As we age, the skin around our eyes begins to lose elasticity and firmness that leads to laugh lines. Creases, or laugh lines, can also be a result of environmental damage such as exposure to the sun; or they can be hereditary. The deepening of laugh lines is a characteristic of aging that we often want to reduce or eliminate. Depending on your presentation, Dr. Umar, a board certified dermatologist, would use any of several treatment modalities to reduce the appearance of your laugh lines. A single or combination of the following methods can be used:
Augmentation of Tissue
Tissue Augmentation: Soft tissue augmentation is performed by using injectable substances or by various implantable materials. Fillers can be placed into the lips to create a fuller, more youthful look, or in the hollows of the cheeks to reduce a gaunt appearance. Facial scarring from acne or injury also responds well to soft tissue filler techniques. One of the earliest signs of aging is the loss of facial fullness (deflation) and the accentuation of grooves and wrinkles (e.g., laugh lines, etc.). Tissue augmentation could restore facial fullness, and soften grooves and facial lines for a more youthful look.
Dermal Fillers For Facial Lines and Restoring Volume
Radiesse: Radiesse restores a natural, youthful look that lasts. The filler can be used to remove frown lines, diminish blemishes, and restore the natural contours of the cheeks. Numerous medical studies have shown that Radiesse is a safe and effective treatment for filling and correcting smile lines, nasolabial folds, and wrinkles around the nose and mouth.
Simple injections of Radiesse into the nasolabial folds of this patient made a big difference in revitalizing the appearance of her lower face.*
Juvederm/Restylane: Juvederm injectable gel is the next generation hyaluronic acid dermal filler that provides volume and is used to treat wrinkles and folds resulting from a loss of volume beneath the surface of the skin. This filler is natural, biodegradable, and approved as a hyaluronic acid dermal filler that has demonstrated its safety and effectiveness in patients of all skin types and colors.
Surgical Treatment
Silhouette Lift: The new and exciting non-surgical Silhouette Lift procedure is a safe, minimally invasive face-lift alternative that achieves face-lift-like results. The Silhouette Lift is not designed to replace a classic face lift. The Silhouette Lift procedure can be used to give you subtle, natural looking solutions by lifting sagging eyebrows, adjusting asymmetric brows, and repositioning sagging cheeks and jowls.
Face Lifting: The facelift is a cosmetic surgery treatment for wrinkles, pouches, bags, and sagging skin. For severe sagging of the cheeks with jawling, a facelift may be recommended. It could be done under local anesthesia in the process avoiding general anesthesia and the attendant risks that accompany it. Often a neck lift is indicated depending on your presentation. A facelift would involve more surgery and creation of scars that are typically well hidden.
For more information for correcting laugh lines, please contact Dr. Umar at The Office of Dr. U in Los Angeles at (310)318-1500, or visit FineTouch Dermatology.