Ian Hallam is a cosmetic dentist specialising in facial aesthetics. He treats anyone — from 21- 84. He shares his top cosmetic treatments that can takes years off your face
I’m a smoker. Can you get rid of the fine lines around my mouth? And, should I give up smoking? Smoking has an effect on skin quality and lines and wrinkles will be more visible in smokers because the skin will have less collagen and elastin. Lines around the mouth can still be reduced by several possible treatments including hyaluronic acid skin booster injections, PRGF injections (plasma rich in growth factor taken from the patients own blood) and ablative radio frequency skin resurfacing. For best results, ideally a combination is required and a course of treatment.
How often will I need to top up on Botox after the first treatment? The effects of Botox (botulinum toxin) last for three to five months, which varies with individuals. So, to maintain the effects it is necessary to repeat the treatment after about five months.
What would you recommend as the three best anti-ageing treatments that you offer? There is no best treatment as it depends on the individual and how much the ageing process has affected the facial appearance. The most common treatment used is a combination of Botox and dermal fillers, which should be used in harmony over the whole face to achieve a natural result. It is no good treating one area and ignoring another because this can look odd. Botox is used to relax muscle contractions to soften lines such as frown lines, forehead lines and crow’s feet, as well as prominent bands in the neck. Fillers smooth lines and wrinkles and restore contour and lost volume. Whatever treatment is carried out, it is really important to address skin quality by doing a skin resurfacing and advise an appropriate skincare regime. Finally, to address skin laxity, a thread lift is often ideal.
Silhouette Soft thread lifting — how does this work? Silhouette Soft thread lifting is used to address skin laxity, which is the result of loss of mid-face support due to deflation of the facial fat compartments, resulting in soft tissue descent that leads to increase in naso-labial folds, marionette lines below the corner of the mouth and jowls. Silhouette threads are fine resorbable threads made of polylactic acid, incorporating tiny cones that are placed non-surgically in the subcutaneous tissue just under the dermis of the skin in the vectors that needs to be lifted, typically along the jawline, in the mid-face and in the cheeks. They can also be used to lift the lateral brow that tends to drop and look heavy with age and Silhouette is often used to treat skin laxity in the neck.
The threads are placed using a fine needle after giving a drop of local anaesthetic at each entry and exit point. Patients find there is little discomfort. Once placed, the skin is tensioned to give an immediate lift and the effects increase over the following two to three months due to the stimulation and production of collagen along the threads. The effects last for about 18 months — sometimes even longer!
Top 3 treatments for you to view
