Botox or Hyaluronic Acid which anti-wrinkle care to choose?

With age, the skin no longer produces enough collagen and elastin, the epidermis becomes slack and the first wrinkles form.

To fill these imperfections, aesthetic medicine offers solutions that have been recently improved in terms of both the products used and the injection techniques.

What types of wrinkles are we dealing with?

In order to know which technique will be best adapted, let’s understand the 2 types of wrinkles that, over time, will take place on our face.

• Expression wrinkles
  The first ones, called expression lines, like the crow’s feet or the lion’s wrinkle for the most famous, are a reflection of life. They are the consequence of our laughter, of our moments of joy but also of anger or anxiety that make us repeatedly contract certain muscles of the face. The repetition and frequency of these contractions linked to our emotions are at the origin of expression lines.
• Ageing wrinkles
  The second, ageing wrinkles, are directly linked to the sign of age and skin slackening.
  Their appearance is linked to the loss of elasticity of the skin but also to lifestyle, lack of hydration and prolonged exposure to the sun.
  This type of wrinkles are mainly located around the mouth, above the lips, on the chin and neck.

The choice of treatment is very important when it comes to filling in wrinkles because it must in no way alter your smile or freeze your expression.

An “expert” doctor in aesthetics will guide you towards the technique best suited to you according to your skin. The consultation is an important step, take the time to think about it and look at the opinions and recommendations before you decide.

• Hyaluronic Acid

Effect and result

Hyaluronic acid is naturally present in our body. It serves to maintain a good level of hydration of our skin. It is a biodegradable and complementary product that can be absorbed by our body. The hyaluronic acid, will come to fill the wrinkles and fine lines at the level of the eyes, mouth, nose and forehead.

Its “volume” effect will also correct the oval of the face, the cheekbones or fade dark circles. The result is visible at the end of the session, the effect is immediate, wrinkles have disappeared.

However, you will have to wait about ten days for an optimal result. Unlike a cosmetic surgery procedure, the injection of hyaluronic acid is not definitive, the effect fades between 9 and 12 months. You will then have to repeat the operation to restore youthfulness to your skin.

Procedure, cost and contraindications

The injections are personalized and the product is adaptable to each skin type. The session lasts between 15 and 30 minutes and takes place in a doctor’s office. The injection is made in the dermis by a very fine needle a few millimetres deep. An anaesthetic cream can be proposed.

It is necessary to count on average 250 to 400 euros per injection. Naturally present in the skin and also in the cartilage, hyaluronic acid has almost no side effects, except for some redness that can be reduced and few contraindications apart from pregnancy, breastfeeding and immune disease.

• Botox or Botulinum toxin

Effect and result

Botox or botulic acid, is an active substance that will help relax the muscles, giving the skin a supple, smooth and relaxed appearance.

Botox will have a “tensor” effect on so-called “dynamic” wrinkles such as horizontal forehead wrinkles, frown lines, crow’s feet, but also chin and neck wrinkles, as well as marked wrinkles around the mouth.

The effects are visible within 48 hours after the intervention and the optimal result will be achieved within 10 days. Touch-ups can be considered during the check-up appointment. As with hyaluronic acid, the results are only temporary and new sessions are to be expected approximately every 5 months.

Procedure, cost and contraindications

The injections are given in the doctor’s office after consultation. The procedure, which lasts between 10 and 20 minutes, consists of micro injections in different parts of the facial muscle. The procedure is painless.

For an injection of botulic acid, the cost is 300 Euros per injection.

Botox injections are contraindicated during pregnancy and breastfeeding, for people with neuromuscular diseases or people taking certain medications. The medical appointment will aim to eliminate any problems. The procedure does not present any major risks, however, it is necessary to control the dosage according to the skin type and the desired result.

These techniques aim to improve physical appearance without affecting the natural expression of the face. Our best advice in aesthetic medicine is to entrust your face to a doctor specialized in this field.

Anti-wrinkle injections are medical procedures that must be performed by specialists at the risk of ending up with a frozen face. Depending on your case and your skin type, other solutions can be considered for an optimal result.