Wondering why your skin is wrinkling? Many of the lines and creases we get on our face occur in areas where there is a tendency for frequent and repetitive movement, such as around the eyes. Intrinsic aging isn’t the primary cause of happy-face grooves like crow’s feet and stress lines such as glabellar lines and forehead wrinkles. Instead, these creases form due to your skin bunching up and stretching due to the underlying facial muscle contractions required to make expressions. It’s impossible to avoid all facial movements—and you wouldn’t want to stop smiling, frowning, or communicating other emotions—but patients often use injectables to temporarily relax the overworked muscles that contribute to wrinkles. Wrinkle relaxers from our Portland-based team will still allow you to freely make expressions by moving untreated areas of the face, but will also reduce the severity of wrinkles in targeted areas to give you a more energized and youthful look.

One of the questions we often get from patients is, “What’s the best age to start getting wrinkle-reducing injections?” Plenty of patients, and especially those in their 20s and 30s, are starting to use preventative BOTOX® as a technique to prevent premature aging.

Unlike standard muscle-relaxing injections that are performed to reduce existing wrinkles, preventative BOTOX® is used to stop the earliest signs of faint lines on a resting face from becoming prominent, visible wrinkles. Some physicians also believe that preventative treatments can stop additional wrinkles from forming. The idea is to keep wrinkle-making muscles relaxed before they have a chance to start creating noticeable lines. The approach is proactive rather than reactive, which can also result in patients needing fewer injections as they get older, since their muscles will have gotten used to not contracting as much.

Patients who have very expressive faces may be good candidates for preventative treatments. Remember, though, that BOTOX® shouldn’t be overuse, and it’s vital for younger patients to also maintain good skincare practices such as sun protection, getting enough sleep, reducing stress, eating a healthy diet, and keeping skin hydrated. Another critically important factor is choosing an experienced and professional provider who will make honest recommendations and perform any treatments with skill to safely maximize the cosmetic benefit.

Want to enjoy healthier, more youthful-looking skin? Contact us at Portland’s Waldorf Center for Plastic Surgery by calling 503-646-0101 or filling out a contact form to request a consultation.