Many patients are interested in improving facial skin tone, texture, wrinkles, and discoloration. The good news is that there are ways to work on all of these problems…the bad news is that most people need a combination of therapies to achieve the best results. Howard Plastic Surgery keeps this in mind when creating the right plan for your results.

The three most popular non-invasive therapies for the face are Botox, Fillers and Laser Skin Rejuvenation. Luckily, Dr. Howard is an expert at all three!

Botox is the easiest and most dramatic way of smoothing lines caused by facial muscle movement with expression, such as the frown lines between the eyes, the horizontal forehead lines, or the crow’s feet on the sides of the eyes from squinting or smiling. Botox is primarily used for the upper face area, but can be used strategically on other areas of the face and neck, as well. Depending on the patient’s age and skin issues, Botox may be best when combined with either one or both of the other two therapies, fillers and laser.

Fillers are a gel-like substance made of hyaluronic acid, which can be injected directly under a wrinkle to lift and fill it out. Fillers can also be injected deep, just above the bone, to create the effect of a cheek or chin implant or defined jawline. Softer fillers are now available specifically for the vertical “lipstick” lines above the upper lip to eliminate lines, while still allowing natural movement.

Laser Skin Rejuvenation is a treatment that is more dramatic but is sometimes necessary to take care of the fine lines, enlarged pores, or brown spots on your skin. For example, not every line can be corrected with Botox nor every wrinkle smoothed by placing filler under it. Think about the thin skin under the eyes or the fine vertical lines of the mid cheeks. For those areas, laser is ideal, since fillers could lead to a visible bump.

A prime example of the multi-therapy approach is the upper lip lines. While Botox can ease the pursing of the lip, obviously you don’t want your lip completely paralyzed. This means Botox can be used in small amounts but cannot completely do the job. The next step is to add a soft tissue filler to the deeper lines right above the upper lip. Now you are left with those tiny, more superficial lines, where the laser comes in to resurface the skin. By doing all three approaches, you have achieved the best possible result.