Wrinkle relaxing injections.
A small amount of a muscle relaxing protein is injected into specific muscles so they contract less. The lines those muscles were folding into the skin soften while the effect lasts.
It relaxes the muscle, not the skin.
The injected protein blocks the signal that tells a muscle to contract. The muscle keeps working, just less forcefully, and the skin above it stops being folded in the same place hundreds of times a day. Over the following two weeks the line that fold was creating softens.
That mechanism is why it works on some lines and not others. A line you only see when you frown is being made by muscle, so relaxing the muscle addresses it. A line that is visible when your face is completely still has already been etched into the skin, and while it usually looks better, it will not disappear from this alone.
The effect wears off as nerve endings regenerate, which is why it is repeated rather than permanent.
What it treats, and what it does not.
Commonly treated
- Frown lines between the eyebrows
- Horizontal forehead lines
- Crow's feet at the outer corner of the eye
- Jaw clenching and grinding, by relaxing the chewing muscle
- Bands down the front of the neck
- A gummy smile, and dimpling on the chin
- Excessive underarm sweating, which is a medical rather than cosmetic use
Not what this does
- It does not add volume. Flatter cheeks and deepening folds either side of the mouth are a filler question.
- It does not lift loose skin. That is surgical, and the honest answer is a referral.
- It does not remove a line that is fully visible at rest, though it usually softens it.
- It does not improve skin texture, pores or scarring. Those need resurfacing.
- It does not stop you making expressions, unless too much is used in the wrong place.
What actually happens.
Assessment
Medical history and current medication first, because both can rule this out. Then you are asked to frown, raise your eyebrows and squint, so the muscles can be seen working rather than guessed at.
Marking
Injection points are marked on the skin. The number varies with how strong the muscle is and how much movement you want to keep, which is a conversation, not a fixed formula.
Injection
A very fine needle, a few seconds per point. Most people describe it as a quick sting. The whole thing is usually over in about ten minutes.
Straight afterwards
Small raised bumps at each point settle within an hour. Any redness fades faster than that. Most people go back to work.
Review
Two weeks later, once the effect is fully in. This is when asymmetry gets balanced and a muscle that needed more gets more. Reviewing earlier than two weeks means adjusting a result that has not finished arriving.
Recovery, described honestly.
There is no real downtime, but there are things worth knowing rather than discovering.
- Stay upright for four hours and avoid rubbing or massaging the area that day, so the product stays where it was put.
- Skip heavy exercise, saunas and hot yoga for the rest of the day.
- Bruising is possible at any injection point, more likely if you take blood thinners or fish oil. It covers with makeup after twenty four hours.
- A mild headache in the first day or two is common and settles.
- Nothing happens for about three days. That is normal and not a sign it has failed.
- A heavy or drooping eyelid or brow is uncommon, temporary, and worth calling about rather than waiting out in silence.
Reasons this is declined or postponed.
Standard across any clinic. Raised here so it is known before an appointment rather than at one.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding
- Myasthenia gravis, Lambert Eaton syndrome, and other neuromuscular disorders
- Current aminoglycoside antibiotics, which can amplify the effect
- Active infection or inflamed skin at the injection site
- A previous allergic reaction to this class of treatment
- Anyone under eighteen seeking it for cosmetic reasons
- Expectations it cannot meet, where the honest answer is a different treatment or none
When something else is the better answer.
Worth reading before booking. Two of these are cheaper than treatment and one of them is free.
| Option | Where it genuinely wins | Where it does not |
|---|---|---|
| Wrinkle relaxing injections | Lines made by movement, and jaw clenching. Fast, predictable, no downtime. | Volume loss, loose skin, texture, and lines fully set at rest. |
| Dermal filler | Volume that has gone, and folds that are there whether you move or not. | Anything driven by muscle. Filler in a frown line without relaxing the muscle tends not to last. |
| Resurfacing, needling or peels | Skin quality, fine crepey lines, texture and scarring. | Deeper folds, and anything muscular. Slower, over a course. |
| Good sun protection and time | Genuinely the highest return of anything on this page, and it costs the price of sunscreen. | Does not reverse what is already there. |
| Doing nothing | A reasonable answer if the lines only bother you in photographs, or if you are between other priorities. | Lines from movement keep deepening, so early treatment tends to need less product than late. |
Often asked about together.
About this treatment specifically.
Will I still be able to make expressions?
Yes, when the amount is matched to the muscle. The frozen look comes from treating a strong muscle as though it were stronger still, or from treating every area at once in someone who did not need it. Less can always be added at the two week review. It cannot be taken away.
How long before I see anything?
Nothing for about three days. Movement starts reducing between day three and day five, and the result is fully in at around two weeks. Judging it before then is judging something half arrived.
Why does it last longer for some people than others?
Muscle strength, metabolism and how much you exercise all shorten or extend it. Three to four months is typical. The first course is often slightly shorter than later ones, because a muscle that has been relaxed for a few months comes back weaker than it started.
Does it get worse if I stop?
No. This is the most common worry and it is not what happens. Muscle strength returns to where it was, and the lines return to where they would have been. They do not overshoot.
Can I have it before an event?
Allow two weeks so the result is settled, and three if you want room for a review appointment. Injecting a few days before a wedding leaves no time to adjust anything.
What if I do not like it?
It wears off. That is the honest answer, and it is the reason this is a low risk place to start. There is no way to reverse it early, so the safeguard is using less at the first appointment rather than more.
Is it the same thing as filler?
No, and they are not interchangeable. This relaxes muscle. Filler adds volume. A patient who needs volume and is given muscle relaxing will be disappointed, which is why the treatment gets chosen at the assessment rather than over the phone.
Call and describe what you notice.
416 475 324871 Albert Street, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 4R1.
Simok Aesthetics is a medical aesthetics clinic at 71 Albert Street in Oshawa, Ontario, offering injectables, skin treatments, PRP, vein treatment and IV nutrition therapy to patients across Durham Region.