Q: If I start getting antiwrinkle injections will my face be worse if I don’t continue with them?
Short answer; If you start the likelihood of wanting to stop is low!
Wrinkles develop over time. They occur in places where the muscle beneath the skin contracts and relaxes with different animations (eg: when someone is using their face to demonstrate an emotion: eg: laughing, smiling, frowning in anger, when surprised or horrified) As we age, we are losing collagen and elastin which in turn causes the skin to stop obut
The antiwrinkle treatment allows the muscle injected to relax, this in turn allows the skin to relax. This relaxed state allows the skin to look smoother.
If one stops getting aw injections, the muscles will animate/contract as normal and the lines will return. Lines will reappear but they will not be “worse” than prior to treatment.
Q: What is a brow droop and is it permanent?
A brow droop occurs when the muscle above the brow has been treated in its entirety. brows are elevated/lifted by the muscle in the forehead (named frontalis). In-fact it is the only elevating muscle in the top part of the face
It feels quite restrictive if you cannot lift the brow at all and this is what a brow drop is. Depending on the dose injected, the feeling will last anywhere between 2-12 weeks. The muscle will recover in time. It is not permanent.
Things to note:
If someone has etched lines in their forehead, it is likely that they will feel that their brows have dropped and that is due to their constant use of that muscle. Especially as we get older, people use the frontalis muscle subconsciously and may not be aware that they are constantly lifting their brows when they speak or to focus their sight on something… These candidates are not ideal for a forehead treatment but would benefit from a Frown/glabellar treatment.
Q. What is a lid droop?
An eyelid droop happens when aw product either leaks or is injected into the ligament that allows the eye lid to open and shut.
It can happen during a frown treatment or if incorrectly administered for a brow lift.
Again the longevity of this result depends on the dose and whether it leaked into the area.
Q. Do droops happen with everyone?
Really all the undesirable events are a potential risk everytime one has injections that relax the muscle. It doesn’t matter if you have had treatments for 15 years and never before had a droop, it can happen.
Q. How does one avoid a droop?
Ensure you know that your injector is competent and confident to inject .
If you have etched lines on your forehead, it is likely that you will notice when you cannot use the muscle and will feel like it has dropped. If you don’t mind the feel of not being able to lift your brows, then it is up to the individual to weigh up the benefits vs risks for themselves.
Once you have had aw injections, you must adhere to the post treatment advice provided by your injector.
You should avoid lying down flat immediately after treatments and avoid further treatments around the injected area for 2 weeks.
Q. Will I bruise? I don’t bruise easily….
If you have any important events postpone your treatment as we cannot guarantee that there will not be a visible bruise. Any time you put a needle into tissue there is a chance of causing bleeding and bruising. The size of the bruise will depend on the structure that has been punctured. Size of the bruise may also be impacted by physical activity and medications/alcohol
If you have any events upcoming, then you ideally would have a treatment 3-4 weeks prior in order to allow time for bruising to settle but also for the result to look its best.
Q. Can you give me a brow lift with antiwrinkle injections
The reality is that we don’t have scalpels in our hands, therefore we are not technically able to ‘lift’ anything. We can help combat gravity and make the brows appear lifted. This is a temporary treatment and is not suitable for everyone. The glabellar complex/frown area ideally would be treated at the same time as getting a brow lift due to the direction of the muscle pull in that area.