Botox injections and derma fillers are popular aesthetic procedures that are sometimes used in combination treatment. Often people confuse the two injectable treatment options as similar as they are offered as a solution to anti-aging, antiwrinkle treatment options but in reality, they are very different treatments with different results. Botox and Derma fillers are chemically different, have different modes of action, have different goals, and are injected in different areas. However, the two treatment options complement each other yielding better results when administered in combination.
To understand the combination treatment option it is important to understand both botox and dermal fillers differently. Botox is a wrinkle prevention treatment and derma fillers are wrinkle removal treatments. For easier understanding, this article will approach the topic by explaining wrinkle formation, wrinkle prevention, followed by wrinkle removal, and finally benefits of combination treatment.
How wrinkles are formed?
There are three types of wrinkles, dynamic wrinkles, static wrinkles, and wrinkle folds.
Dynamic wrinkles are created due to facial muscles stretching skin when we smile, frown or laugh. Muscular movements are used to create facial expressions as they stretch the skin. Younger skin is elastic and it bounces back to normal. As the skin ages, it loses its elasticity and doesn’t resume the normal state, creating creases and skin folds on the forehead, around the eyes, nose, and mouth called dynamic wrinkles.
Static wrinkles are formed due to loss of plumpness of skin creating visible sagging and loose skin folds. The loss of plumpness happens due to two main reasons:
- As skin loses hydration due to lack of hydration or prolonged sun exposure
- When skin losses fat deposition is under it with aging, health problems, and a poor lifestyle.
Wrinkle folds are created due to severely sagging skin creating grooves and folds that are telltale signs of aging.
How wrinkles can be prevented or delayed?
So wrinkles are formed when the skin starts losing elasticity due to aging, and lack of elasticity. One way to delay wrinkle formation is to keep skin hydrated, moisturized and nourished so it doesn’t lose elasticity. Keep your skin healthy with a good skincare routine, and protect it from UV damage by minimizing sun exposure and wearing good quality sunscreen when you do go out on the skin.
Another approach to delay wrinkle formation is botox injections. A botox injection contains toxins that temporarily paralyze the muscles responsible for creating facial expressions. Since the muscles do not pull on the skin to create facial expressions, this delays the formation of creases and skin folds. The botox injections need to be administered before wrinkles start forming as they are only a preventive measure and can not undo the already set wrinkles. These effects of injections wear off with time and need to be readministered every four to six months to keep the wrinkles from forming.
How to remove or reduce the wrinkles that are already formed?
Surgery is an invasive option for removing wrinkles, and more people are now looking for less invasive non-surgical options. Thread lifts are a relatively less invasive option to consider. However, derma fillers are the most popular wrinkle reduction option as they give controlled natural-looking results and are the least invasive. These injections replace the lost subcutaneous fat with soft tissues or synthetic hyaluronic acid fillers, lifting the loose sagging skin and filling the skin folds and grooves.
Options like HIFU and laser skin tightening are good non-invassive alternatives for wrinkle reduction that stimulate collagen production in the skin, and replenish the skin by triggering natural skin rejuvenation.
Botox and DermaFiller Combination Treatment
Wrinkle formation is not an overnight aging event, you just don’t wake up one day all wrinkled and old. First hints of lines and creases start appearing on your skin in your early thirties, therefore many aestheticians advise people to start botox injections in their late twenties as a preventive measure. However, botox alone will only delay the wrinkle formation and it can not prevent the formation of wrinkles forever. Even if you start receiving botox injections in your late twenties, you will find wrinkles start appearing in your late thirties or early forties. Once the wrinkles start forming, the best choice is to use derma fillers to reduce their appearance and use botox to delay the formation of further wrinkles. This combination approach yields better-looking and longer-lasting results.
The combination treatment plan allows you to treat multiple areas in the face at the same time as you can use botox on the forehead and around the eyes while injecting derma fillers in the hollow of your cheeks, around the nose, and in the neck region.
Administrating botox before the derma fillers will also help the filler last long as derma fillers can break sooner in the areas with more animation and muscular movement. Reducing muscular movement with botox will slow down the wear and tear of derma fillers, delivering longer-lasting results.
Finally, both the treatments are non-invassive, very precise, and can be tailored to yield the results desired results. Best results can be achieved by choosing a certified, experienced doctor.
