Anti-wrinkle treatment with injection therapy
You will soon be undergoing anti-wrinkle treatment with injectables. In this folder you can read again the information provided by your plastic surgeon. It is good to realize that the situation may be different for you personally than is described here.
Over the course of life, the skin of the face becomes thinner and looser. This is very gradual and varies greatly from person to person. This slow decay of the skin is influenced by several causes. In the first place, skin aging is a process from within, where the amount of collagen and fat in the epidermis decreases. Collagen is the main component of the connective tissue in the skin and is responsible for firmness and elasticity of the skin. Furthermore, laughing, frowning and other forms of facial expression eventually give rise to increasingly deepening wrinkles, because the skin always folds in the same place.
This gives a person his recognizable facial expression.
In addition, the way of life influences the condition of the skin: sunbathers and smokers have a sagging wrinkled skin at a relatively young age due to external damage. There is also the phenomenon that subcutaneous tissue also becomes thinner, and that gravity acts on all weakened tissues.
A wrinkle is, as it were, a local thin spot in the skin. It is therefore obvious that the wrinkle disappears when the thin spot in the skin can be filled via injection(s). This is exactly what happens with injection therapy with a so-called filler .
Partial elimination of the underlying muscles by injection with botulinum toxin (Botox®) is also a possibility. Botulinum toxin is a substance that blocks the signal to tighten between nerves and muscles in the skin. This prevents the skin from folding in the same place over and over.
Forms of injection therapy for wrinkles
For a long time there has been a search for the most effective techniques and means for injecting. There are therefore various effective treatments possible with various agents. However, not every wrinkle is the same. The crow’s feet next to the eyes are different from the frown lines on the forehead and above the nose. The fine wrinkles in the lips are treated differently than the grooves between the nose and mouth (nasolabial folds). And the superficial lines in a young person require a different approach than the deep wrinkles in an older person.
Resources that can be used
Botox
When muscles in the skin contract, they cause a wrinkle. Many people frown without being aware of it and without necessity such as from the sun or because they are concerned. When laughing frequently, crow’s feet form next to the eyes. The wrinkles that arise in this way are called mimic wrinkles. Botox® (botulinum toxin) can soften or even completely disappear facial wrinkles on the forehead, above the nose and around the eyes. In addition to a smooth result, the disappearance of frown lines also gives the face a pleasantly relaxed and therefore open expression.
The drug is injected directly into the muscle. The effect is noticeable after a few days, optimal after a week and wears off after four to six months. When a treatment is repeated, Botox usually remains effective for longer.
Botox is a substance that relaxes the mimic muscles and is therefore not a filler. Eventually this substance disappears completely from the body. An anesthetic is not necessary for a Botox injection. The injection needle that is used for this is very fine and only provides the feeling of a pinprick.
With fillers for the skin, a choice can be made between degradable and non-degradable agents, or between permanent and non-permanent agents.
With the permanent (non-degradable) agents, no degradation of the product takes place; it therefore always remains in the skin. That’s not to say the wrinkle will always be gone; the aging process unfortunately continues. It is therefore possible that over time something needs to be sprayed.
Your safety is important to us. That’s why they are reluctant to use permanent fillers. In doing so, they follow the advice of the Dutch Association of Plastic Surgeons (NVPC). The NVPC is of the opinion that there is still insufficient information about the safety and the long-term consequences of these fillers.
Non-permanent substances break down the body itself over time. As a result, the effect gradually wears off and eventually disappears. The time that the effect of the non-permanent agents is noticeable depends on the agents used. The most well-known non-permanent agents are:
Depending on the chosen product, the filler is injected into the skin or just under the skin via several injections with a fine needle. Some areas of the face are more sensitive than others. Immediately after the treatment, the skin on the spot is somewhat red. The puncture holes may be visible. This usually only takes a few hours. We recommend that you cool the treated area for half an hour. This makes the redness and sensitivity disappear the fastest. Sometimes several treatments are needed to achieve a good result. This of course depends on the depth and extent of the wrinkles and the choice of product.
Your plastic surgeon can further inform you about this and advise which treatment is most suitable for you personally.
The results of injection therapy depend on a number of factors.
Absorption of the material by the body;
leakage of the filler through skin pores: especially with oily skin with large pores, the risk of material loss is high;
the number of treatments.
