Deep forehead wrinkles can make you look older than you feel. As your skin ages it loses collagen and elastin, causing it to grow slack. Sun exposure and genetic factors also can contribute to deep wrinkles above the brows. The two most common forms of forehead wrinkling are horizontal furrows and deep vertical wrinkles between the eyebrows. Both types of lines can be treated with surgical and non-surgical methods for results that last a few months to years.
Injectibles
The injection of botulinum toxin, commercially known as Botox, will temporarily remove forehead creases. Botox works by paralyzing the muscles that contribute to skin wrinkling. With the nerve impulses in affected muscles no longer firing, those areas of your forehead remain smooth. Improvement in appearance can take up to 30 days and last for 4 months. Dysport is a similar product that 'freezes' facial muscles. According to facial plastic surgeon Kamran Jafri, M.D., Dysport may work better for forehead treatment because it naturally spreads better, requiring fewer injections than Botox to cover the same area. It yields results that can last four to six months.
Fillers
Dermal fillers work by filling in the spaces beneath forehead wrinkles, plumping them to diminish their appearance. There are several types of fillers, many of them collagen-based. Your choice of filler depends upon skin type and severity of wrinkling. Recovery time is typically short with minimal bruising and/or redness for a few days after the injections. Results can last from four to nine months.
Laser Resurfacing
Laser resurfacing treats photo-damaged skin while inducing the skin's production of collagen. Light energy in the form of a laser destroys the outer layer of skin while heating the dermis to encourage collagen growth. Laser is effective against age spots, scarring and wrinkles while also encouraging skin tightening. Laser is often combined with other energy sources to treat the underlying dermal layers while protecting the top layers from the burn that is experienced when laser is used alone, avoiding lengthy and unsightly recovering periods.
Chemical Peels
A chemical peel is an acid solution applied to the skin that results in a burn over the top layer of your skin, which then peels away, encouraging new skin growth. Glycolic and salicylic acid are most often used for superficial peels, which only partially remove the top layer of skin. This mild peel requires a shorter recovery period in contrast to the medium-depth peel, which removes all of the epidermis in addition to a portion of the dermis beneath it. Recovery requires a few days, and a series of four to six peels is needed every one to two weeks for maximum results. For both levels of peels, results last about a month.
Surgical Lift
A forehead or brow lift corrects a sagging brow by repositioning the tissue, muscle and skin of the forehead to remove lines and creases there. Incisions are made at the hairline allowing the physician to endoscopically make corrections. A coronal brow lift requires an ear-to-ear incision, which allows for the forehead to be lifted and excess skin removed. Recovery time is greater with a coronal lift. In both procedures the sutures may be removed within 5 to 10 days, with full healing from the swelling and bruising occurring after several weeks.
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