Lines, folds, creases, or furrows, they’re all part of the changing conditions related to getting older. These things we call wrinkles have a variety of origins and we must take these into account when it comes to anti-aging treatments.
There are two major reasons wrinkles form, as well as countless variations in skin types and environmental exposures that influence wrinkle development. There’s no single cure-all wrinkle reduction option that improves every condition.
Visiting Jennifer A. Baron, MD assures that you’re in the care of an experienced dermatologist who understands the physiology behind the lines forming on your face. Dr. Baron matches treatment to your needs, ensuring you’re happy with the improvements in your appearance. Today we look at how wrinkles form and the best options for their treatment.
There are factors with aging skin that make wrinkles more likely. The middle layer, full of collagen and elastin, starts to lose volume. Since this also leads to the storing of less moisture, the surface layer loses support and hydration.
Those factors alone don’t cause wrinkles, but they do make wrinkles more likely, since your skin becomes vulnerable to what’s happening below the surface.
These occur because of the actions of expression muscles, motions that occur frequently throughout your life. As time passes, your skin doesn’t spring back as easily as it did when you were younger, so it reveals expression muscle profiles.
Muscles themselves start to change. Expressions like smiling, concentrating, or frowning occur so often that sometimes muscles take on semi-permanent contractions. They never fully relax and you may be left with lines and expressions that don’t accurately portray the way you feel.
Reflecting the loss of elasticity in your skin, passive wrinkles also fall victim to gravity. Surface skin now reveals every crag and crevasse in the deeper skin layers. You can no longer depend on the presence of collagen to smooth over these rough spots. Skin becomes loose and starts to sag.
Since wrinkles emerge from two different problems, you need more than a single solution.
The leading treatment for active wrinkles, Botox® works on those contracted expression muscles that form on your forehead as well as between and beside your eyes. The active ingredient in a Botox injection is a powerful yet safe neuromodulator that overrides the contraction signals, allowing your muscles to smooth out. When your muscles relax, your skin simply follows. Your worry lines and crow’s feet settle down and your appearance changes, all for the better.
Loss of collagen is less of a problem than it may seem at first because your body retains the ability to manufacture new tissue. It does so in response to an injury. The trick is how to create an artificial injury that permits the generation of a smooth, new layer of collagen to support your skin.
Enter microneedling. Using tiny needles to pierce your outer skin, Dr. Baron often combines microneedling with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to speed the natural healing process. As new collagen forms, your skin gains volume and hydration, looking and feeling younger and tighter. Fine lines and wrinkles fill in, minimizing their appearance. Best of all, it’s a drug-free treatment that encourages your body to make the necessary corrections.
Dr. Baron also offers dermal filler injections for passive wrinkles. Unlike Botox, dermal fillers don’t treat a condition. Instead, they fill the voids and volume losses that create the characteristic signs of passive wrinkles. Fillers harness the hydrating benefits of hyaluronic acid, a substance you have naturally throughout your body. While fillers are largely a passive solution, they’re long-lasting and effective.
You always have access to Dr. Baron’s dermatologic expertise. With her own line of skincare products, Dr. Baron can help you with the individual anti-aging challenges you face. Call the office at 408-214-1330 to schedule a consultation today.
