COLLAGEN REPLACEMENT THERAPY

Collagen also known as Zyderm and Zyplast is a safe, non-surgical approach that replaces the skin's natural collagen and smoothes out facial lines. The wearing down of your skin's natural collagen, which is a network of fibers providing the support structure for your skin, causes these lines. Collagen Replacement Therapy helps to smooth facial lines and augment the skin by supplementing the collagen under the skin. Collagen can be injected in vertical lip lines and edge of the lip to enhance the definition of the lip border and make the lips appear fuller and more youthful.

The procedure is performed in the office and takes about 20 minutes. It is important to have a simple test on your forearm to make sure that you are not sensitive to Collagen implants. 97% of people will show no reaction to the skin test and can be treated.

Results are immediate but not permanent. Just like your natural collagen. Injectable collagen begins to lose its form and will eventually wear down. Full correction occurs and is maintained only with a series of treatments. Most people find they need to repeat their treatment every 3-6 months for correction to continue.

BOTOX

Botox is not filler but is actually a medication that can temporarily weaken muscles that cause wrinkles. It is most commonly used for frown lines, and smile lines (crow's feet). It is frequently used on the forehead to weaken deep horizontal lines. Treatments last 3-8 months but often two or three sessions are needed early on to get a good baseline result similar to the use of collagen. After that touchups may occur at longer intervals.

Botox blocks impulses from the nerve to the tiny facial muscles that are related to expression lines. Botox relaxes the muscles so that they do not contract. After treatment, the overlying skin remains smooth and unwrinkled while the untreated facial muscles contract in a normal fashion, allowing normal facial expression to be unaffected.

Botox comes from Botulinum Toxin Type A, a neuromuscular blocking agent that has been FDA approved since 1989 for the treatment of crossed-eyes, tics, spasms, and other medical conditions. The cosmetic use is not FDA approved, however it has been used widely for wrinkle correction since 1990 with excellent results and few complications. The results can be dramatic and may provide the only alternative to surgery for many wrinkles and folds.