Age, sun damage, and smoking are the biggest culprits of deepening nasolabial folds. The sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays break down the collagen and elastin fibers in your skin that keep it smooth and supported. Smoking also breaks down these fibers.
A doctor can greatly reduce the appearance of nasolabial folds using a surgical process called subcision. This procedure is typically used to treat scars and acne marks but may also help with nasolabial folds. During subcision, a doctor uses a needle to break up pockets of tissue.
A major danger zone for dermal filler treatments is at the nasolabial fold, where the facial artery runs right up to it from the jawline and past the corner of the mouth through nasolabial fold. When dermal filler is injected into an artery, it is potentially disastrous.
The simple answer is “no.” Patients often tell me that their aesthetician recommends improving the nasolabial folds (the diagonal lines between the bottom of the nose and the corners of the lips) by injecting fillers into the cheeks. Supposedly the extra cheek volume will lift and smooth the folds.
Answer: Considering options. Botox is not helpful for nasolabial folds. If you are not wanting filler you can consider treatments such as FaceTite or Morpheus8. This will help promote collagen production, tighten skin, and improve tone and texture.
Dermal fillers are often the first treatment option dermatologists recommend for nasolabial folds. It's generally safe and effective, without being as invasive and costly as surgery. Be sure to discuss all side effects and costs upfront before undergoing treatment.
25-35 years old:
Fine lines around the eyes, crow's feet, expression lines, and nasolabial folds start to appear as age increases. Skin begins to sag.
Be sure to discuss all side effects and costs upfront before undergoing treatment. Also, while fillers for nasolabial folds are long-lasting, they won't provide any permanent results. Overall, these injectables last between 6 and 18 months, or when your skin fully dissolves the material.
Massive weight loss can also cause profound deepening of the nasolabial fold. Deepening of the nasolabial fold is due to the significant loss of facial fat. With most weight loss, usually, comes some degree of facial fat loss. With extreme weight loss, loss of fat in the face becomes more extreme.
If you are trying to improve your nasolabial folds, we will probably advise you to use Restylane Lyft, Restylane Refyne, or Restylane Defyne. All of these products contain specialized hyaluronic acid-based formulas that can smooth away your smile lines without making your face look frozen or immobile.
Weight gain – As much as weight loss or loss of fat contributes to the nasolabial folds, so does weight gain. Fluctuations in weight can also lead to wrinkles since weight loss leads to sagging while weight gain enhances the folds' appearance as the cheeks get plumper.
Dermal Filler
Perhaps the most popular treatment for nasolabial fold concerns, hyaluronic acid (HA)-based dermal filler, like Juvéderm®, Restylane®, and Belotero®, can be artfully injected to lift and smooth the creases without simply plumping up the lines themselves.
Of course there is a component to all of our looks that is genetic. To specifically narrow that down to nasolabial folds is hard. But every person has nasolabial folds to some extent because of the way the mouth, jaw, and cheek muscles connect. The pronouncement of these is what differs per individual.
Anything that supports collagen production can improve the appearance of laugh lines by thickening and strengthening skin, and minimizing wrinkles. Simple ways to keep the skin resistant to nasolabial formation include: Using moisturizing skincare products that stimulate collagen, such as hyaluronic acid.
One of the first places that women tend to notice permanent lines on their faces are their nasolabial folds — more commonly called laugh lines. Your nasolabial folds are the normal skin folds that run from each side of your nose to the corners of your mouth, and even children have these folds when they smile.
Believe it or not, when the fold is caused by a tight muscle, the answer is BOTOX. Our Bay Area patients with a snarl or resting “not-so-nice” face can get two quick, easy BOTOX injections (one on each side of the nose) to relax this muscle and soften their snarl and their nasolabial folds.
Massaging improves skin structure and reduces “sagging”
The area of greatest benefit is the nasolabial folds – or, as many of us refer to them, “smile lines.” Massaging causes the cheek tissues to thicken and the skin around the jaw to tighten and move upward. In turn, this helps reduce the appearance of smile lines!
Botox works by relaxing the muscles around the mouth, but it cannot soften the deep folds in the nasolabial area. In this case, a volume-adding injectable like dermal fillers is often the better choice because it can fill the deep wrinkles and smoothen the skin.
Avoid touching the treated area for 3-4 hours following the injection. After that, light make-up can be applied and the area can be gently washed with soap and water. Until the initial swelling and redness have resolved, do not expose the treated area to intense heat (i.e., sunbathing or tanning bed) or extreme cold.
Answer: Laugh lines worse after Filler
This may appear worse because there is swelling from the injection. All swelling should subside in about 2 weeks. If after 2 weeks this does not get better, then please see your injector for an evaluation.
Although extremely rare, dermal fillers are able to migrate within the skin if consistent and adequate pressure is applied to them. For this reason, we advise patients not to get a facial, massage (on the treated skin), or microdermabrasion for the first two weeks following their filler injections.
After nasolabial fold filler
Most of the swelling from the dermal filler will have resolved by 2-3 days after the procedure. There may be a small amount of swelling for even 2-4 weeks after the procedure.
The naso-labial folds from the corner of the nose to mouth are often treated with 0.5ml per side, so often 1ml will be required. The naso-labial folds can also be reduced by placing dermal filler in the cheek area to lift the cheek and reduce the fold.