Injections for crows feet wrinkles
Eye wrinkle injections are one of the most common treatments at our Sydney clinic.
Crow’s Feet / smile lines / eye wrinkles occur when a person smiles, using the outside part of their orbicularis oculi muscle. Over time, these lines etch in permanently and are there even when the person is not smiling.
Please see research on safety and efficacy of eye wrinkle injections
Treatment of Crow’s Feet
The most superior treatment for Crow’s Feet is antiwrinkle injections (due to Australian regulations, we are not allowed to name the drugs used)
A small injection using a very fine needle is performed to the outside of the eye muscle where the lines are located on smiling. Somewhere between 2-7 injections on each side will be performed
The consultation for injection for eye wrinkles
History-taking is very important in the treatment of crow’s feet. The following should be explored:
Has the patient had treatment before?
Were they happy every time?
Did it the antiwrinkle injections last well?
Which area came back first?
How is the patient’s metabolism? Do they exercise? Are they very muscular? Do they have trouble putting on or losing weight?
Is it the crow’s feet to the side of the eye, or those underneath the eye which are bothering the patient
Have they every had any complications, eg eyelid droop or eyebrow droop or strange smile etc
Does the patient want a more natural appearance, with some lines left, or do they want the maximal effect possible?
The examination
The injector will examine the face and crow’s feet prior to your injection for eye wrinkles. In particular, she will look at many features, such as:
Where the lines are.
Whether there is any lid droop or asymmetry
Whether there is a bulge in the lower lid.
How much the crow’s feet extend down the side of the cheek and under the eyes.
Choosing the dose of injection for eye wrinkles
The injector will assess the face and decide on the best dose after taking a history and examining the patient.
If the patient has a history of poor longevity, or needing high doses or wanting maximal effect, then a higher dose may be suggested
If a patient has a history of complications with muscle relaxing injections, or if their budget is small or if they want a more subtle result, then a smaller dose might be chosen.
Pain relief during crows feet injections
A numbing cream (eg EMLA or LMX ) may be applied to the area prior to the treatment (45 minutes prior is ideal) Glad wrap may be used over the numbing cream to increase its effect.
Most patients do not bother with numbing cream because it takes so long to work and because the treatment in the crows feet isn’t very painful anyway.
Ice may be used to decrease pain and to reduce the risk of bruising.
Nitrous oxide (happy gas) is available during the crows feet treatment to reduce the pain.
What happens during the crows feet treatment itself?
The face will be cleaned with alcohol and chlorhexidine.
Ice will be applied to the area briefly before treatment
The injector may inject approx 2-7 sites around the outer part of each eye. Then pressure with gauze will be applied.
The procedure itself takes less than 5 minutes.
Side effects/Complications which can occur:
In general, treatment of the crow’s feet is very low risk. Most of the antiwrinkle injection problems occur from treating other areas of the face
Headache happens in around 10% of new users.
Bruising occurs in a significant number of cases.
Asymmetry: Often one side is better treated than the other, this is usually because the patient is asymmetrical to start with.
Infection is a very rare complication, but always a possibility when the needle goes into the skin.
Eyelid droop and eyebrow droop are unlikely to occur with crow’s feet treatment. In fact, it is more common for the eyebrows to raise from a crow’s feet treatment.
After eye wrinkle injections
Instructions for care afterward
After you eye wrinkle injections, you should follow these instructions
- No makeup for 4 hours
- No massage that day
- No heavy exercise that day
- No lying down for 4 hours
- Lots of smiling suggested for a few hours
- Stop your acid face products for 24 hours
What to expect after eye wrinkle treatment?
Immediately after eye wrinkle treatment, sometimes there is nothing to see. Sometimes there can be bruising, redness or small lumps, which can look like mild acne and usually resolves quite quickly.
Most people could come during their lunch break during work and go back to work without their coworkers noticing anythingThe effect will not start to occur for 2-8 days. The onset of action of treatment of one of the brands of antiwrinkle injections is quicker than the others. I am unable to name the product online, unfortunately due to Australian regulations
The maximal effect of the drug will be at 4 weeks, so a review should be booked in at 4 weeks (only after the first treatment, for subsequent injections, a review appointment shouldn’t be required).
What if I get asymmetry at some time before the 4 week point? Do I call the clinic?
No. No need to call the clinic. Sometimes asymmetry will occur because one side just comes on quicker than the other. Usually it will right itself by the time of the review appointment. If it doesn’t, then it can be treated at the review appointment. There is no point in coming in early for treatment of asymmetry. In other areas of the face, treating asymmetry too early could lead to droop or further asymmetry. Most patients have some level of asymmetry as their starting point.
How long will the antiwrinkle treatment last?
The answer to this is very individual and depends on the patient’s metabolism, the dose, the placement etc.
Typically this is what happens:
At 3-4 weeks, there is a maximal effect
at 8 weeks, movement starts to return
at 12 weeks, 50% of movement should be back
at 16 weeks 80% of movement should be back.
For most patients, this is very close to what occurs.
When should I have my next treatment for crow’s feet?
Patients should be retreated when the movement is between 50%-80% back ie sometime from 3-4 months.
Price for antiwrinkle injections in crow’s feet
Please see our pricing page for all injectable pricing.
Other procedures which would be suitable to combine with antiwrinkle injections in crows feet
- PRP
- Skinboosters
- Microlaser peel
- Needling
- Fractional laser
- Home Care