Anti wrinkle or muscle relaxing injections act by relaxing the muscles into which it is injected, and thereby inhibiting the formation of wrinkles which form due to the contraction of the skin overlying these muscles. It is most commonly used in the face to treat the wrinkles between the eyebrows (the “glabella”), forehead wrinkles and crow’s feet lateral to the eyes. It can also be used to influence the shape of the eyebrows and to treat some asymmetries of the face and its movement.

Treating early wrinkles which are only seen when the muscles contract can stop the development of permanent wrinkles which will naturally develop over time. Muscle relaxing injections can help to soften these lines once they have become permanent, but may not be able to completely eradicate them.

The treatment consists of injections into the muscles in which you desire weakening. Typically this means 3 injections on each side for crow’s feet, 5 injections between the eyebrows for the glabellar area, and around 8 injections for the forehead (depending on how much of a paralysis is required). Each injection site would usually need 4 units injected for optimal effect, although dosage can vary between individuals. This means around 12 units per side for crow’s feet, 20-30 units for the glabella, and approximately 16-20 units for the forehead. Men usually need higher doses than women.

Following the injection you should start to see some weakening of the muscles at around 3-4 days, with maximal effect usually achieved about one week after the injections. The injections will need to be repeated in around 4-6 months time in order to maintain the maximum benefit.

Example below: Muscle relaxing injections used for crows feet wrinkles.
(Patient is smiling as hard as possible.)

BEFORE

AFTER

Muslce relaxing injections are safe, effective, virtually painless, and have a very little downtime. Like any procedure, however, injections to treat wrinkles are not completely without the risk of side effects. For this reason a muslce relaxing injection needs to be prescribed to you by a doctor, and should only be administered by a properly qualified person who has a good knowledge of the anatomy of the facial muscles that are being treated.

Other uses for muscle relaxing injections

Migraine – people suffering from migraine have been found to have reduced episodes and severity of migraines after treatment with muscle relaxing injections.

Sweating – patients suffering from overactivity of sweat glands may be treated with muscle relaxing injections. The injections are made directly into the affected area (usually the armpit), and act by blocking the nerves which cause the sweating.

• If you would like further information or if you wish to make an appointment to discuss a surgical procedure with Dr Lotz please contact us.