While your eyes may be the window to your soul, your smile is often the area of the face that makes the most impactful first impression. After all, having a beautiful smile can be one of the most memorable things about you. But as we age, it can be hard to feel confident about your smile if you have perioral concerns. At The Aesthetic Clinique in Santa Rosa Beach, FL we know that perioral rejuvenation can be the key to restoring your confidence in your smile.
What Is Perioral Rejuvenation?
Our perioral rejuvenation is called All SmilesTM and is Dr. Weiner’s signature treatment. You can think of this non-surgical and non-invasive treatment a one-step intervention to correct lines around your mouth that may prematurely age you. With a combination of dermal fillers placed in targeted areas on the lips and around the mouth, you can easily restore the beauty of your youthful smile.
What Problems Does Perioral Rejuvenation Correct?
For this treatment, perioral refers to the area of your face surrounding your mouth. This includes several zones, including your lips, the area just beneath the nose, smile lines, the corners of the mouth, and even lines on the chin. Essentially, perioral rejuvenation is the restoration of your lips and mouth area. In particular, some of the age-related concerns that can be corrected with this treatment include:
- Lipstick lines
- Smoker’s lines
- Marionette lines
- Smile and laugh lines
- Low lip volume
- Poor chin projection
- Chin wrinkles and dimples
- Sagging jowls
While some rejuvenation treatments focus on restoring the appearance of lost volume in the cheeks or smoothing lines on the forehead, perioral treatments take care of the lower portion of your face. It can be challenging treating this area of the face because many of the wrinkles in this area are dynamic, or caused by repeated facial movements. However, with a talented hand and the right combination of injectable fillers, you can easily correct the appearance of perioral concerns.
How Does This Treatment Work?
The focal point of this treatment is the dermal fillers that are used to restore volume in the skin and erase the appearance of fine lines. Dermal fillers are injectable, non-surgical treatments that rely on special formulas to increase the volume of your skin. Many dermal fillers are specially formulated to correct concerns around the mouth, which can be a challenging area to treat since the skin will still need to be mobile.
For this treatment, after targeted zones have been marked off, several injections will be placed around the mouth and in the lips until the volume of your skin noticeably increases. It’s common for only one syringe of filler product to be used for your treatment.
Restylane Refyne and Defyne
While many dermal filler brands have specialized products for the lips, we prefer to use Restylane Refyne and Defyne for our patients. Both Restylane Refyne and Defyne are hyaluronic acid-based fillers that seamlessly improve the volume of the skin. Unlike some other fillers, which are dense enough to “lump” beneath the skin, Restylane fillers are uniquely elastic and flexible.
What this means for your treatment is that these fillers will spread evenly beneath the skin to produce natural-looking, smooth results. These fillers are so accomplished at producing subtle results that most people won’t even notice you’ve had work done unless they ask.
How Long Does the Treatment Take?
You can expect your perioral treatment to take about 30 minutes to complete. Even if you have severe concerns, you will usually only need half an hour to complete your rejuvenation treatment. This means you will be able to squeeze your rejuvenation appointment into the middle of your day, even for people with busy schedules.
How Soon Will You See Results?
Some people will notice immediate results from this treatment. The immediate results are largely attributed to the instant volume delivered to the sub-dermal layers of your skin from the gel-like dermal filler. These immediate results may fade slightly a few days after your treatment, but this is part of the settling process.
As your filler settles, the hyaluronic acid in the formula will disperse and be absorbed by the sub-dermal layers of your skin. Then, the formula will attract water to your skin cells, which will improve the volume of your skin in a natural-looking way. This process may take up to two weeks, so it may take one to two weeks for you to see the final results of your treatment.
How Long Will Results Last?
Unlike temporary lip-plumping cosmetics, you can expect Restylane Refyne and Defyne to last for up to 12 months in the lips and around the mouth. Year-long results are most common for most people, although those who have particularly severe concerns may only be able to enjoy results for 10 months, while those with mild concerns may have results that last slightly longer.
When Will You Need Another Treatment?
Because most people can enjoy results for 12 months, the vast majority of patients will schedule annual appointments. One appointment every year gives you a hassle-free treatment plan that will allow you to look your best all the time. Of course, if you notice that your results are fading before your yearly appointment, you should schedule a touch-up appointment so you can maintain your results.
Can You Make Results Last Longer?
It may be possible to make your results last longer if you make simple lifestyle changes. For example, drinking enough water will give your skin the resource it needs to continue looking plump. Using anti-aging products on the skin around the mouth may also prevent the appearance of fine lines. And of course, using sunscreen and other UV ray blocking products can protect the filler in your skin from breaking down more quickly.
Why Do Perioral Concerns Happen?
Perioral concerns can be a frustrating issue to correct, but all perioral concerns share the same combination of causes. In general, most perioral concerns happen as you age, so you may be able to point a finger at daily “wear and tear” to explain these lines and wrinkles. The three specific causes include:
Loss of Collagen
As we age, we begin to produce less collagen in the skin, while leads to a loss of skin support and volume over time. Collagen, as the most abundant protein in the skin, works as a sort of scaffolding to hold your skin in place. With less collagen, the skin begins to fold in on itself, which is what creates lines and wrinkles associated with aging.
Reduced Muscle Tone
There are many muscles around your mouth, and as we age these muscles can experience reduced tone. The loss of tone in the orbicularis oris muscle, or the muscle responsible for puckering the lips, is the most common cause of smoker’s lines. Loss of muscle tone is another byproduct of the aging process.
Sun Exposure
Finally, sun exposure can be a major cause of perioral concerns. Most people remember to put sunscreen on the cheeks and forehead to reduce the chances of sunburn, but sun damage can also easily happen to the area around the mouth and the lips. Most skin experts agree that unprotected sun exposure over a lifetime is one of the primary causes of premature skin aging.
What Are the Benefits of Perioral Rejuvenation?
So, what are the benefits of this rejuvenating treatment? There are several exciting advantages to continue. For example, this treatment produces long-lasting results. Instead of relying on optical illusions and lip-plumping products to create the appearance of a younger-looking smile, you can use this dermal filler treatment to have a youthful appearance around the clock for up to 12 months at a time. Other benefits of this treatment include:
Look Younger
The primary goal of this treatment is to help you look younger. Looking younger has a few snowball benefits, such as being more confident and feeling happier about the appearance of your smile. Looking younger and feeling better about yourself may also inspire you to make healthier lifestyle decisions, such as eating a healthier diet or exercising.
Safe and Simple
This treatment is safe and simple. In terms of safety, hyaluronic acid is a biocompatible molecule that is well-tolerated by most people. This is because hyaluronic acid is a sugar molecule that can be found naturally in the body. However, just like collagen, as we age the body begins to produce less hyaluronic acid, which is why the skin becomes less efficient at retaining moisture and begins to look thinner or drier.
This treatment is also simple, particularly compared to surgical procedures such as a fat transfer. Non-surgical treatments like dermal fillers offer an easy solution for people who want to look better but don’t necessarily want to pay for plastic surgery – either in money or the time it takes to recover. This simple treatment can be completed in less than an hour and has no downtime.
Customizable
This treatment is also highly customizable. Nobody has the same face or age-related concerns, so you must be able to customize your treatment to achieve your specific aesthetic results. You will work closely with your provider to create a personalized treatment plan for you that will achieve all of your aesthetic goals, whether that means smoothing fine lines or dramatically increasing lip volume.
Who Are Good Candidates?
Most people are good candidates for this treatment, particularly people who have used hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers in the past. You should be over the age of 21 with mild, moderate, or severe perioral concerns. A consultation where we examine the condition of your perioral region will be a significant deciding factor for whether or not you are a good candidate for this treatment.
Some restrictions may need to be considered when determining your eligibility. For example, people who have a history of severe allergic reactions may not be able to use this treatment. People who are pregnant or currently breastfeeding may also not be qualified for this perioral treatment. We will take a close look at your medical history, drug allergies, and lists of medications and supplements to determine whether this treatment is an ideal choice for you.
Perioral Rejuvenation Will Make You All SmilesTM
Having a beautiful smile can be the key to unlocking your confidence. But if smoker’s lines, laugh lines, thinning lips, or lipstick lines are stopping you from feeling your best about your smile, then you may want to consider perioral rejuvenation. This dermal filler treatment can be customized to address all of your concerns to help you achieve your aesthetic goals. Please contact The Aesthetic Clinique in Santa Rosa Beach, FL to schedule your consultation today.
