Which wrinkles and lines bother you the most? Are these lines and wrinkles the type that are best eliminated using Botox?

If you choose to eliminate only the wrinkles that can be treated with Botox, will any of the remaining ones still leave you unsatisfied with your appearance? For example, if you want both your frown lines and marionette lines removed, you will likely need a different cosmetic procedure to have the marionette lines eliminated.

It should point out that Botox injections work best on crow’s-feet (wrinkles radiating from the outside corners of the eyes), worry lines (horizontal forehead lines), and frown lines (vertical lines, also called glabellar lines, that appear be­tween the eyebrows). These are wrinkles that are typically caused by chronic contractions of the muscles under or adjacent to these areas of the face. Laughing, smiling, frowning, and squinting are some of the common facial expressions that can cause these lines. If you have lines and wrinkles on other parts of your face that concern you, you may need other types of cosmetic procedures to eliminate them. With that in mind, consider these questions:

Which wrinkles and lines bother you the most? Are these lines and wrinkles the type that are best eliminated using Botox?

The followings are the types of lines and wrinkles:

From the top of your face down, bothersome facial wrinkles have the following names and locations. Notice that Botox is not the best choice for all types of wrinkles and lines.

Forehead lines: horizontal lines, often called worry lines. These lines form mainly because the underlying frontalis muscle, which stretches across the forehead, moves when you make facial expressions. When you lift your browsometimes referred to as the “aha” or surprised lookthe muscle contracts, which causes the skin that is covering the muscle to pull, wrinkle, and then return to its original position when you relax the muscle. Now consider the countless number of times you’ve used these muscles. As you age, your skin be­gins to lose its elasticity, it suffers from sun damage, and the constant contracting and relaxing of the muscle results in forehead lines. These can be eliminated using Botox or filler injections such as collagen or fat.

Frown lines: vertical lines, also known as glabellar lines, that appear between the eyebrows. These linescan make you appear serious, angry, or stressed even when you’re not. It is for the removal of these lines that the Food and Drug Administration gave approval for Botox in April 2002. These lines are best removed with Botox. If you’ve frowned a lot over the years and the lines are very deeply etched, you may also need wrinkle fillers (e.g., collagen, fat) to eliminate these lines. Your doctor will discuss your options with you.

Crow’s-feet: lines that radiate from the outside corners of the eyes. They’re also known as periorbital lines. If you have these lines, they’re most likely the result of smiling and squinting. If you look in the mirror ands mile or squint, notice how your muscles contract and cause your eyelids to nearly cover your eyes and how the muscles contract at the corners of your eyes where the lines appear. Crow’s-feet are best eliminated with Botox, plus adjunctive treatment such as collagen, chemical peels, or laser resurfacing.

Laugh lines: also known as smile lines or nasolabial lines, they are the two vertical lines that run from the outside corners of the nose down to the top of the outside of the upper lip. Even though they are called laugh lines, gravity and aging are also factors in their development. They can best be eliminated using wrinkle fillers (e.g., collagen, fat, AlloDerm, Cymetra, Gore-Tex, or SoftForm).

Lipstick or smoker’s lines: the tiny radiating lines that appear above the upper lip and below the lower one. It seems as though everyone has a different name for these annoying wrinkles, which are best removed using laser resurfacing, chemical peel, microdermabrasion, or wrinkle fillers tissue augmentation (e.g., collagen in­jections, AlloDerm, fat)in addition to Botox.

Marionette lines: the often deep lines that run down from the outside corners of the mouth toward the chin. These lines develop from a combination of factors, including gravity (the cheeks tend to sag from the force of gravity) and thinning of the supporting tissue that comes with age. These wrinkles are best eliminated using wrinkle fillers or laser resurfacing. Another option is a face-lift, a complex surgical procedure.

If you’ll still be bothered by the remaining lines and wrinkles, are you willing to have other cosmetic procedures done to correct them? Naturally, you will need to discuss all your options and prices with your doctor, but you should be aware that other procedures may be needed for you to get the look you desire. You also should know that while Botox injections don’t involve any recovery time, some other cosmetic procedures do.

Aging is a natural sequence of life, yet many of us can’t face it gracefully. Grey hair, sagging skin and ugly wrinkles are by products of the aging process.

Every one of us hates wrinkles and wish they would never occur, but aging and wrinkled skin are inevitable. As despairing as it sounds there are solutions available to delay the advent of aging and wrinkles.

What are wrinkles?

Wrinkles refer to those thin and creased lines that appear on the softer portions of our body like the face, neck and hands and results in sagging skin due to decreased elasticity of the skin.

Are you susceptible to wrinkles?

Along with the natural aging process, exposure to sun, wind and environmental elements cause the appearance of wrinkles in many people over a certain age. But there are others, who are more prone to the attack of wrinkles at an early age because of genetic factors, lifestyle and behavioral choices.

Individuals exposed to UV radiation from sunlight, either due to their profession or location of residence as well as heavy smokers are especially prone to the early development of wrinkles.

Individuals with lighter complexions experience premature appearance of wrinkles, while those with darker complexions are less prone to their development. Due to the larger presence of melanin, the skins of the latter group suffer a reduced level of penetration of UV rays from sunlight. Rapid weight loss over a short time span also causes development of wrinkles because of the loss of fat cells.

Free Radicals and the Occurrence of Wrinkles

Free radical damage is considered one of the most vital source of skin damage and appearance of wrinkles. These free radicals severely harm the skin by breaking down the skins support structures. They diminish elasticity of skin and the resilience of skin is lost and the aging process sets in.

Antioxidants are meant to reduce the damage caused by free radicals. When antioxidant protection is inadequate in our body, free radicals cause damage. The activities of free radicals can be neutralized through antioxidants abundant in vitamins A, C, and E, beta carotene, selenium, zinc and more.

Thus by consuming foods and vitamins rich in antioxidants and through the application of skin care products rich in antioxidants, you can stall the process of wrinkling of skin.

How to combat wrinkles

NOTE: Always consult your physician first before implementing any new diets, therapies and/or implementing any skin care regimen or procedures, especially if you have existing skin conditions and/or are prone to rashes and/or have sensitive skin and/or are allergic to certain ingredients that may be included in any skin care formulations or are allergic to any components natural or synthetic that may be mentioned.

There is more than one way to combat unwanted wrinkles and creases on your skin.

As mentioned above, topical creams and lotions rich in antioxidants, vitamin A and retinol produce greater results in concealing wrinkle lines. Also, supplements particularly rich in vitamin E and vitamin C work wonderfully in returning some of the lost resilience of the skin. Vitamin K (caution if you’re taking blood thinners) is also popularly used in the treatment of wrinkles. Also, hormone replacement therapy helps regain healthy skin in postmenopausal women.

Wrinkle Prevention tips

Prevention is better than cure.
- Use Sun block lotions every time you go out in the sun.
- Wear sunglasses and use an umbrella or wear a hat.
- Wear protective clothing.
- Eat plenty of antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables.