Anti-wrinkle treatment before and after photos

Before and after photographs are one way to understand what anti-wrinkle treatment does. They also mislead more easily than photographs of most procedures, because the whole effect depends on whether a muscle was contracting at the moment the shutter opened.

Photographs are shown and discussed at consultation, where your practitioner can select cases relevant to your anatomy and the lines you want addressed.

The standards these photos must meet

Before and after images used by registered health practitioners in Australia are governed by the Medical Board of Australia's Guidelines for advertising regulated health services.

Images must be genuine - real patients, real results.
Photographs on this website have been retouched only to protect patient privacy, never to enhance or alter the results of treatment.
Images must carry a clear and prominent disclaimer that results may vary between individuals.
Patients must consent to the use of their images.

Results may vary between individuals. A photograph records one person's outcome, not a prediction of yours.

The one thing to check first: was the muscle contracting?

Anti-wrinkle injections work by reducing muscle movement. Their effect on dynamic lines - the lines that appear when you frown, squint or raise your brows - is therefore only visible in a photograph where the person is actively making that expression.

So a meaningful comparison shows the same expression in both frames - both at rest, or both frowning. A pair showing a frown before and a relaxed face after demonstrates nothing except that the person stopped frowning.

Most credible galleries show both: a resting pair and an animated pair. If only one exists, ask which it is.

Timing

The effect is not immediate. It typically begins within several days and reaches its full extent over roughly two weeks. An "after" photograph taken at 48 hours understates the result; one taken at four months, as the effect wears off, understates it too.

Ask when the after photograph was taken relative to the treatment. Around two weeks is the usual point.

Other things worth checking

Consistent lighting and angle. Forehead and eye-area lines are extremely sensitive to the direction of light. Side lighting exaggerates every crease; flat frontal lighting hides them. A change in lighting alone can produce an apparent result.
Makeup. Makeup in one frame and not the other is not a comparison.
What else was done. Where treatment was combined with fillers, skin treatments or laser, the visible change is not attributable to the anti-wrinkle injection alone.
Static versus dynamic. Deep static lines - visible at rest - soften over time with repeated treatment but do not disappear. A dramatic change in a deep static line in a single treatment cycle warrants a question about what else was involved.

Why your result will differ

Outcomes vary with the strength and bulk of your facial muscles, how deep the lines already are, skin thickness and quality, your age, the dose used and the areas treated.

Some people respond less than expected, and a small proportion respond very little. That is a recognised outcome, not a failure of technique.

What the photographs do not show

How the face moves. A still image cannot show whether expression was preserved or whether the forehead became immobile. This is the thing most people actually care about, and it is invisible in a photograph.
How long it lasted. The effect wears off, typically over three to six months, and maintaining it means repeat treatment. A gallery shows the peak, not the average across the cycle.
Side effects. Bruising, headache, asymmetry and eyelid or brow drooping do not appear in a curated gallery.

Costs

Cost depends on the areas treated and the dose required. As at September 2024 and including GST, a consultation with a Cosmetic Doctor is $150. Injectable treatments in Australia involve prescription medicines that must be prescribed by a doctor following a consultation, and the law restricts what can be published about them - which is why no product names appear here.

Risks

All treatments carry risks. For injectable wrinkle treatments these include pain, redness, swelling, bruising and tenderness at injection sites; headache; infection; asymmetry; spread of effect to nearby muscles causing temporary drooping of an eyelid or eyebrow or altered expression; allergic reaction; and lack of response. Rare but serious effects associated with spread of the injected substance beyond the treatment area include difficulty swallowing or breathing - seek medical attention urgently if these occur.

The full list is on the anti-wrinkle treatments page.

Individual results may vary. Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

See anti-wrinkle treatments, volume enhancing treatments, anti-ageing procedures, or all face procedures.