Kathy,

Thanks for your question about facial lines.  In general facial lines are caused by sun exposure, age and muscle contraction.  Wrinkles take two forms, lines that are only present with muscle activity ie. scowling or smiling, and lines that have become etched in and are present at rest, but may be made worse with muscle activity.  Lines of the upper face such as the forehead and smile lines (crows feet lines) are very much a result of repetative muscle contraction.  The lines around the mouth are also a result of muscle contraction, but are less able to be treated with muscle relaxation.

The treatment of wrinkles begins with good skin care.  We offer a full line of PCA skin care products and can recommend the products which would be most beneficial.  We then utilize Botox to treat the muscles responsible for the lines especially around the eyes, frown lines and forehead lines.  Even if you do laser treatment or some other wrinkle treatment Botox will maintain your result and in some cases is all you need in addition to good skin care.  Botox is less helpful for the lines around the mouth, but can be used in small quantities.  For lines that are there at rest as well we utilize various methods of skin resurfacing and fillers.  Skin resurfacing can be as mild as a light peel or we may utilize Fraxel, a deep peel or even dermabrasion in select cases.  Facial fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm and Radiesse can be employed for deeper lines and folds.

Through this combination approach we are able to provide substantial benefits to aging facial skin without performing lifting procedures.

Please take some time to look at our before and after gallery and by all mean give us a call.  We would love to see you.

Ed Buckingham