-0364, or send a message via a contact form to request a consultation and find out whether you’re a suitable candidate for various procedures or treatments.