Anti-wrinkle injections, three areas: what each one does and how they work together

The upper face has a set of muscles that spend the day pulling in different directions: the forehead lifts, the muscles between the brows pull down and in, the ones around the eyes squeeze. The lines each of them leaves are the lines the treatment softens.

The three

• The forehead. Horizontal lines from raising the brows. Treated lightly, so the brows still move.
• The frown. The vertical lines between the brows, from concentrating and squinting. Often the area people mind most.
• The crow’s feet. The fan of lines at the outer corner of each eye, from smiling.

Why together

Treat the forehead alone and the frown muscles, no longer opposed, can pull the brows down. Treat the frown alone and the forehead can over-lift. Planning the three as one balanced dose is what keeps the face looking like itself, just rested.

The light-dose approach

The aim at this clinic is movement with softer lines, not stillness. A lighter dose, reviewed at two weeks and adjusted if needed, gives a result people around you notice as “well rested” rather than “done”.

What happens at the appointment

After the consultation and the medical form, the practitioner asks you to frown, raise your brows and smile, and marks the points where the muscles are working hardest. The injections follow those marks: a series of very small amounts, each taking a second, across the three areas. Ten minutes for the treatment itself. There is no numbing, because the needle is finer than the sting of the cream would be worth, and most people say it was less than they had braced for.

The two-week review

The treatment is fully in at two weeks, and the review is where the dose is judged. One brow sitting a little higher than the other, a line that still shows, a forehead that feels heavier than you like: each of these is adjusted with a very small amount or noted for a lighter dose next time. The review is how the treatment stays right across years rather than drifting towards the frozen look that a heavy first dose invites.

Before and after

• Avoid alcohol, aspirin and ibuprofen for two days before, to keep bruising down.
• Stay upright for four hours afterwards, and do not press, massage or rub the treated areas that day.
• No exercise, heat or facials for twenty-four hours.
• Make-up from the next morning; a small bruise, if one appears, hides under it.

Questions people ask

Will I still be able to frown: yes, less. Will my eyebrows drop: not with a balanced dose across the three areas, which is the reason for treating them together. What if I do not like it: it fades over three to four months and nothing is permanent; a lighter dose next time is always possible. Does it hurt: a series of quick stings, over in ten minutes, with no numbing needed. Can I have it at lunchtime: yes, and be back at your desk with nothing to show but a rested look in a fortnight.

• Three to five days for the first softening, two weeks for the full effect.
• A review at two weeks, and a small adjustment if one is needed.
• Every three to four months, with the interval stretching as the muscles learn to rest.

Where the neck and lower face are part of the picture, the full face and neck option treats everything as one plan rather than area by area.