What to do For Crow’s Feet in Virginia

Among the wrinkles that form around the eyes, there are perhaps none as well known (and maybe dreaded) as those known as “crow’s feet.” Part of the reason people develop crow’s feet is simply because the eyes are complex and expressive. It takes a great deal of muscle movement and flexibility in order to express happiness, sadness, or other complex emotions. For the purposes of expressing those emotions, the skin around your eyes is tethered to several of those muscle groups. This makes the eyes a particular complex cluster of skin, muscle, and other tissue–a potent combination for the formation of wrinkles and lines–and of crow’s feet in particular.

How Do Crow’s Feet Form?

Crow’s feet get their name from the distinctive pattern of lines that emanate from the corners of the eyes. In many cases, crow’s feet are composed of three separate lines that come together at a point and look like, you guessed it, a bird’s foot. In general, crow’s feet are seen as a sign of aging, and therefore many patients would like to make them as minimally noticeable as possible. In order to treat crow’s feet, it’s important to note their precise cause, as this will dramatically increase the likelihood of effective treatment. In most cases, crow’s feet form because of the way that the skin is attached to muscles around the eye.

Because the muscles of the face–in particular around the eye–are so active, they can sometimes get “stuck” in a contracted position. When this happens, the skin gets stuck too, causing lines and wrinkles. These are often referred to as “concentration lines,” because they show up most often when the brow is furrowed or when you’re thinking. The same applies to crow’s feet. However, in other cases, Crow’s Feet can be the result of excess skin collecting around the corner of the eyes. This happens because the skin loses elasticity as we age, and the skin no longer “snaps back” into place. The result is too much skin in one area and hence the appearance ofCrow’s Feet.

Treating Crow’s Feet Without Surgery

There are, of course, surgical treatments for crow’s feet. An upper and lower eyelid lift surgery or blepharoplasty, facelift, or browlift can reduce the appearance of crow’s feet. But the majority of today’s practices, including the eyelid experts at Sanctuary Cosmetic Center resort to the many non-surgical options available to patients. Results obtained combining nonsurgical treatments are at times equal to those obtained with surgery.

Nonsurgical options for treating crow’s feet available at Sanctuary Cosmetic Center:

• Botox or Dysport Injections: The neuromodulator injection is able to relax the muscles and, therefore, mitigate the wrinkle. Because Botox and Dysport are temporary solutions, your results will generally last for somewhere between three to four months ; if you like your results, you can schedule regular maintenance injections. In this way, Dr. Rostami and Dr. Nazemzadeh have been able to offer patients a non invasive treatment for crow’s feet. If you’re interested in what this treatment can do for you, contact the Sanctuary Cosmetic Center in Northern Virginia to schedule a confidential consultation.
• Dermal Fillers: Best results are obtained when injections of hyaluronic acid based dermal fillers such as Restylane, Restylane Silk or Juvederm are combined with injections of neuromodulators such as Botox or Dysport. The neuromodulators disable the muscles that pull around the corners of the eyes while the dermal fillers fill the wrinkles. The combination gives a gentle lift, while maintaining a soft and natural look.
• Laser Treatments: The power of lasers is now the greatest complement to facial injectable procedures. Injectable treatment of crow’s feet with neuromodulators and dermal fillers combined with laser treatments will restore the glow not only to your crow’s feet but to the entire face. At Sanctuary Cosmetic Center, we offer the Nano Laser Peel and the Micro Laser Peel treatments. Both are minimally invasive laser treatments known to stimulate collagen production leading to greater skin texture around the eyes.
• Chemical Peels: Applied to the crow’s feet area or the entire face, peels offer a great, low downtime improvement to the skin texture and fine lines surrounding the eye area. The peels combine retinol and fruit acids and are an ideal approach. At Sanctuary Cosmetic Center, we offer the Smooth Out Peel for treatment of moderate and fine wrinkles of the eye area. (Please visit our website www.sanctuarycosmeticcenter.com for more information on our peels)

What are the advantages of a non-invasive approach?

• Faster healing
• Near-instant results
• No painful recovery period
• Quick procedure time (many crow’s Feet treatments are performed over a lunch break)
• Temporary results
• The mitigation of lines and wrinkles around the eyes
• Subtle results that look natural

Which treatment is best for you will depend on what is causing your crow’s feet in the first place. Most patients will need an injection of a neuromodulator, such as Botox or Dysport. These injections will force the muscle to relax, releasing the skin from its contracted position and mitigating the wrinkles. It may take several days for your Botox or Dysport results to reach their peak. Our Washington DC area patients who have undergone treatment for their crow’s feet have nothing but great ways to say about the way they look and feel!

If your crow’s feet are caused by excess skin, then a dermal filler injection may be is the most appropriate treatment. In those cases, combining the treatments with a laser or energy-based skin-tightening procedure may be the best way to go. If you want to know more about which non invasive crow’s feet treatment might be best for you, contact the Sanctuary Cosmetic Center to schedule a consultation with Dr. Rostami or Dr. Nazemzadeh–two of the foremost experts on crow’s feet treatment in Virginia.

Crow’s Feet Treatment Results

Depending on your treatment, your final results should become visible within anywhere between 1 day to several weeks. If you have had a Botox or Dysport injection, you will notice that your crow’s feet will become much more difficult to see. Your skin will appear much smoother, radiant, and more youthful. Additionally, your eyes will seem brighter and rejuvenated because they will no longer be surrounded by deep wrinkles. Dr. Rostami and Dr. Nazemzadeh are both incredibly careful to give you enough Botox or Dysport to mitigate those wrinkles but still leave you with a full range of motion and expression. In most cases, these results will last several months.

If you have a dermal filler or laser energy treatment, you will enjoy similar results: smoother, more youthful looking skin. A laser procedure or a chemical peel may require a small amount of recovery (you may be red or feel sunburn-like discomfort); however, in almost all cases, patients can return to work and to normal activities quite quickly.

If you are interested in getting rid of your crow’s feet, but you don’t want to go through the downtime of surgery, contact the nationally renowned eyelid specialists at the Sanctuary Cosmetic Center to set up a one-on-one consultation. Dr. Rostami or Dr. Nazemzadeh will be able to answer your questions and ensure you get the treatment you need! The sooner you get started, the sooner you can say goodbye to those crow’s feet.