Glabellar Lines

Glabellar Lines – General Information

The Glabellar Lines (also known as wrinkles) are ridges or creases of the skin which appear due to aging or due to prolonged stay in the water. These lines can also appear as a result of the facial expression, sun damage, poor hydration, smoking and many other factors which have a big impact on the skin. Smoking is the primary factor which leads to the development of the Glabellar Lines. There are many treatments and products such as anti-aging creams which promise to reduce the wrinkles or to prevent their development, but their effect has not been proven yet. The Glabellar Lines also appear due to the fact that with aging the dermis (one of the layers of the skin) begins to lose elastin and collagen and this leads to the dehydration of the epidermis (one of the layers of the skin). Also the fat localized in the subcutaneous layer of the skin begins to disappear and the epidermis begins to sag, leading to the formation of the wrinkles. In order to prevent the appearance of the wrinkles people should not spend very much time in the sun (people should not expose to the ultraviolet sunrays, as these rays lead to the destruction of the collagen from the skin and also they make the skin to produce large quantities of elastin, which is not normal), should not go to the tanning saloons, should not smoke or quit smoking, should moisturize their skin and drink plenty of liquids.

Glabellar Lines – Symptoms

It is well known the fact that any medical disorder (including Glabellar Lines) can trigger a variety of symptoms. Therefore, some of this medical condition's most uncommon symptoms have not been listed (mentioned) here. This is why we strongly recommend you to contact your personal health care provider whenever you develop any unusual, bothersome or unpleasant symptoms. Your personal physician will be able to tell you if you are suffering from Glabellar Lines or from any other medical disorder. Here is a list of the most common symptoms that a person who suffers from Glabellar Lines, may experience.

The wrinkles usually appear as fine lines which are smaller than one millimeter across and less than one millimeter deep. They usually get deeper in time and they are usually more visible on the face and neck and less on other parts of the body. The wrinkles appear in the areas where the skin tends to fold when a person smiles, laughs, cries etc. These lines may appear in the following areas: in front of a person’s ears, on a person’s cheeks, on the upper lip, in the corners and around the corners of the mouth, across the forehead, between the eyebrows (these are called frown lines), around the neck, on the hands and around the corners of the eyes (these are called crow’s feet). The wrinkles which appear as a result of the sun damage usually are accompanied by other signs and symptoms, like small parts of darker skin (which are called liver spots), colored patches of skin (which are also called solar keratoses), dry, rough or sagging skin.

Glabellar Lines – Treatment

The most important thing that the patients must do is to avoid the sun and sunscreen use, because if they do not avoid these two things, the treatment is not helpful. Some of the doctors and personal health care providers recommend the daily use of moisturizing creams, especially those which are sunscreen with SPF 15 or greater and those which contain hydroxyl – acids. With the use of the topical medication the rough skin, dark spots, and little thinner Glabellar Lines may be corrected, but the furrowed skin which usually appears as a “side-effect” of aging can not be treated with topical medication. The creams which contain glycol acid and retinol can also be helpful in some of the cases. The dermatologists may recommend the patients stronger treatments such as: acid creams, acid peels, and stronger retinoids (like Retin A, also known as tretinoin, or Tazorac, which is also known as tzarotene). The dermatologists are now using injections with different material which seem to soften the Glabellar Lines. The botulinum toxin (also known as Botox) can soften the wrinkles, the wrinkles which appear due to squinting and grimacing. The collagen is used in order to elevate the wrinkles.
Some of the doctors and personal health care providers use in the treatment of the Glabellar Lines lasers, in order to minimize the wrinkles. The non-ablative lasers do not cause many side-effects and do not break the skin, but they are not very efficient, but on the other hand, the aggressive lasers (like the carbon dioxide lasers) are helpful in removing the deeper wrinkles, but the patients need a few weeks in order to recover after the treatment, because these aggressive lasers penetrate the skin.

In the case of the very deep wrinkles the doctors usually recommend a surgery named facelift. Although it is very expensive this surgery has excellent results. In order to prevent the apparition and development of the Glabellar Lines, the patients are recommended the followings:

• Not to use sunlamps, tanning beds
• Never lie in the sun, when there are ultraviolet rays
• To wear sunscreen creams on the face and hands
• To cover their heads when they can not avoid the exposure to the sun
• To apply a sunscreen cream with at least half an hour earlier, before going out in the sun. In the patients who have sensitive skin, it is recommended a sunscreen which has a higher SPF (like SPF 30 or SPF 45).
• The people should reapply the sunscreen after going swimming, perspiring of after toweling, in order to have a bigger protection.

The harmful effect of the overexposure to the sun usually build for an entire life, this is why the protection of the skin must begin from the early childhood. Even though the sunscreen creams can help the people, they do not protect them completely from the rays of the sun, especially from the ultraviolet rays which are the most harmful. It is very important for the patients to protect their skin from all the harmful effects of the environment in order to avoid the appearance and development of the Glabellar Lines.