What causes wrinkles?
The way your skin looks is directly related to the way your skin is supported. Wrinkles form when the natural collagen and hyaluronic acid in your skin diminish during the course of aging. Other factors that cause wrinkles include exposure to the sun, disease, injury, heredity, lifestyle, and local muscle contraction.
Popular nonsurgical treatment of wrinkles include botulinum toxin type A (Botox) and dermal (skin) fillers such as collagen (Zyderm/Zyplast/Cosmoplast), hyaluronic acid (Restylane/Hylaform/Captique/Juvederm). More significant volume eficits can be treated with poly-L-lactic acid (Sculptra).
.What is Botox?
Botox is the trade name of Botulinum Toxin Type A, a purified protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The action of this toxin is to block the message from nerve to muscle, causing botulism, a type of paralysis of the muscle.
When used in tiny doses and directed to specific areas it affects only the muscles in those areas. Botox has been used for over 20 years in the treatment of isolated muscle spasms such as strabismus and blepharospasm. The use of this toxin for treating wrinkles caused by the action of muscles in the forehead was initially developed in 1989 by Dr. Carruthers, a Vancouver Dermatologist.
Combining Botox with fillers such as collagen (ZyDerm, ZyPlast, CosmoPlast) and hyaluronic acid (Restylane, Hylaform, Captique, Juvederm) can result in a very satisfying rejuvenated appearance.
What wrinkles are treated with Botox? Glabellar (frown) wrinkles, upper forehead wrinkles, and "crows feet" or squint wrinkles. Treatment involves injecting small amounts of the product in the selected areas, usually after applying a topical anesthetic. You may resume normal activity immediately. Within days there can be a noticeable improvement that can last up to 4 months (results may vary). There is no recovery time. It is a short procedure that can even be performed on your lunch break. You can receive injections up to every 4 months to help you maintain the results.
What are Dermal Fillers?
Dermal fillers
- Collagen replacement therapy i
Teatment with more than one filler: The different types of collagen can be used together for optimal aesthetic results. An emerging trend is to use collagen and hyaluronic acid-based fillers in combination to temporarily replace lost structure and volume, smoothing away unwanted lines and wrinkles.
The difference between fillers and Botox:
Botulinum Toxin Type A is a protein that is injected into muscles to relax them, smoothing lines and wrinkles caused by repeated facial movements. In contrast, fillers are injected below a wrinkle, scar or depression in order to "fill" it in, smoothing the surface of the skin. The combination of Botox and fillers can produce a remarkably pleasing result.What is Sculptra?
Facial fat loss, or lipoatrophy, is the loss of fat beneath the skin, which can result in sunken cheeks, indentations, and hollow eyes. Sculptra is a safe, synthetic, and biocompatible material that is injected below the surface of the skin in the area of fat loss. It provides a gradual and significant increase in skin thickness, improving the appearance of folds and sunken areas. No skin testing is required.
Sculptra has been safely used outside the United States since 1999 in over 150,000 patients under the trade names New-Fill and Sculptra.
Sculptra is an injectable product that restores and corrects the signs of facial fat loss by replacing lost volume. Sculptra provides an increase in skin thickness, helping to create a more natural facial appearance in those with facial lipoatrophy.
Sculptra is composed of poly-L-lactic acid, a synthetic material. Sculptra is not made from human or animal sources and does not require a skin test. Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) is a biocompatible (does not harm the body), biodegradable (able to be broken down by the body) material that has been widely used for many years in surgical products. The effects are long lasting; they were shown in a clinical study to last for up to 2 years after the first treatment session.
Filler FAQs:
| How long does the procedure take? Treatment
usually takes less than one hour. Do I need to take time off from work to recuperate? Filler therapy is a simple procedure with a quick recovery time. Most patients feel comfortable resuming their normal activities immediately following treatment. You are free to eat, drink, or wear makeup with sunblock shortly after treatment. There may be some temporary swelling and redness in the treated area, which should subside within a few hours. Are filler injections painful? Most people report that the injections are relatively painless. To minimize discomfort, a topical or local anesthetic can be applied to the area prior to treatment. Also, the collagen fillers contain an anesthetic, lidocaine, which helps to temporarily numb the treatment area. Some fillers are more painful than collagen. What areas can be treated with fillers? The most common areas treated are the smile lines around your nose and mouth, frown lines between the eyes, acne scars, fine lines above the mouth, and the lip border to add definition. Can I have more than one area treated at the same time? Yes, more than one area can be injected at the same time. How frequently will I need to have filler therapy? To maintain optimal correction, touch-up injections of collagen are usually needed two or three times a year. The amount of filler used during follow-up treatments is usually less than that used in the initial treatment. Without ongoing treatments, the collagen is gradually absorbed by the body and your face returns to its original contours. Hyaluronic acid may last a bit longer than collagen. Poly-L-lactic acid may last a year or longer. How do I know filler therapy might be right for me? If looking your best is important to you, filler therapy is probably for you. Imagine smoothing out those wrinkles around your mouth, or filling in those annoying tiny lines above your lip. Perform a simple stretch test. Pull your skin tight on either side of the wrinkle you want to test, this will allow you to assess the potential for optimal treatment capability. If the line/wrinkle goes away when the skin is pulled tight, then full correction may be achieved. Keep in mind that if you can still see a line when you pull the skin, your physician will be able to smooth the area and fill in the wrinkle, but you may still see the line. How much do the treatments cost? Pricing varies depending on the number and types of areas being treated, the type and amount of filler material required to achieve the desired results and the physician administering the treatment. What should I find out before I have any type of medical cosmetic treatment?  Is the product approved by the FDA? Who is performing the treatment? Do they have the
proper training and credentials? When do you want to see results? Where are your problem areas? |
For Botox and filler appointments, call Maggie Sheehan at (847) 724-2727 Dr. Montalvo is a member of the Botox Cosmetic Physician's Network |
