Written by Dr Nerina Wilkinson
Three months ago, I would never have guessed that it could be possible that I would see more of myself. But the past few weeks I have been staring at my face more frequently on WhatsApp calls, Zoom meetings, and Google Hangouts. More than ever before! My busy schedule in the past allowed a maximum of 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening of actually seeing myself face on in the mirror.
What I’ve found during this time is that one gets to really see what we look like when we talk and animate in a self-facing camera view. I found myself distorting my face in the craziest of ways to avoid my facial lines making a (too) dramatic appearance to others online.
The first few weeks were acceptable. However, as lockdown wore on and as my muscle relaxing injections started wearing off and the overactive muscles started taking over my whole face, I had time to assess in detail the advantages of my usual regular muscle relaxing injections and for the first time in ages, truly started to appreciate the effects.
(Now just to clarify for those who have no idea what I am talking about: muscle relaxing injections are a toxin known by another familiar name that starts with a B and ends with an X. However in South Africa this name is not to be mentioned commercially and therefore I will be referring to that toxin as Muscle Relaxing Injections).
I was therefore my first patient when our doors opened after lockdown. I wasn’t alone in wanting my toxin treatment as soon as possible, as many of my desperate clients contacted the office for their “quick fix” as soon as we were able to inject again. The most common comment from some desperate patients were that their family started to ask why they are so angry! All because their muscle relaxing injections started to wear off..
We understand that the deepening of these expression lines could have been due to the stress of “the virus”, the pressures of homeschooling (enough to drive any parent crazy), frustrations from working from home, cooking, and cleaning, etc. Legitimate reasons for starting to look older, more “lined”, and stressed.
As we all know the secret to perfect neurotoxin results is that nobody ever knew we had it done; we simply look rested, refreshed, and rejuvenated!
Why do our expression lines get deeper as we age?
Expression lines are due to overactive muscles. As you age the underlying bone and soft tissues lose their volume and this results in the overlying muscles not having support. This is similar to a hammock that loses its support and becomes very lax. Our muscles, therefore, are required to “work” much harder and the lines around the eyes, frown, forehead, and lips become more prominent and deeper.
How can muscle relaxing injections improve dynamic lines?
For antiaging purposes, these injections soften dynamic lines by partially paralyzing the muscle. Therefore if you try to frown, you won’t be able to, smile lines will soften, and by relaxing those pursing lines around the mouth the dreaded visible “barcodes” will be less.
How often do I need muscle relaxing injections?
In most cases, Muscle Relaxing injections paralyze the muscles for 3 – 4 months and should, therefore, be repeated every 3 – 4 months.
An interesting fact about muscle relaxing injections
Some studies have actually shown that regular neurotoxin treatments can enhance mood and fight depression. And as a huge fan of this FDA-approved cosmetic injectable, I can tell you it is true (for me and a lot of my patients at least).
I must admit a few days after my neurotoxin injections took effect, I again felt a boost of confidence. Seeing myself without those crazy facial Zoom distortions gave me a sense of “normality” even if just for a while before I lifted my mask to cover my face before my next patient entered my practice.
Contact our team at Dr Nerina Wilkinson + Associates to secure your neurotoxin consultation to start your journey to a more refreshed and rejuvenated you!
Email us at capetown@drnwilkinson.co.za
