Lines and Wrinkles

Faces are beautiful and complicated. Lines, wrinkles and furrows have multiple and different causes, and the right treatment depends entirely on understanding which type you have.

Skin changes with age and environmental exposure. It loses its elasticity, so it no longer conforms as smoothly to the moving underlying tissues, and surface texture changes appear that simply were not there before. Some of this is caused by muscles of facial expression pulling the skin in various directions over decades. Some comes from fat pads and other soft tissues descending under the forces of gravity. Some is purely the loss of the elastic, dewy quality of young skin. Sun exposure, genetics, smoking and other environmental factors all make their contribution. The result can be that a person looks tired or grumpy, even when they are neither.

At our Clifton, Bristol clinic we have some great and powerful treatments, both hi-tech and pharmacological, but they need to be used with skill and wisdom to achieve the best and most natural results. We use only the best products and technologies, delivered by the most experienced and appropriately registered professionals.

Surface Lines and Textural Changes

Fine or hatched lines are usually a result of environmental factors, sun damage, dehydration, and the gradual loss of collagen and elastin. They respond well to treatments that restore elasticity and improve skin quality from within. At our Bristol clinic, we address these with the Luminus AcuPulse fractional CO2 laser, microneedling with PRP or polynucleotides, skin peels, and Obagi Nu-Derm skin correction programmes.

Deeper Lines, Grooves and Volume Loss

Deeper lines and hollows are usually the result of changes within the deeper tissues, the descent of fat pads, loss of bony support, and changes in muscle tone. These need a different approach. Dermal fillers can restore volume and structural support. Anti-wrinkle injections relax the muscles causing expression lines. In some cases, minor local anaesthetic surgery can remove excess skin and reposition fat or muscle where non-surgical options alone would not achieve the desired result.

As I often say, most people want to look healthy, natural and less tired, not to start a new life. Leonardo da Vinci taught that facial shape is far more important in defining age than simple lines or wrinkles, and that has always informed the way I approach every treatment.