Wrinkles, frown lines, crow’s feet, and other signs of aging on your face have a way of making you look and feel older than you really are. While that can be discouraging, these issues can be greatly diminished – and even temporarily eliminated – with a cosmetic injection, or “injectable.” The top three injectables on the market are Botox, Xeomin, and Dysport. Each has its own special properties and should be chosen depending on the specific problem you wish to address, which we discuss below.
The Process of Receiving a Cosmetic Injectable
To start the procedure, your doctor marks the targeted area with washable ink. The process is only mildly uncomfortable and most people don’t need any type of anesthetic. However, you are free to request one if you would like.
Next, your doctor injects the ingredients of into the area to be treated. He uses a very fine needle for this, which is why you barely feel it. There are typically no activity restrictions after an injectable treatment.
Injectables temporarily paralyze the facial muscles so wrinkles are diminished and new ones don’t start setting. Contrary to what you may have heard, they don’t prevent you from smiling or give you that frozen “deer-in-headlights” look.
Options for Injectables
Basically, there are three:
- Botox: The name Botox comes to mind for many people when they think of cosmetic injectables. That’s because it was the first, and has been available for nearly 15 years. Botox is made from a purified form of botulinum toxin A. It may be the right choice for you if you are primarily concerned with skin bands on your neck, mild to moderate wrinkling, frown lines, and crow’s feet. These problems typically respond quickly to treatment. Deeper set frown lines and crow’s feet may require more than one injection.
- Dysport: People turn to Dysport for the treatment of wrinkles across their forehead, as well as mild to moderate frown lines. It’s also a good choice for people who have multiple crow’s feet spread out across their faces. Your doctor is able to achieve a more even “diffusion” with Dysport because its ingredients are a bit more diffuse than the other two injectables.
- Xeomin: Xeomin is the newest type of injectable approved for cosmetic use by the Food and Drug Administration. It is more portable and easier to store for dermatologists. That doesn’t matter so much to you, but this fact means that it may be the most cost-effective treatment. It’s used most often in the treatment of moderate to severe furrow lines located between the eyebrows.
Procedures for injectables take less than 30 minutes, and the results can last as long as six months. With so many effective choices available to you, it’s not a matter of if you should get an injectable…it’s a matter of when and which type to select. If you’d like to learn more about injectables, or if you’d like to schedule an appointment with Dermatology Associates, simply give us a call, or click here.
Dermatology Associates offers a full spectrum of leading edge medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology services from offices in Savannah and Vidalia.
