Feeling Older through Smiling
The slow development of crows’ feet and fine lines around the eyes are possibly the most annoying things to happen to our faces as we grow older. Crows’ feet may have an attractive element to their arrival on our aging faces, as they show the effects of smiles and laughter through the years. But the feeling of showing those signs of aging really isn’t a laughing matter for many! Most people tend to see a development in their mid to late thirties, and by the time we arrive at our late forties and early fifties, they are a significant feature of the face.
The Fear of losing your Natural Facial Expressions
What puts many people off the idea of Botox treatment around the eyes is the worry that they may appear unnatural and frozen in expression. Okay, so the more observant people who see you every day may well notice that your eyes appear to move a little less when smiling, but many people won’t have a clue that you’ve been treated with Botox. In other words, your smile will alter a little around the eyes but it will not become unnatural.
Skill and Delicacy
The job of the Botox is to freeze certain muscles that are responsible for pulling the eyes into crows’ feet when we laugh and squint. The actual offending muscle is called the orbicularis muscle. Being responsible for the lower eyelid, it also keeps the eyelid against the eye in conjunction with cheek muscles. The skilled practitioner is able to inject just enough Botox into the lateral superior and inferior orbicularis to relax them, but they will not inject enough to cause any drooping to the lower eyelid. It’s a delicate procedure, so it’s really important to choose a skilled practitioner who has had plenty of experience in treating crows’ feet.
Maintaining the Treatment
This is an important consideration for treating the lines around the eyes. The Botox toxin is relaxing the muscles, which in turn gives the skin a chance to recover and the wrinkles to also relax. This is not an overnight process. Firstly, it takes several days after the injection before the Botox effects are noticeable. The effects are not instantaneous, so although the eyes will have relaxed enough for the lines not to appear when you laugh, smile and squint, the wrinkles will take longer to fade away. If you decided to have your crows’ feet treated, you would need to commit to repeated treatments for a minimum of six months to allow the skin to recover. This means receiving an initial Botox treatment, then repeating it after three months. At six months you and your practitioner will be able to evaluate how satisfied you are with the reduction in lines, and have a further treatment. After that, treatments are given every three to four months, whenever movement is noticeable in the treated areas.
Combining Botox with Dermal Fillers
Some people with very deep wrinkles (medically termed as rhytids) will choose to have dermal filler treatment alongside Botox, and are delighted with the results. This combination of treatments works very well together, with a great success in removing the wrinkles and then keeping them at bay by repeat treatments. The dermal filler is injected into the deep wrinkles to plump them out. Like Botox, dermal fillers are not long-term solutions as they are non-permanent in nature, so they tend to slowly dissipate over an average of six months. The most commonly offered types of dermal filler are hyaluronic acid types such as Juvederm and Restylane. If the patient is unhappy with the results, they can be reversed by the practitioner.
The Botox treatment
Botox is measured in ‘units’ rather than by volume. This is because the Botox is a pharmaceutical supplied in powder form. The practitioner makes this up into a sterile solution with saline, which is then injected using short needles. As the dilution varies according to practitioner preferences, the number of units per millilitre (ml) will also vary. Some practitioners prefer a concentrated solution and inject a minute amount into the muscle whereas others tend to make it more diluted. A typical dose for crows’ feet is around 7-8 units in each side, a total of about 15 units. The treatment is preceded by an initial consultation and health check, and takes no longer than about 15 minutes. Afterwards, there may be a little redness at the injection sites but otherwise there is no recovery time and no changes to routine need be made. The gradual result is laughter without the lines.