Glabellar wrinkles need targeted needling with our custom made, very thin but strong single needles that we sell.
The single needle can improve wrinkles in several ways. First we have to understand the characteristics of wrinkled skin. A wrinkle usually has these features:
- Thinned epidermis, especially at the bottom of the wrinkle
- Atrophied dermis
- Reduction of certain types of collagen
- Atrophied fat in the hypodermis
- Reduction of certain glycosaminoglycans (Chondroitin sulfate)
- Hypertrophy of elastotic tissues at the edges and the walls of the wrinkle and its diminution or absence at the bottom of the wrinkle
Needling the wrinkle should trigger new collagen, thicken the dermis and epidermis. That should slowly fill in (at least partially) the wrinkle form inside.
Needling will also improve the wrinkle by releasing the fibrous anchoring of the dermis to the subcutaneous tissue. This procedure called "vertical subcision" is sometimes performed to improve the dimpling of acne scars. You basically cut the connection between the underside of the wrinkled skin to lower layers, making the wrinkle raise up a bit.
Of course, you can't expect wrinkles to totally disappear - they merely can be made less prominent.
If you manage to get the production of new collagen going, this collagen will be there to stay - contrary to injectable fillers which are slowly eliminated by our body). Needling is not going to stop aging of course and your skin will continue to age but you can reduce the severity of the wrinkles.
Unfortunately, needling cannot affect the fat in the hypodermis.
Make many pricks into the wrinkle (while stretching the skin with your other hand). Try to prick from different angles and different depths. Prick the wrinkle's bottom, its walls and its edges. Do not prick deeper than pinpoint bleeding.
If you do not want others to notice you've been wrinkle-needling then prick only one of your "11" lines at a time because they may get quite red and one red line will look less conspicuous than two lines. When the redness has abated, prick the other one. If you have the weekends off, the best time to needle the face is on Friday evening, so that the redness will be gone by Monday morning (it depends how deep and densely you needled). If the area is still a bit red on Monday, camouflage it with makeup.
Wrinkles on the
Glabella are mainly formed by mimics - frowning. Every time you want to frown, do not frown! : -)
If the muscles in that area are more or less permanently in the frown position, use scotch tape or some other type of self-adhesive tape. Stretch the skin into the unfrown position and tape it over to prevent it going back into frowning. If you do this frequently, it will "teach" your muscles not to be in the frowning state.
Do not needle shortly after Botox injections - wait at least two weeks.