Wrinkle Relaxers – Perth, Albany & Port Hedland, Western Australia

Injectable wrinkle relaxers are a simple, quick and effective way to treat wrinkles and reduce the physical signs of ageing. Dr. Alana Rowick and her team at Vice Aesthetics have been successfully treating patients with wrinkle relaxers for the past 8 years. Feel free to make a booking at any of our Western Australian clinics in Perth, Albany or Port Hedland.

About Wrinkle Relaxer Treatments

Wrinkle relaxers are most frequently used for the treatment of worry lines on your forehead, crow’s feet and the vertical frown lines between your brow which can often make you appear upset or angry, even when you’re not!

They are a very effective treatment for reversing and delaying the visible aging process. As you age your skin quality diminishes as the levels of collagen and elastin in the skin decrease. As a result when you contract your facial muscles to create your facial expressions the skin’s ability to recover from being folded with each of these movements reduces. The more facially expressive you are, the more you risk the emergence of deep dynamic facial lines and wrinkles. Fortunately, treatments such as wrinkle relaxers are an easy, fast non-surgical method of reducing and preventing the onset of dynamic wrinkles without losing your facial expressions. Wrinkle relaxers work by reducing the movement in the muscle that is injected minimising the appearance of wrinkles and creating a more relaxed, youthful appearance.

Wrinkle Relaxers: The Benefits

A more attractive appearance and younger look can have a huge impact on your self-esteem and confidence. From a purely aesthetic perspective, wrinkle relaxers can smooth forehead lines, minimise “crow’s feet”, soften smoker lines around the mouth and even lift the eyebrows back into their previous youthful position. In addition wrinkle relaxers are an effective treatment for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), which can have a huge effect on confidence for both men and women alike. Here are just a few of the benefits you can hope to enjoy from wrinkle relaxers:
 Smoother finer skin
 Youthful lift to your eyebrows
 Younger looking face
 Increased confidence and self-esteem from your new and improved look
 Significant reduction of excessive sweating Reduction in pain associated with tension headaches, migraines and temporomandibular joint dysfunction

The Treatment

Generally the consult process takes about 15 to 20 minutes and involves discussing what to expect during and after the procedure, working out what results the patient would like to achieve and going through the consent process.

The actual injecting is fairly quick and takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Wrinkle relaxers are administered in a syringe with a very fine needle into the muscle of the area being treated. In some cases such as the treatment of excessive sweating wrinkle relaxers are injected even more superficially into the skin.

Generally ice is given to numb the area before injection and the injection sensation feels like a bee sting, but only lasts for a second. If patients are very concerned about the pain factor, local anaesthetic creams such as Emla can be applied 30 minutes before the injections.

After The Treatment

There is mild redness and swelling in the area that lasts for approximately 20 minutes and in rare cases a pinprick bruise can occur. Patients can apply make-up immediately post treatment and leave looking no different. It takes 3 days until the effects of the treatment become apparent and 2 weeks for the full effect. The effects of wrinkle relaxer treatments can last anywhere from 2 to 6 months with average duration of effect being 3 months. Many patients who repeat their treatments as soon as movement in the area starts to return find they get longer and longer out of each subsequent treatment.

The Many Wonderful Uses of Injectable Wrinkle Relaxers...

Although wrinkle relaxers are most commonly known as a cosmetic treatment, hence being referred to as ’wrinkle’ relaxers, they do have many medical applications other than anti-aging.

• Face slimming and cheekbone enhancement
• Brow lifts
• Elimination of “popply” or dimply chins
• Injection of neck bands and subtle jaw lifts
• Treatment of excessive sweating
• Tension headache and migraine treatments
• Treatment of bunny lines (side of the nose)
• Treatment of bunny lines (side of the nose)
• Peri-oral or ‘smoker’s’ lines around the mouth
• Lifting down-turned corners of the mouth
• Masseter muscle injections to reduce teeth grinding
• Reducing the severity and frequency of migraine and tension headaches
• Relieving tempo-mandibular joint dysfunction and pain.

Wrinkle Relaxers: Costs?

The cost will vary depending on the individual patient’s requirements and treatment wishes. We only charge for the amount of product used rather than an inflated “per area” price used at other clinics where you are often paying for more botulinum toxin than you are using. Link to price list page

Best Candidates of the Wrinkle Relaxer Treatment

So you’re asking is wrinkle relaxer treatment right for me? Well to answer your question with a question...

Are you bothered by permanent lines and wrinkles around your eyes, forehead? If you are, there’s no need to be.

The best candidate for wrinkle relaxers is a man or woman with:
 Good health
 Good skin elasticity, and;
 Reasonable expectations

In Australia more than 1 in 10 Australian women aged 30 to 54 have used wrinkle relaxers. In the US according to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2.5 million woman and 300,000 men underwent the non-invasive treatment in 2009. It is the most frequently performed cosmetic procedure for both men and women.

Common Questions?

What are the typical results a patient could expect?
Studies have shown that up to 89 per cent of patients feel they have moderate or better improvement of their lines with wrinkle treatments (obviously this is all relative to how deep the lines are to begin with and depends on patient perception).

Once I start wrinkle relaxing injections do I have to keep them up forever?

Certainly not. We liken the treatment to a new haircut. It’s non-permanent and if you never do it again your wrinkles and face will return to how they were after the 3-month period. But we’re yet to meet anyone who doesn’t love the results….

Taking a conservative approach also means that the highly publicised side effects of wrinkle relaxers are avoided.

How regularly would you recommend a top-up?
Initially three-monthly treatments are recommended, however this does depend on the age of the patient, the severity of their lines and the size and strength of their muscles. Many patients find that with repeated treatment the effects particularly in the frown area, start to last a bit longer each time and after a couple of years most patients find they only need to have treatments two to three times a year.

In younger patients who start treatment with wrinkle relaxers early before the lines are too deep we recommend a top-up only when they start to notice the lines returning which can sometimes be from six to 12 months post treatment.

Commencing treatments before the lines are too deep will save more costly and invasive treatments down the track and will reduce the frequency of wrinkle relaxer treatments required in the future.

I’m worried about looking frozen?
We start with a conservative dose for initial treatment to avoid the frozen look that occurs in patients who have been “overdosed” with wrinkle relaxers. Our philosophy is that we can always add more if you feel you would like to have the effect increased but the vast majority of patients prefer a more natural look.

Taking a conservative approach also means that the highly publicised side effects of wrinkle relaxers are avoided.

Is there anyone who can’t have a wrinkle relaxer procedure done?
Anyone who has an allergy to any of the ingredients in wrinkle relaxers, patients with neuromuscular diseases such as myasthenia gravis or Eaton Lambert Syndrome or if there is any infection or signs of infection at the injection sites (they can’t have the procedure).

If patients are unwell or recovering from surgery, their treatment can sometimes not work as well as it should so it’s best to be in a good general state of health. Patients on certain antibiotics and muscle relaxants should avoid treatments with wrinkle relaxers and treatments are not advised for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding, as there is no data regarding its side effects in these situations.

How long does the wrinkle relaxer stay in my system for?
Wrinkle relaxer remains in the injected muscle for about three months post treatment after which it is broken down very the body and excreted. If injected correctly the wrinkle relaxer remains only in the treated muscle and has no systemic effects

How safe is it?
While wrinkle relaxers have the potential to cause severe side effects and even death if used improperly, when used by a skilled injector with the appropriate small doses needed for cosmetic use, the risk of severe side effects are extremely rare. Redness, swelling and bruising can occur, but resolve within 20 minutes to a few days.

Rarely side effects such as eyebrow drop, drooping eyelid, puffy upper or lower eyelids or headaches can occur. Extremely rarely dry eyes; double vision, difficulty breathing, trouble swallowing, difficulty talking, muscle weakness or numbness can occur.

What if my treatment doesn’t work?
The most common reason that wrinkle relaxer treatments do not have their best possible result is in patients who may have muscles that require higher than normal doses. We advise all new patients to return at 2 weeks post treatment for a review and a top-up if required so they have the best possible, longest-lasting result they deserve. There are a small proportion of people who do not respond well to treatment (less than 5 per cent). However, in most cases where the treatment fails, this is often due to inadequate doses, the location of the injections or underlying anatomy that would prevent treatment success. Rarely some individuals can develop a resistance to bodies by producing antibodies, which attack and destroy the wrinkle relaxer

Note: Due to TGA regulations the name of the injectable wrinkle relaxers used at Vice cannot be mentioned on this website but please contact us for further information.

Contact Dr. Alana Rowick to discuss a wrinkle relaxer treatment customised to your needs via our online contact form or on (08) 9384 1737