Sun exposure is the main cause of wrinkles but lifestyle factors and genetics also play a significant role in wrinkle development. No matter what the cause, a multi-faceted approach to prevention and treatment is recommended. A home regimen of prescription products, medical grade cosmeceuticals and meticulous sun protection provides the first line of defense.

Botulinum toxin injections and dermal fillers can reduce or eliminate wrinkles by relaxing facial muscles or adding volume under the surface of the skin.

More advanced options address the uneven skin texture through laser resurfacing, which has been the gold standard of wrinkle treatments since CO2 lasers were shown to remove wrinkles and stimulate new collagen in the 1990s. These older treatments required significant recovery times and occasionally resulted in long-term complications.

More recent advances in laser technology have reduced recovery time and the chance of complications while maintaining the capability of improving the appearance of wrinkles. These newer lasers treat a fraction of the skin surface and are known as “fractional” resurfacing lasers, and are used to provide both ablative laser resurfacing and non-ablative laser resurfacing.