McKeown Medical
167 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4SQ
Understanding the Benefits of Anti-Wrinkle Injections
Published by Dr Darren McKeown
Date posted — 21.10.24
If you are researching your options for aesthetic treatments, then you’ve probably come across the term ‘anti-wrinkle injections’. But what does that even mean? What are ‘anti-wrinkle injections’? How does it compare with other aesthetic treatments you’ve been reading about?
In this article, I’m going to demystify anti-wrinkle injections. We’ll delve into the science behind the treatment, explain the procedure, and discuss potential benefits and risks.
Demystifying Anti-Wrinkle Injections
Anti-wrinkle injections could technically refer to a whole range of different types of treatment. In most day-to-day contexts, however, it refers to injecting a muscle relaxant into muscles that are responsible for causing certain wrinkles, causing the muscle to relax and, therefore, reducing the appearance of the overlying wrinkles.
The primary component in most anti-wrinkle injections is botulinum toxin. This neurotoxic protein temporarily relaxes muscles, smoothing out wrinkles and giving the skin a more youthful appearance.
What Are Anti-Wrinkle Injections used to treat?
Anti-wrinkle injections are normally used to treat dynamic wrinkles – the wrinkles caused by repetitive facial movements. The injections are normally very effective at reducing the wrinkles caused by movement but less effective – at least initially – for static wrinkles (those that are present when the face is at rest).
Botulinum toxin is licensed for cosmetic use in treating frown lines, crow’s feet, and forehead lines. The injections are commonly used for ‘off-label’ purposes on other areas of the face and neck. Whilst using the drug ‘off label’ on other parts of the face may be common, it is typically less effective than when used to treat the official indications and may be associated with additional side effects.
The Science Behind the Treatment
Botulinum toxin, the active ingredient, is a neurotoxic protein. It works in a specific location in the nerve endings – stopping the nerve endings from releasing the molecule it normally produces to ‘talk’ to the muscle cells, telling them to contract. Because this communication between the nerve and muscle is blocked, it means the muscle will relax, causing the overlying skin to smooth out.
The effects of the toxin are localized. This means they only affect the specific muscles where the toxin was injected. The rest of the body is not affected.
The Procedure Explained
The process is straightforward and typically takes only a few minutes.
The injection is administered using a very fine needle. In our practice, we use a needle that is even finer than the one diabetics use every day. The finest needles cost a little more, but we think it’s worth the investment for our patient’s maximum comfort!
What to Expect During the Consultation
The consultation is a crucial part of the treatment process. It is an opportunity for the practitioner to assess your skin and discuss your aesthetic goals. It is also important for your doctor to review your medication history, any medications you take, any allergies, as well as your history of aesthetic procedures – what has worked well for you in the past and what hasn’t. By undertaking a thorough and comprehensive assessment, we can maximise the chances of a positive outcome.
Post-Treatment: Recovery and Care
After the treatment, it is quite normal to see some immediate redness and swelling at the injection site. This normally resolves within a few minutes – typically by the time you get back to the car. It is much less common to develop any bruising. If this happens, it can usually be camouflaged with some make-up and will go away like any normal bruise.
It is quite common to develop a headache following treatment – this can affect up to 1 in 10 patients. If you develop a headache, you can take over-the-counter pain medication like paracetamol (or Tylenol if you are in the US).
Much less commonly, you can develop drooping of the eyelid or eyebrow. This usually affects around 1 in 3000 patients. If it happens, there is usually not much you can do other than wait for it to wear off. This typically happens within 2-6 weeks, although it can persist for the full duration of the treatment.
Before and After: Visualizing the Results
Visualizing potential outcomes can be helpful when considering anti-wrinkle injections. Before and after photos can provide a realistic depiction of what to expect from the treatment. Here are some examples of what it may be possible to achieve.
Check out our gallery to see before and after photos of patients who have undergone anti-wrinkle injections.
Aesthetic Improvements and Psychological Well-being
The way we look can have a direct impact on both how we feel and how well we function socially. The aesthetic improvements from anti-wrinkle injections can significantly boost a patient’s self-confidence, making them feel more comfortable in social circumstances. This is something we have studied in our clinic, and we have published our data in the peer-reviewed literature.
Selecting the Right Practitioner
Choosing the right practitioner is a critical step in ensuring a safe and successful treatment. You should always choose a doctor who has an advanced understanding of anatomy, physiology and pharmacology to allow them to tailor the procedure to your specific needs rather than follow a ‘painting by numbers’ approach.
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We`re absolutely delighted to introduce you to our lovely new doctor, Dr Sharon.
With over 30 years’ experience as a medical doctor and a decade specialising in aesthetic medicine, Dr Sharon brings exceptional skill, warmth and a deeply patient-centred approach to every treatment.
She joins us with extensive expertise in injectables, including advanced toxin and filler techniques, and will also be leading our regenerative aesthetics offering with Ameela polynucleotides and Ameela Exosomes - two of the most exciting developments in skin rejuvenation. She will also be offering Profhilo and Profhilo Structura!
We have a super exciting new addition to the clinic this week, with the launch of @sofwavemed.
Sofwave is an incredible skin tightening technology that has been around for five years now. I am never first to the queue with new devices because so many don’t deliver and disappear within a couple of years of launch. Sofwave however has continued to grow in popularity over the years and earlier this year I decided I had to find out what all the fuss was about.
I asked the reps to bring it round for us to play with and we treated a few of our patients to see what the results were like and, three months later not only was I signing the purchase order I was asking how quickly I could get one of the reps round to treat me 😊
Sofwave works using ultrasound waves to create a thermal injury to the deeper layers of the skin, initiating a healing response which over a period of several months results in a skin tightening effect.
I have trialled a number of ultrasound devices in the past and have never bought any of them because I was always disappointed in the results. There are a couple of things that I think makes Sofwave different.
First, it only goes to 1.5mm which means all of the energy is being delivered to the skin. Most other devices go down to 3 or 4mm, by which point you are past the skin and into the fat which can, if anything, have a worsening effect on volume loss. The second difference that I think is important is that it treats a bigger proportion of the surface area of the skin.
We have a new page on our website where you can read all about Sofwave and how it works, but for now, enjoy some of these before and afters that the manufacture supplied.
Let me know what you think!
Lower eyelid surgery is one of the more challenging operations in aesthetic practice. If we can avoid it, we normally try to help our patients chose non-surgical paths using laser or fillers.
However, there are some situations where it can’t be avoided, especially when there is excess fat under the eye causing puffiness. This is exactly what this patient had and so the very talented @bramhallplasticsurgery performed an upper and lower blepharoplasty for him. Whilst we often do the upper eyelids without doing the lower eyelids, usually when we do the lower eyelids we always need to do the uppers too.
This patient is now a couple of months out from surgery and loving his result. What do you think?
Laser season continues!
Thank you to this lovely patient who has kindly allowed us to share her results. She was particularly concerned about the fine lines and creases around her mouth, and underwent full-field laser resurfacing to target the deeper layers of the skin.
This is just two months after treatment and you can already see a significant improvement in the fine lines and overall skin texture. She’s still a little red and got some more healing to do, but she is already very happy with the improvement. This patient was a bit anxious about having the treatment done, so chose to have it under sedation which means she slept throughout and woke up when it was over!
What do you think?
It’s been six months since we launched the new toxin Relfydess in the clinic so, how is it going?
We’ve undertaken a survey of all of the patients we treated with the new toxin in the first month, who are now around six months since their first treatment, to find out more about what they thought of the results over the longer term - whether it kicked in faster, whether it looked better and whether they felt it lasted longer than the previous toxin.
Here are the results, and the feedback so far is really encouraging with the majority of patients reporting that it kicked in faster, looked better and lasted longer.
If you’d like to see more detail and analysis of these results, check out the link to the blog post in our profile.
Aesthetic interventions are never far from the headlines and this week the media have been focused on comments made by the make up artist Bobbi Brown about her view of cosmetic procedures. I was on BBC Radio Scotland today talking about the issue.
My own view is that we should all age in the way we feel comfortable with - if you are happy with grey hair and wrinkles, then I absolutely admire you just as much as I admire those who feel differently and want a little help to keep the signs of ageing at bay. There is no right and wrong and there is no room for moral superiority. Just you be you!
Have a listen to the debate and let me know what you think in the comments!
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Thank you so much to this lovely patient who has allowed us to share her pictures with you. She was concerned about sun damage and deep lines and wrinkles on her face, especially on her forehead, on her cheeks and around her mouth. She opted for full laser resurfacing which is unrivalled for repairing this level of damage to the skin, but does come with slightly more downtime compared to other laser treatments.
These after pictures are six weeks after this patient’s initial treatment, and while she’s still a little pink (little enough that light make up will cover it!), you can see the she already has beautifully refreshed skin and her deep lines have been significantly reduced.
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What do you think?
We often talk about the deep plane facelift being the gold standard technique for facelift, and we’re proud to have the talented @bramhallplasticsurgery performing it in the clinic.
Here’s Russell explaining how the deep plane facelift offers longer lasting and more natural results than other techniques. By lifting and repositioning the deeper facial structures rather than just tightening the skin, this advanced approach creates a result that looks natural, moves naturally, and continues to age beautifully over time.
If you have any questions about the deep plane facelift just send us a message, or you can see more about the procedure at the link in our profile.
Our 5ml protocol is designed for patients looking for a general refresh - perfect at the earlier stages of the aging process or a gentle start for those further into the process.
This lovely patient came to us with concerns about her nose to mouth lines, some lost volume in her cheeks and her jowls. We used the 5ml protocol to give her an overall rejuvenation which gives her a really natural result that we can build on in the future.
You can a see video of this patient’s treatment at the link in our profile.
What do you think?
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Our dedicated team of experts are on hand to help you as you navigate your journey with us.
When you first make contact with us you will be assigned your own personal Patient Relationship Manager. They’ll start by understanding your needs and liaising with our doctors to book you an appointment with the most suitable specialist. For any additional questions or needs, you can message or call them anytime and they’ll be delighted to assist you. Our entire team is dedicated to providing you with the best possible treatment and care tailored to your needs.
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