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Doing away with wrinkles...
By Dr Yves HÉbert
Over the years, cosmetic medicine has become a modern science that uses advanced technologies and evolving techniques. This type of medicine is an art form, and the physician who practices it is the artist. Armed with a palette of products and technologies, coupled with his "artistic" sense, the physician can restore youth and radiance to lifeless skin, play with the volume of an aging face, and modify the body of less slender forms in a harmonious way.
Here is a brief overview of available technologies that camouflage the signs of time.
Heredity, sun exposure and smoking are the most significant causes of skin aging. However, we must not overlook the role that other factors play in the aging process, including nutrition, hydration, exposure to air pollution and free radicals.
The face and hands are often more damaged due to the direct exposure to air and signs of aging manifest themselves into wilting skin and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Here are some examples:
- Around the mouth: marionette lines that lower the corners of the lips and perioral lines, where lipstick often gets lodged in the creases.
- On the glabella: frown lines, the two or three vertical wrinkles between the eyebrows that increase heaviness to our look and give the face an air of severity.
- Crow’s feet: fine lines that fan out towards the temple from the corner of the eyes.
The effect of this product is temporary, so treatment has to be repeated a few times a year.
Static wrinkles caused by the weakening of tissues benefit greatly from dermal fillers.
Numerous products are available in Canada and with such a highly competitive market, it is expected that many others will soon be made available.
Depending on the type of wrinkles and the preference of the physician, different fillers can be used.
- Temporary injectables are effective for six to twelve months. Collagen-based (Evolence) and hyaluronic acids (Restylane, Juvederm, Teosyal, Esthelis, etc.), are among the best known. Recent scientific data suggests that hyaluronic acid injections have increased longevity when used in the deep layers of the skin for such procedures as replenishing volume in the cheeks.
- Temporary injectables with greater longevity (Radiesse and Sculptra), can be effective for up to two years, and are ideal for volume restoration and contouring of the face.
- Semi-permanent injectables (Artesense, Artecoll), are used for deeper wrinkles, and can last for several years.
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