Wrinkles at Rest vs. Wrinkles in Motion

Wrinkles. They come in all shapes and sizes. But where do they come from and how do they form? As Dr. Schulz explains to patients, wrinkles at rest and wrinkles in motion are complex because aging happens in layers. A combination of volume loss, sun damage, and frequent muscular hyperactivity (frowning, raising eyebrows, even smiling) can lead to a combination of both wrinkles at rest and deepening wrinkles from motion. Think about the skin of the head and neck like a latex balloon that is full of air, lifted and tight, when young. As we age, our skull develops osteoporosis and becomes smaller, our fat pads under our skin resorb and our skin thins from sun damage and other physical stressors. The sum total of that volume loss is that the skin deflates and descends like a balloon, leading to droopy upper eyelids, hollow cheeks, under eye “bags”, jowling, marionette lines, and neck laxity.

Once the volume loss happens, our facial muscle activity leads to increased wrinkling with movement and with time the wrinkles become permanent, especially our forehead lines, crow’s feet and lip lines. So, how does Dr. Schulz treat the wrinkles associated with aging? By implementing a 1+1+1=10 approach, meaning that using more than one kind of treatment in a layered approach, using reasonable doses, will give the most natural and complete result. First, the facial structure and contours are corrected with Sculptra® and fillers. Next the muscular hyperactivity is normalized with neuromodulators like Botox® Cosmetic or Dysport®. Quick, practically painless and with no downtime, Botox® Cosmetic or Dysport® are injected into key muscles of facial expression to relax the muscles and reduce wrinkles in motion. Patients who looked tired or angry from frown lines and crow’s feet see remarkable improvement in wrinkles around the eyes and on the forehead.

In addition to stopping wrinkles in their tracks with Botox® or Dysport, the skin is then resurfaced with procedures such as Fraxel®, microneedling, Clear + Brilliant® or CO2 Laser Therapy. Depending on the severity of your wrinkles, your Infinity provider will determine which resurfacing treatment would be most suitable for you after discussing your skin care goals, budget and if you have any important upcoming events you are planning for.

Finally, daily skin care is used to both prevent additional loss of integrity as well as rebuild skin integrity with proteins and peptides that increase collagen and elastin in the skin. An Infinity and patient favorite is SkinBetter Science LINES. LINES is a no-needle, targeted, hyaluronic acid solution that improves the appearance of lines and wrinkles. Many patients use this as an adjunct to their daily skin care application to reduce and minimize the appearance of wrinkles on their face and neck.

Another tool for minimizing lines and wrinkles is the addition of PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) treatments to hasten the increase in skin integrity. When concentrated and injected into the skin, the contents of PRP stimulate the body’s natural healing process, offering significant improvement in skin texture, color, hydration, fine lines, wrinkles and stretch marks!

For wrinkles in rest or wrinkles in motion, a layered, comprehensive approach can be customized and used for both rejuvenation, or better yet, prevention! To determine what products and treatments would work best for your particular skin care issues, schedule a skin care consultation with one of Infinity’s expert providers today.