Facial wrinkles can make you look tired, unapproachable, or older than you actually are.

The answer for these types of wrinkles can be found in what are called neuromodulators –- prescription medications injected directly into the facial area to reduce and improve the look of moderate-to-severe wrinkles. A short office visit can take years off of your appearance in just a few minutes.

Duke Eye Center offers several neuro modulators, many of them new to the market.

Botox Cosmetic

Botox has been used for medical therapies since the 1970s, but its cosmetic use was only approved in 2002. It is a purified protein that allows the muscles beneath the skin to relax, thus causing less dynamic wrinkles from repeated movements of the face (crow’s feet, forehead wrinkles, and the like).

Botox is most often used to treat wrinkles around the eyes and forehead. In addition to its cosmetic uses, Botox can also alleviate depression, migraine headaches, and some facial pain and can minimize hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating) of the hands or underarm.

Botox is not advisable for patients with myasthenia gravis or Eaton-Lambert syndrome.

You will begin to enjoy the effects of Botox in about five to seven days, and the effects usually last up to four months.

Dysport

Dysport is an injection used to temporarily improve the look of your moderate to severe frown lines without changing the look of your whole face. The untreated facial muscles still work normally, allowing you to freely show facial expressions, such as smiling, in untreated areas.

Dysport is a formulation that has been shown to deliver temporary improvement in moderate to severe frown lines, even with repeat treatments. So, the effect of repeat treatment with Dysport may be comparable to your first use.

Dysport is not advisable for patients with myasthenia gravis or Eaton-Lambert syndrome.

Xeomin

Xeomin is the latest botulinum toxin A that was recently approved by the FDA for both functional and cosmetic purposes. 

It was developed in hopes that a more pure form of the toxin could be available to patients. This product provides a significantly less protein load to the patient so hopefully patients will have less chance of developing complications such as antibody formation. Unnecessary complexing proteins are removed from the molecules so that the product is delivered in its most pure form.

It works very similar to Botox Cosmetic as far as time to see results and duration of product effect and side effects.