The concept of reversing the facial aging process without surgery has been around for many years. The fountain of youth unfortunately has yet to be discovered. Yet there are many techniques today that can be used to hide the aging process in a nonsurgical way. One of the most popular is Botulinum Toxin which almost appears to erase certain types of wrinkles like magic in about three weeks after injection. Yet in this section Dr. Pasquale will bring you through a multiple approach to non-surgically rejuvenate the face. The techniques here are all non-surgical which means in most cases you can return to work with no downtime.
Five Step Non-surgical Face Lift
Dr. Pasquale’s approach for non-surgical facial rejuvenation (non-surgical face lift) is a 5 step process. These may be done separately or step by step depending on what you want to accomplish. The best non-surgical results are found when all steps are followed.
- Botulinum Toxin evaluation.
- Fillers.
- Non-surgical skin tightening.
- Non-surgical skin tightening.
- Complexion changing.
#1 – Botulinum Toxin
Dr. Pasquale uses Botulinum Toxin in many ways to rejuvenate the face. As a formally trained micro surgeon trained in facial nerve surgery he possesses an extremely detailed knowledge of the face. This results in a superior use of Botulinum Toxin and its effects. He doesn’t use the cookie cutter approach taught by companies who teach part time cosmetic doctors. These courses last from 2 days to as little as 3 hours. As a plastic surgeon with years of training he is able to conform the technique to your individual variations of nerve and muscle.
Browlift with Botulinum Toxin?
Did you know that Dr. Pasquale can produce a slight brow lift with Botulinum Toxin? It’s true! By relaxing the orbicularis muscle (the circular muscle around the eye) the frontalis (brow muscle above the eye) can actually lift the eyebrow, but obviously not as much lift as a surgical browlift. Perhaps 10%, but still that is very good for a non-surgical treatment. Botulinum Toxin in the proper hands can do simply amazing things.
The frontalis pulls up the eyebrow and the obicularis pulls in the opposite direction more or less. When the obicularis is relaxed with Botulinum Toxin then the frontalis is free to pull the brow up.
— Facial Anatomy – Musculature of the face —
Jaw Reduction with Botulinum Toxin
Dr. Pasquale can shrink the masseter muscle of the jaw with Botulinum Toxin reducing the size of the jaw. This can be used in asians who have a prominent jaw as with many of our Korean patients. It typically takes about three weeks after injection and one can then see a more narrow face. We believe this is more preferential to the surgical approach both in safety and recovery.
Botulinum Toxin to decrease wrinkles on the forehead
As shown in the photos below the proper injection of Botulinum Toxin can decrease frown lines for up to 3-6 months. This will depend on the amount of Botulinum Toxin used, the number and frequency of injections.
#2 – Fillers
There is a group of non-surgical agents for facial rejuvenation we can classify as “dermal fillers’. These are called fillers because they are used to fill in wrinkles in facelift or non-surgical facelift patients. There are various brands available and some differences between each. The concept to grasp is that a wrinkle like the ones found around the mouth known as nasolabial folds are essentially deep valleys. These are the filled in which makes the wrinkle disappear to some degree.
An example of what a filler can do is shown below,
Notice the decrease depth of the lines around the mouth. These pictures are from the restylane company web site which has many before and after photos.
The fillers we use are many, as Dr. Pasquale will use a specific filler for each type of correction. Just like any master craftsman who uses the right tool for the job at hand. Dr. Pasquale has over 7 different filler agents he may recommend depending on your preference. He will always recommend the best one for you.
Click here for a pop up table for the fillers we use in our practice and characteristics of each.
