What we treat / Marionette lines
Marionette Lines and Nasolabial Folds
Marionette lines run from the corners of the mouth down toward the chin, and the nasolabial fold runs from the nose to the corner of the mouth. Both are folds rather than surface wrinkles, which is why creams do so little for them. They deepen as the fat pads in the cheek thin and descend, so the treatment that holds restores volume where the support was lost rather than filling the line itself.
Why they happen
There are fat pads in the cheek that thin and drop over time. As they move, the skin folds along the boundary where the mobile part of the cheek meets the fixed part beside the mouth and chin. The same movement produces both folds, which is why they usually arrive together.
Because the line is a fold and not a crease in the surface, the fix is structural. Filling the line directly is the obvious move and it is rarely the right first one. The volume belongs higher, where it went missing.
How Dr. Mauer treats it
The main treatment
Dermal Fillers
Volume restored in the cheek, above the fold, so the tissue is supported from where it fell rather than propped up at the crease. Dr. Mauer injects every patient himself.
Read about dermal fillersOften alongside
Thread Lifts
Where the lower face has begun to descend as a whole, threads lift the tissue and hold it while collagen forms along the line of the thread. Treating the fold on its own is the most common reason a result looks filled rather than lifted.
Read about thread liftsWhat to expect
- Appointment
- 30 to 60 minutes
- Discomfort
- Numbing cream first, then pressure more than pain
- Downtime
- Some swelling for a few days, occasional bruising
- Visible
- Immediately, settling over 2 to 4 weeks
- Lasts
- 12 to 18 months for most people
Results for this concern
Individual results vary. Photographs are published only with each patient’s written consent.
Questions about marionette lines
Can the line just be filled directly?+
It can, and in a deep static fold a small amount does go into the line at the end. On its own it tends to look like a filled line. Restoring the cheek first is what makes the fold soften naturally.
How much filler will I need?+
That depends on how much volume has gone, which is why nobody can quote you a number before seeing your face. Dr. Mauer will show you in a mirror what he intends to change before anything is booked.
Will my face look bigger?+
The volume goes back where it used to be rather than on top of what is there. Patients describe the result as looking rested. Dr. Mauer declines to do more than the face will carry.
Is this the same as a liquid facelift?+
That phrase usually describes treating several areas of the face with filler in one appointment, which may well be what he recommends. He will tell you at the consultation whether the folds alone are worth treating or whether the face is asking for something broader.
