It still boggles my mind that fine line and wrinkle treatment, using botulinum toxin, can be so effective! More so, it amazes me that over the decades that I have been offering this treatment, more uses keep emerging. From helping depression to boosting skin health, the treatment options available to my patients keeps on growing!
However, the downside can be having to return multiple times a year, which isn’t great if you don’t like needles! So here are some top tips to help you extend the time between your visits…
Making sure your doctor/dentist/nurse practitioner is experienced will go a long way to ensuring you get the right areas treated appropriately. Some patients are regularly recalled by their injector to get ‘top ups’ but, in my opinion, this shouldn’t be necessary, unless it’s the first time you have been treated by the person.
Of course, your body isn’t always predictable, so occasionally you may require adjustments to your fine line and wrinkle treatment after a few weeks. Having regular ‘top ups’ will make Botox® less effective for you, so it’s important to avoid them if you can.
Consider not using face scrubs, masks or toners one week before your treatment. These can alter the chemistry of your skin by causing inflammation, which may result in your fine line and wrinkle treatment being less effective.
Ask your injector about other brands that might work for you. After many decades, new botulinum brands have now been developed, each with their own characteristics and benefits. This means that, if your regular treatment with the Botox® brand isn’t working as well as you’d like, your injector now has other brands they can try to see if they give you better fine line and wrinkle treatment results that last longer.
Any experienced doctor/dentist /nurse will be able to discuss the alternative brands that are available and give their advice on whether they may be helpful to you.
In a study by Koshy JC et al. (Journal of Drugs and Dermatol 2012 Apr;11(4):507-12), researchers found that zinc and/or phytase supplementation boosted the effects of botulinum treatments by 30% on average.
‘Surprisingly, the results showed that in over ninety percent of the patients studied, the zinc/phytase combination resulted in a remarkable improved responsiveness to treatment of blepharospasm using the same amount of botulinum toxin as previously used’, said Soparkar, M.D., Ph.D., an oculoplastic surgeon. ‘The toxins seemed to have a greater effect and last longer. Potentially, this could mean using less toxin, offering patients financial savings, greater safety, and more consistent results.’
Remember that this requires some planning, as studies have shown that you have to start zinc supplements 4 days prior to treatment for them to have any effect!
Now you know my top tips to get the best results from your fine line and wrinkle treatment, it’s time for you to get yourself booked in! You can do so quickly and easily on our website. You can also find all of our contact details on this page in case there are any questions that you would like to ask.
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There’s no doubt that injectables like fillers and Botox® are the most effective line-reducing treatments available. Others might help to some extent but they will never achieve what injectables can. Furthermore, these treatments, in the right hands, are very safe and almost painless. The proof is in the sheer number of people who have been treated worldwide! Allergan reports that, as a brand leader in the field of dermal fillers, they recently achieved a major milestone for their key brand Juvéderm with ‘100 million syringes of their product delivered globally’. Isn’t that incredible?
Some of you might be reluctant to try injectables for various reasons. You might feel scared about ‘losing’ your expressions or you’re worried that you won’t look natural and that others will know you’ve visited a clinic… or are you just scared in general?
Rest assured, safety is my top priority when treating my patients. I like to see myself and my team as ‘gatekeepers’.
Gatekeepers, like us, keep you safe and won't recommend a treatment that's not in your best interest, so there’s no danger of you looking ‘overdone’. If a treatment isn’t right for you, we’ll say so! It’s not just about the look though, we also make sure that you’re in the right headspace. The only reason to undergo any of our procedures is because you want to. Don’t ever forget that! Accountable to our registered bodies (the GDC and HIS), we have to act within clear clinical and safety guidelines or risk getting struck off.
In order to be a gatekeeper, you must be properly trained. I have a Level 7 postgraduate OFQUAL qualification in injectables and I’ve been a dentist for years! What’s more, at No. 4, we have fantastic knowledge and experience - Su and I have over 60 years of clinical experience combined (we know, we don’t look old enough)!
The most important thing when choosing your clinic is to make sure the practitioners are fully qualified. The experience never hurts too though!
You should always expect the best!
Good gatekeepers will always give you all your options and give you time to make your decision as to whether to have treatment or not. We’re not saleswomen, we’re beauty practitioners! We will always conduct a thorough consultation and get to know you first. If injectables don’t suit your medical profile, lifestyle or expectations, we will let you know. After all, we don’t just deal with treatments, we deal with people.
It’s also important that you know you will receive good aftercare. You shouldn’t have your treatment and get kicked straight out of the door! You need to know how to best maintain your results. We’re always on hand to offer advice on which products will suit your skin and my team always want to ensure that you’re happy with your results. In short, you won’t get away from us that quickly…
If you want to get rid of lines and wrinkles, injectables are the best way to do so, but only when you're being treated by experienced, caring professionals.
The first thing to do is book in for your consultation, you can do this easily online. If you’re not quite ready for that, it may be helpful to get to know our clinic better, you can learn more about us on our website or by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Time and time again my clients ask me, ‘Nicci, what happens when my treatment wears off, does everything collapse and will things be worse than before as a result of me having this treatment?’ The answer is a big, fat no! Your Thread Lift, Botox® or Dermal Filler will not only offer stunning results straight after your procedure but also keep your skin looking fresh and youthful in the long run!
‘Nicci!’ I hear you cry, ‘how on Earth can my Thread Lift, Botox® or Dermal Filler keep me looking my best after the product has worn off?’ Well, they do so by increasing your collagen synthesis.
Collagen is a naturally occurring protein in the human body. It’s an essential component of connective tissues and it also gives our skin strength and elasticity. Boosting your collagen production means tighter, more youthful-looking skin!
If you know me and my clinic, you’ll be aware that Thread Lift, Botox® and Dermal Filler treatments are my specialities. I focus on them as they are proven to help you age positively. This means you age well, still looking like yourself but better!
Let’s examine the longevity of these options a bit…
Longevity:
Threads PDO - 12 to 18 months
Aptos PCL Threads - 24 to 36 months
Predicting the longevity of a thread lift is tricky as they differ so much from one another. This means that it’s really important for you to ask your practitioner about the composite of the thread. My advice is to research the thread being used. Polycaprolactone (PCL) threads offer superior strength and longevity compared to Polydioxanone (PDO) threads, so that’s what I mainly use in my clinic. I also love Aptos threads as they’re coated with hyaluronic acid, which helps to speed up your recovery.
You can expect Aptos threads to last about 1-2 years before the ester bonds that hold them together are broken down by your body’s enzymes, metabolised and excreted by your liver. The variability in longevity is down to your particular circumstances, where the thread is placed and how much stress is placed on them.
Longevity:
Botox® injections (for wrinkle reduction) - 3 to 4 months
The breakdown of Botox® is dependent on enzymes that dissolve the molecule and break it down into its component amino acids. These are then either used to build other proteins or excreted by your kidneys. The botulinum toxin molecule is extremely delicate, that’s why it’s broken down so easily and doesn’t last as long as Thread Lift or Dermal Filler treatments.
Longevity:
Dermal Fillers for the lips - 6 to 12 months
Dermal Fillers for adding volume to the face - 12 to 18 months
The longevity of HA Dermal Fillers depends on the chemical bonds that hold them together and their frequency. Without these bonds, the filler chains would be removed from the body very quickly - in less than 24 hours! This means that dermal fillers with strong bonds and more cross-links last much longer.
However, if the filler is injected into a very vascular area such as the lips, the bonds will dissolve rapidly as this area can process it faster. As HA occurs naturally in the human body, once the bonds break down, it is processed and excreted just like your own supplies of HA.
Now you know a bit more about Thread Lift, Botox® and Dermal Filler treatments, you might be ready to book in for your online pre-assessment. However, if you have questions that you would like to ask first you can always contact us via our website or call our team on 07595221484.
You can also visit our website to learn more about all of these procedures and don't forget to make sure you’re following us on Facebook and Instagram to find out more about our team and the treatments we offer.
