Anti Wrinkle Injections with Dr Bradbury
ring 020 8681 4951
Our injections effectively improve signs of aging to restore a more youthful and attractive facial appearance and we use one of the most popular injectable cosmetic treatments in the world.
It has been used safely and effectively in reversing the visible signs of aging. It not only reduces currently showing wrinkles, but also works to prevent future wrinkles it is considered to be a preventative measure as well as a corrective measure.
It works by relaxing muscles to stop and prevent lines and wrinkles forming.
Only specific muscles are targeted to ensure your normal facial expressions will remain unaffected. It takes 3-4 days to begin to work, and 7-14 days to see the full effect.
The treatments are priced according to number of areas being treated.
Potential Side effects of the Injections
These can include pain at the injection site, infection, inflammation, swelling, redness, bleeding and bruising. Some of these symptoms may indicate an allergic reaction; other allergy symptoms are itching, wheezing, asthma, a rash, red welts, dizziness and faintness. Below are further specific risks depending on the site treated.
For crow’s feet
There are very few risks when conducted by a safe practitioner and can knock years off your smile. Small concentrated doses into the orbicularis oculi (the muscle encompassing the eye socket) are needed to effectively block the action of the muscles around the eyes that cause excessive wrinkling of the skin on smiling broadly.
Potential crow's feet risk
You can be confident that you are at almost no risk for eyelid droop if you are only having your crows’ feet injected. Actually, by injecting the superior aspect of the muscle that causes crow’s feet, you can gain a slight lift to the outside eye area. This is a relatively low risk site for injection and hence a good starting point for anyone wanting to try out Botox for the first time.
For forehead lines
As you raise your eyebrows the vertical muscle in the forehead (frontalis muscle) activates and it is because of this activity that horizontal skin creases are seen. These creases can be classified as dynamic lines; ie, present when making certain facial expressions, or static; ie, present all of the time even at rest. Formation of static lines can be of concern, making your skin look aged. By injecting in certain areas of the forehead, you can inactive the frontalis muscle so to get relaxation of the muscle and hence within a few weeks, softening of these lines.
Over continued injections in this area the lines can fade away completely, giving a refreshed appearance. Some lines can be deeply ingrained, hence consideration to other skin tightening treatments must be given.
For vertical forehead, or the ‘II’ lines
This is the most common area of treatment and is very effective for lines between the eyebrows. The injection works directly to relax the nerves that innervate the corrugator and procerus muscles of the glabella region (i.e., the vertical and horizontal lines that form between the eye brows). Since this area has lines caused not by gravity but because of movement of facial muscles rather, they are more amenable to be removed by the use of botox.
Forehead line risks
There are 2 rare, but possible complications of injections in the forehead area:
- A drooping eyebrow may happen when the brow-elevating muscle in the forehead, the Frontalis, receives too high a dose, or alternatively, if the injection is sub-optimally placed too low in the forehead. Of note, it may also happen if you have a low set eyebrow to begin with, in which case any injection to the Frontalis increases the likelihood of a brow droop. A droopy eyebrow from treatment can sometimes be improved with an injection into the outside part of the eye (the lateral aspect of the orbicularis oculi muscle) to generate a bit of a brow lift in that area -- by injecting more and paralyzing the orbicularis muscle that normally acts to depress the brow in that area, you may get a slight compensatory brow lift.
- A droopy eyelid may occur if you are injected too close to your eyelid-elevating muscle, the levator palpebra superioris. In such a scenario, the treatment will diffuse inadvertently onto the levator muscle and cause an eyelid droop. You may have an increased risk of eyelid drooping if you have a weakened upper eyelid muscle for neurological reasons, or a deeply set eyebrow that would be more prone to drooping (as discussed above) and result in skin gathering over the eyelid making the eyelid appear like it was drooping. A droopy eyelid due to to this treatment can be treated with special eye-drops which can provide a small improvement.
For eyebrow lifts
We can lift the brows by weakening the muscles that pull down on the brow.
There are three depressors of the eyebrows:
1) Procerus (muscle the pulls down on the brows, creating a horizontal crease at the top of the nose
2) Corrugators (muscles that pull the brows inward and downward, creating the 11 lines)
3) Obicularis oculi (muscle that encircles the eye, allowing it to close tightly)
Injecting into these muscle sites will effectively relax these muscles and control their contractions, giving a smooth skin appearance even when frowning. Interestingly, several research articles have found that as well as your brain controlling the emotions that you express on your face, it works the other way round too- your facial expressions can make you feel a certain way. By forcing yourself to smile, you may find that you actually start to feel happier, and in the same way, by reducing your ability to frown you may find yourself feeling less stressed!
Call 020 8681 4951 for more information.