This treatment is most commonly carried out on the upper face to treat frown lines, horizontal forehead lines and ‘crow’s feet’. Muscle relaxing injections can be completely tailored to your face, and your desired outcome. Treatment temporarily paralyses the facial muscles, softening lines and wrinkles. The result is a softer, more relaxed, happier and youthful appearance. In turn, this often can improve self confidence and self esteem. Furthermore, not being able to frown is said to make people feel happier. Research suggests that by paralysing the facial muscles used for frowning, this may lighten people mood by preventing people from physically displaying expressions of negative emotion.

Anti wrinkle injections using toxin are a simple, safe and effective way to improve fine lines and deep dynamic wrinkles in the upper part of the face. As we age, repeated muscle contraction coupled with loss of skin elasticity causes fine lines and wrinkles to appear on the upper face. Some individuals are genetically predisposed to have stronger facial muscles, thinner skin or be facially more expressive and therefore have more noticeable wrinkles that are likely to develop younger. Lifestyle factors can also have an effect on wrinkles; sun exposure, smoking & stress for example have been found to speed up the ageing process and make wrinkles more noticeable .

There are two main types of facial wrinkles; Dynamic and Static. Dynamic wrinkles form as a result of muscle action. They are only visible on movement or expression of the facial muscles, such as physically frowning when angry or concentrating. Anti wrinkle injections are used to treat this type of wrinkle by paralysing the muscle movement which causes the wrinkle to appear. This treatment is successful at preventing static lines from forming if not already present - Prevention is better than cure.

Static wrinkles are deeper than dynamic wrinkles, they develop over time due to gravity, repeated muscle action breaking down the collagen within the skin tissues that then isn’t repaired due to loss of collagen and skin elasticity as we age. Static wrinkles are visible regardless of the muscle action, even when the face is relaxed at rest, hence the term static. If you present with this type of wrinkle they will not disappear with toxin alone as volume and hydration is also needed. However dermal filler can be used to help soften these static wrinkles and then anti wrinkle injections can be used to prevent the muscle action that would cause the wrinkle to deepen or redevelop.

The most common areas that can be treated with Anti-wrinkle injections are the muscles of the upper face:

• Frown lines - wrinkles between the eyebrows, sometimes referred to as 11’s
• Eyebrow lift - to elevate the arch or tail of the brows which tend to drop as we age
• Forehead lines - horizontal lines that appear if we lift our eyebrows up in a shocked or surprised expression • Crows feet - wrinkles that appear at the side of the eyes when smiling or squinting in the sun

Other areas of the face & body that can be treated and softened with muscle relaxing injections are:

• Bunny Lines - wrinkles that appear on the side of the nose when scrunching your nose

• Chin dimpling - dents or dimples on the chin that appear when expressing and talking

• Turned down mouth corners - as we age the corners on the mouth start to droop

• Lip flip - to relax the lip muscle and turn the lip out, so when we smile the lip doesn’t pull up and curl the lip under causing it to

  disappear

• Smoker/lipstick lines - a tight lip muscle and loss of volume round the mouth as we age can cause lines to appear when talking, this

  treatment relaxes the lip muscle so these wrinkles soften

• Gummy smile – anti-wrinkle injections can be used to relax the muscles above the lip so they don’t elevate and lift the lip up as high and therefore decreases the amount of gum shown and prevent the so-called ‘gummy smile’.

• Hyperhidrosis – Botox can treat excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) by paralyzing the sweat glands. It can be used on the armpits, face, hands and feet. For more details on this treatment please see separate information slide.

• Bruxism – Botox injections into the chewing muscles can block the signals that tell these muscles to contract, relieving troublesome teeth grinding and clenching. For more details on this treatment please see separate information slide.

• Nefertiti neck lift - Named after Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, the Nefertiti Neck Lift specifically targets the neck and jawline, using toxin for a rejuvenating and lifting effect. It is a relatively new technique, where multiple wrinkle injections are placed along the lower jawline, as well as the neck along the platysma muscles. By administering injections in specific areas, it is possible to improve jawline definition, rebalance underlying muscles, and lift the neck and jawline. For more details on this treatment please see separate information slide.