Once upon a time the only answer for an ageing face and deep lines was one thing, a facelift. Now, with advances in non-surgical cosmetic procedures, we have a wide variety of options available. Of course, we’re talking about non-invasive, non-surgical treatments, but are all non-invasive treatments equal when it comes to ridding yourself of the deep creep of nasolabial folds and marionette lines?

What are these folds and lines?

This particular group of Ageing markers includes, ‘smile lines,’ ‘laugh lines,’ ‘puppet lines,’ ‘marionette lines’, those deep folds/lines that extend from the outside corner of your nose and seem to connect to the outer corners of your mouth (nasolabial folds) and run vertical from the outer corner of your mouth down to your jawline (marionette lines).

Both are caused by a combination of genetics, repeated facial expressions, smoking, natural reduction in collagen and elastin – which in turn causes increased skin laxity, sun exposure – over time, constant and continuous exposure to the sun can cause skin damage, wrinkles, changes in the texture of the facial skin as well as the age-related loss of volume in the face. Unfortunately, we cannot change the fact that ever-deepening nasolabial folds and marionette lines are ageing to the overall look of the face.

Nasolabial folds are mostly caused by loss of volume in the cheeks, which cause the skin to “sag”. This happens due to muscle atrophy, fat atrophy, and loss of bone mass.

Suggested Treatments

If loose or sagging skin is the cause of unwanted lines a skin tightening treatment such as fractional radiofrequency, ultrasound or fractional laser may be recommended.

Platelet Rich Plasma is an effective treatment for skin resurfacing, lifting, tightening and rejuvenation.

It is up to your cosmetic injector to recommend a course of treatments, it would be expected to include a combination of Bio-Stimulants, Filler and or Heat based Skin Tightening Treatments.

This is why the consultation process is so important, your cosmetic injector must do a thorough assessment to fully understand your needs. The right treatment will depend on many personal factors, you and your cosmetic injector need to have clear expectations of your final outcome.

It is important to note that not all treatments are equal, some non-surgical treatments have an immediate softening effect, lines are softened but wrinkles are not removed.

Other Non-surgical treatments can take up to 3 months for results to start to show with a noticeable reduction in the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and a softening in the texture of the skin.

Whatever your age, we would strongly recommend a consultation with a reputable cosmetic injector to fully understand the process and to give your a clear understanding of expected outcomes.

The non-surgical field of cosmetic injecting is an exciting place to be, there are so many options available that do not include invasive surgery with long recovery times and painful procedures.

Nicki ❤