Muscle relaxaing injectables and fillers offer a quick fix for wrinkles and restoring volume to lips and cheeks, but did you know they also have a host of other applications for facial rejuvenation?
Below we list 12 alternative uses for facial injectables pioneered by plastic surgeons and aesthetic specialists. Some of the treatments are “off-label”, which means the product hasn’t been approved for that specific use, but it highlights the versatility of injectables and how they can provide an alternative to more invasive surgery.
6 Ways muscle relaxants can be used on the face and neck
1) Brow lift
Injectable muscle relaxants not only smoothes your brow, it can lift it too. It works by relaxing the orbicularis oculi muscle that surrounds the eye. This allows the forehead muscles to pull upwards and elevates the eyebrows.
Meanwhile, placing injections at the ends of the eyebrows, raises the tail of the eyebrow. This can help correct upper eyelids that are starting to sag and open up the eyes so you look more awake.
2) Nose lift
As we age our nose can begin to sag. The tip can drop down and become more hooked, which can make the whole face look droopy. Placing a small amount of injectable toxin at the base of the nose can actually raise the nasal tip.
The injection is placed between the nostrils, or possibly into the nose tip itself. This relaxes the fibres of the depressor nasii septii muscle that pulls the nose downward. The result is a perkier nose for 4 to 6 months. Flared nostrils can also be treated by injecting the ala (outer rim of the nostrils).
3) Lip lift
What’s a lip lift and how does it differ from lip filler, you might ask? While filler plumps out the lips, a lift pulls the lip line upwards. This rolls the lip gently outward, giving the appearance of a more shapely, sexier pout.
Also referred to as the ‘Lip Flip’, it’s performed by injecting tiny drops of a specific toxin along the upper lip border. It can be used alone, or in combination with fillers for full enhancement.
4) Jawline slimming
The masseters - the major jaw muscles responsible for chewing, grinding and clenching - can become thick and prominent with age. This gives some women a square, wider-looking face. But injecting a muscle relaxant along your jawline can shrink and thin out the masseter muscle.
The hard angles of the jawline become softer and more rounded, giving a more feminine appearance. The treatment can also make your cheeks appear more lifted and relieve the pain caused by teeth grinding.
5) Jowl tightening
We don’t just lose facial volume as we age, the muscles in our lower face and neck shrink and tighten. This pulls our face down and causes saggy jowls. Injecting those muscles (specifically the depressor anguli oris and the platysma) relaxes them and prevents the downward pull.
This means the appearance of sagging around the jawline and under the chin will be improved and you will enjoy a more defined profile. Results can be seen in just a few days and will last for three to four months.
6) Neck smoothing
Injecting into the platysma muscle, which extends from the collar bone to the jaw, not only helps release tension on the jowls, it also relaxes the neck. This temporarily erases the lines that run horizontally, and helps soften the vertical platysmal bands.
Platysmal bands can start to enlarge and protrude as we age, resulting in the appearance of thick, tight cords. To treat the neck, tiny amounts of muscle relaxant toxins are injected into the muscles all the way around the neck.
6 Ways Filler can be used on your face and neck
1) Nose shaping
Although fillers were originally used to fill lines, thanks to innovative techniques, doctors can now sculpt the face and enhance features like never before. They can even carry out a non-surgical nose job.
Although they cannot make your nose smaller with filler, they can smooth over humps or bumps to make the nose appear straight. And by applying filler around the tip of the nose, it can make the nose appear thinner and more refined. It can be done in minutes but results only last 12-18 months.
2) Chin boosting
If you suffer from a weak chin that is not in proportion with your other features it can make your face look unbalanced. A few years ago, the only option for altering your chin was an implant, but now your chin can be sculpted using filler.
The benefit of filler over an implant is it can be added little by little, until the chin is the perfect shape and size to suit the rest of your face. It’s also far less invasive, however, the result is only temporary and your chin will need topping up every 9-12 months.
3) Erase eye bags or under eye hollows
Eye bags are surgically treated by removing volume below the eye; with filler they are treated by adding volume. The filler is used to smooth over where the pouch meets the cheek, thereby softening the depression and the shadow it creates.
To treat under eye hollows, on the other hand, filler is used to restore volume and plump out the hollow areas. Filling the void reduces the appearance of dark circles and also addresses wrinkled, crepey skin beneath the eyes.
4) Fill acne scars
Inflammatory acne can leave behind pitted scarring, permanently altering the texture of your skin. Options for treatment include laser skin resurfacing or deep chemical peels, but if your scarring is isolated rather than widespread, filler could be a good option.
Injecting underneath an atrophic scar plumps and lifts the area resulting in a more even finish. Plus, natural collagen development that occurs as a healing response post-injection, can further improve the appearance of the skin.
5) Fill hollow temples
One area of the ageing face which is often overlooked is the temples. But surprisingly, the loss of volume in the temples can have a profound impact on its appearance. That’s because it’s an important part of the ‘scaffolding’ of the face, preventing a downward sag.
Treatment of temple hollows can make you look refreshed by helping to restore the youthful positions of the cheeks and jowls. It also smoothes over the bony ridge around the eye socket and improves the appearance of sagging, wrinkled skin around the eyes.
6) Fill neck lines
In addition to Botox, filler offers another option for treating neck lines. Filler can be a preferable treatment if your neck lines are not caused by overactive platysma muscles. Other causes for neck lines can be skin trauma, dehydrated skin or even habitually looking down at devices (‘tech neck’).
Different points on the neck are injected with hyaluronic acid filler to lift the skin and create tension that smooths out the wrinkles. The procedure takes less than twenty minutes but post-injection bruising will take around 10-14 days to subside. Results last for about a year.
What could injectables do for you?
If you don’t want to go under the knife, there’s a lot that can be achieved with injectables alone. Make an appointment with Ocean Clinic Group to see what the best treatment options are for you.