The term, laugh lines often refers to the grooves which form around the sides of the nose and mouth. These depressions are also known as nasolabial folds which become more pronounced over time due to volume loss in the lower face. However, the young patient shown here was experiencing the formation of laugh lines, not because of age, but because of acne scar tissue.
Acne Scars and Laugh Lines
Acne scars develop when the skin becomes damaged during the inflammatory process. The immune system attempts to destroy bacteria within the acne. And in so doing, the skin becomes swollen and subject to tears. Thick collagen develops as a result.
Additionally, indentations also form on the skin surface. And when the individual laughs or smiles, creases form along the trajectory of these depressions. Due to the thickness of tissue as well as the loss of elasticity at this point, these lines become more deeply etched into the skin.
Dr. U points out that laugh lines which result from acne scars tend to look different and asymmetrical on each side of the face. However, this is often not the case with nasolabial folds around the nose and mouth.
Static Versus Dynamic Laugh Line Creases
This patient became worried that her laugh line creases were quite visible around her mouth even when her face was at rest. These are known as static wrinkles as opposed to dynamic, where grooves are evident when the individual is laughing or smiling. Static creases are usually more permanent in nature.
Treatment With Radiesse
Radiesse is a dermal filler which is quite effective for improving not only wrinkles, but also facial contours. Instead of being purely a gel, it contains tiny calcium hydroxyapatite particles which align with each other diffusely or densely, depending on where they are injected. This property allows them to actually lift the skin and provide structural support. Learn more about Radiesse here.
To help the patient reduce the appearance of her laugh lines, Dr. U injected Radiesse to fill in the creases and depressions around the mouth area.
One of the attributes which makes Radiesse quite remarkable is its ability to create exceptionally natural looking results with the use of appropriate dosages and injection techniques.
Photos – Patient’s Laugh Line Treatment Results
The patient was able to get rid of her laugh lines with no obvious sign of having any type of treatment done. Here are her before and after photos.
Laugh line indentations seen around patient’s mouth before her Radiesse treatment*
Static laugh line creases seen while patient’s face is nearly at rest prior to her treatment procedure*
Acne scar tissue causes loss of skin elasticity which can result in the formation of etched lines.*
Treatment with Radiesse successfully reduced the appearance of laugh lines – View of left side of face*
Right view of patient’s face showing immense improvement in the depth of her laugh line creases*
Patient Video
This video features the patient sharing her experience and feedback on her Radiesse treatment in her own words.