Nurse-led · MorpethAnti-Wrinkle Injections in Morpeth, Northumberland

What anti-wrinkle injections do

Anti-wrinkle injections — also called wrinkle relaxing or muscle relaxing injections — work on the small muscles that fold the skin every time you frown, raise your brows or smile. Soften the movement and the lines that movement creates soften with it. Used well, the result is a face that still moves: you look rested rather than treated.

They are a muscle treatment, not a filler. Nothing is added to the face and no volume is created. Lines that sit in the skin when it is completely still are a different problem and often need a different answer, which is one of the things the consultation is for.

The three standard areas

• Forehead lines — the horizontal lines across the brow
• Frown lines — the vertical glabellar lines between the brows, often called the 11 lines
• Crow's feet — the fan of lines at the outer corner of the eye

They can be treated singly or together, and most clients settle into a rhythm of three or four treatments a year. Treating the frown alone is common and perfectly sensible; treating the forehead alone rarely is, because the brow needs the frown muscles balanced or it can feel heavy.

Beyond the standard three

Brow lift, bunny lines on the nose, a downturned mouth, a dimpled chin, jaw slimming and a gummy smile are all treated with the same class of medicine in different placements. Those sit on our advanced anti-wrinkle areas page, along with the Nefertiti lift and treatment for jaw clenching and grinding.

Who carries out the treatment

Rachel, one of our two aesthetics nurses, leads the injectable side of the clinic. She assesses your face at rest and in movement, discusses what is realistic, and places the treatment herself. If the honest answer is that you do not need it, she will tell you — and that happens more often than you might expect.

The prescription appointment

The medicine used is prescription-only. In the UK that means it cannot be supplied without a face-to-face consultation with a qualified prescriber, and our prescriber is independent of the clinic. The prescription clinic appointment is £50 and takes about ten minutes. It is required before a first treatment, and it is the step that makes everything after it safe.

Any clinic offering this treatment without that step is cutting a corner that exists for your protection. It is worth asking the question wherever you go.

What to expect on the day

Treatment takes around thirty minutes. A very fine needle is used and most people describe it as a brief scratch. You can drive, work and go about your day straight afterwards. Avoid heavy exercise, hot yoga, saunas and facials for twenty-four hours, and try not to rub the treated areas.

Results and the free review

Movement begins to soften from around day three and settles fully by day fourteen. We offer a free review at two weeks so the result can be assessed properly and adjusted if an area needs a little more. Results typically last three to four months, and many clients find the interval stretches with regular treatment.

Preventative treatment

Younger clients often ask about starting early to stop lines setting in. It is a reasonable approach where there is visible movement and a static line beginning to form, and a poor one where there is not. We would rather discuss it honestly at consultation than sell it.

When it is not the right treatment

Deep static lines, volume loss, skin laxity and crepey texture do not respond to muscle relaxation, and treating them this way produces a frozen forehead and the same lines. Depending on what we find, the better answer may be Profhilo, polynucleotides, microneedling or dermal filler placed for support. We will say so.

From the journal

• Your first anti-wrinkle appointment, honestly

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