Although some people like the character that wrinkles add to their faces, and crow’s feet around the eyes can have the benefit of making smiles look more genuine and empathetic, many women and men agree that reducing wrinkles creates a more youthful, friendly, and revitalized appearance. What patients should be aware of when they’re choosing aesthetic treatments for facial rejuvenation is that while the various different types of facial wrinkles might look similar, they aren’t all the same. Sometimes people use the terms “BOTOX®” and filler interchangeably, but these are actually completely different types of treatments. Deep Wrinkle Filler reviews are great sources of information about the variety of treatments available. Wrinkles appear in all shapes and sizes, and most people have one or more type of facial line. Some types respond better to certain treatments than others, depending on their cause and where they are located on the face. The Cross Medical Group team, which provides a range of minimally invasive treatments along with plastic surgery in the Philadelphia area, explain some of the key characteristics of the two main categories: dynamic wrinkles and static wrinkles.

Dynamic Wrinkles

Many of the wrinkles that we get around the eyes, forehead, neck, and mouth areas occur because of the repetitive movements of facial muscles. Our habitual facial expressions—along with movements involved in talking, eating, drinking from a bottle, sipping from straws, and smoking—cause these wrinkles to form.

This is because the thin layer of skin on the face is attached to the muscles below so that when they move, the skin is routinely pulled and stretched in different ways. Eventually, as we age, collagen and elastin production decline, and our skin can no longer easily bounce back into its resting position after it has been pulled by a muscle. Wrinkles form and become more pronounced in areas where there is high muscle activity and the skin is thinner, such as the eye area, the forehead, and around the mouth. Dynamic wrinkles are primarily visible when the face is animated and are usually the first types of wrinkles to appear, typically on the upper third of the face. Some examples include crow’s feet, frown lines, forehead wrinkles, and bunny lines.

Of course, not smiling or using our facial muscles at all isn’t possible. Neuromodulators like BOTOX® are ideal for softening these wrinkles because they intercept messages between the facial muscles and nerves, so that the muscles won’t contract as much.

Static Wrinkles

Beyond facial expressions that cause wrinkles, environmental stress, lifestyle habits, inflammation, genetics, and normal aging can also cause the physical appearance of our skin to change. Our skin produces less collagen—the protein that is abundant in our skin when we’re young and gives our skin a full, dewy appearance—as we age, so it becomes thinner, more fragile, and susceptible to damage. Additionally, free radicals from sun exposure, air pollution, and other sources break down fibers in the skin.

Lines that aren’t caused by muscle activity are known as static wrinkles. Unlike dynamic wrinkles, static wrinkles remain apparent even when the face isn’t moving. Dynamic wrinkles can sometimes eventually become etched onto the skin, turning into static wrinkles. Some common examples of these types of wrinkles include nasolabial folds, marionette lines, and cheek lines. Static wrinkles are more commonly found on the lower two-thirds of the face. Here are the different types:

·         Elastotic Wrinkles: Crease lines that occur on the lips, cheeks, and the base of the neck due to loss of elasticity from sun damage and smoking

·         Atrophic Wrinkles: Parallel lines caused by damage to the collagen structure

·         Gravitational Folds: Skin folds that occur when the skin deflates due to the force of gravity combined with broken down collagen and elastin

Fillers are an ideal treatment for static wrinkles because they temporarily restore volume to the skin.

Learn more about non-invasive procedures and plastic surgery from the Cross Medical Group team. The best way of finding out whether a treatment is suitable for you is to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. For more details on the causes and treatments for facial wrinkles, call (215) 561-9100 or submit a contact form to schedule a consultation.