“Wrinkles” covers three different problems. Lines that only appear when you move, lines that stay when your face is still, and folds where the skin is draping over lost support. Each responds to something different, which is why people who treat all three the same way end up disappointed with one of them.
There’s a thirty-second test that tells you which you have. Do that first and the rest of this article gets a lot shorter.
The quick version
| Type | How to spot it | What treats it | When you notice it |
| Movement line | Disappears when your face is completely still | A prescription route; see a prescriber | Ask a prescriber |
| Skin-quality line | Stays at rest, softens when you stretch the skin sideways | Profhilo, polynucleotides, microneedling | From the first day |
| Fold | Stays even when stretched, reads as a shadow | Filler, placed where support was lost | Same day |
The mirror test
Relax your face completely and look straight on, with light in front of you rather than above.
What vanishes when you’re still is a movement line: the muscle underneath is making it. What stays but softens when you gently stretch the skin sideways is a skin-quality line. What stays even then, and looks more like a shadow than a crease, is a fold.
All three sit under fine lines, wrinkles and sagging skin on our skin conditions page, which lists each concern alongside the treatments that suit it.
Most people over 35 have all three, in different places on the same face. So the thing to work out before you book anything is which of the three is actually bothering you.
Skin-quality lines: the ones we treat best
Fine lines around the eyes, crepiness on the cheeks and neck, the texture that makes skin photograph badly in flat light. Collagen, elastin and water-holding capacity have dropped in the dermis, and all three can be prompted back.
Profhilo works on hydration and laxity. A 2026 systematic review of nine studies found improvements in skin laxity, hydration, elasticity and density along with a reduction in wrinkles, with mild and short-lived side effects. Two sessions a month apart is the standard protocol, which makes it the easiest of the three to plan around.
Polynucleotides work on the tissue itself, and the range includes formulations made for delicate areas — there’s a version for the eye area specifically. Two or three sessions, with the change building gradually.
Microneedling improves texture by prompting the skin to repair, and it’s the one that also helps shallow scarring.
What people notice, in the order they notice it: skin that feels smoother under make-up, then tone evening out, then the fine lines looking softer in daylight.
Which treatment suits which area
That’s a rough guide. It’s also why we assess first: the same face often needs two different things in two different places.
Around the eyes. Thin skin, constant movement, and the first place crepiness shows. Polynucleotides made for the eye area tend to suit best; heavier products here read badly.
Cheeks and mid-face. If the texture is the issue, Profhilo or microneedling. If the flatness is the issue, that’s support, and a different treatment.
Neck and décolletage. Often forgotten and often the giveaway. Skin-quality treatments work here, though it heals more slowly than the face and we’d go gentler.
Around the mouth. Thin skin plus heavy movement, so it’s usually a combination rather than one thing, and the most technically demanding area on this list.
You don’t need to work this out in advance. It’s what the consultation is for.
When it’s a fold
Where the skin is draping over a gap, hydration won’t close the gap. What restores support is volume, which means a filler placed where the support was lost.
That last part is the whole craft. Injecting into a deep fold usually leaves a ridge that catches the light. Rebuilding the area that collapsed lets the fold soften on its own, and that’s what a natural result looks like.
When it’s a movement line
The treatment for lines caused by muscle movement is a prescription-only medicine, and Irish law doesn’t allow us to advertise those to the public. It exists and it needs a prescriber, so that conversation has to happen with one.
One thing to know: a movement line that has been there long enough eventually marks the skin as well. At that point you have two problems in the same spot, and they need two different treatments.
How long before you see it
The first day. With filler, the support is there the same day and settles into its final shape over about two weeks. With the skin-quality treatments, most people see a change from the first session: skin that feels smoother and looks better hydrated. How much depends on your skin type, your age and the line we’re treating, and the result keeps building from there.
Weeks one to two. Small bumps at injection points settle within hours. Any bruising fades.
Weeks three to six. Skin-quality treatments start to show. Hydration first, then texture.
Weeks six to twelve. The visible change, and the point at which we’d review photographs with you.
Filler is the exception: support is there immediately, and it settles into its final shape over about two weeks.
What you can do that costs nothing
Worth saying, because two of these outperform anything we sell over a ten-year view.
Daily sunscreen. Skin-quality lines are largely accumulated sun damage, and protection is the only thing on this list that slows the damage instead of treating it afterwards. The HSE’s guidance is short and worth two minutes.
Not smoking, which affects collagen directly and shows around the mouth first.
Sticking with one routine. A retinoid used properly for a year does more than four different actives used for a fortnight each.
None of it closes a fold or fills a hollow, but it does make whatever we do last longer.
Where to start
If you’re not sure which of the three you’re looking at, that’s exactly what the consultation is for, and ours is free and online.
We’ll tell you which category each thing you point at belongs to, what we’d treat first, what it costs in total rather than per session, and what falls outside what we do.
You’ll be seen by a registered nurse, at a nurse-led clinic with more than fifteen years of clinical experience behind it. That’s the part that decides whether you see a change from the first session or wait around for one: reading the skin correctly, and treating the right thing.
Book your free online consultation →
Common questions
Which should I treat first? Usually support before surface, if you have both. Treating skin quality over a collapsed area looks better for a few weeks and then stops looking better. We’d agree the order with you and do it in stages.
Will one session be enough? Profhilo is two. Polynucleotides two or three. Microneedling three or four for texture. Each is planned as a short course, and the results build afterwards.
Does it hurt? Numbing cream where it’s needed. Most people find it more uncomfortable than sore. Expect small raised bumps for a few hours and occasional bruising.
Am I too young to start? There’s no age at which this becomes appropriate. What matters is whether there’s a specific change a specific treatment can address. If there isn’t yet, we’ll say so.
How far ahead of an event should I book? Four to six weeks for skin-quality treatments, and at least two for filler. Not the week before.
