More Smiles, Fewer Smile Lines With Nasolabial Fold Filler (Updated 2023)

Photo of a woman with her nasolabial fold area highlighted. Text: How to reduce smile lines?

“Smile lines,” also known as nasolabial folds (NLF), can appear as early as your 20s. These lines, creases, and folds can make you appear tired, sad, or angry, and that’s no laughing matter when it comes to looking fresh, approachable, and your absolute best. If you’re bothered by nasolabial folds, we’re here for you!

At Mabrie Facial Institute, we’ve helped thousands of patients rejuvenate their appearance by correcting their nasolabial folds with dermal filler. Whether your nasolabial folds are subtle or deep, our Injectors can help. Drawn from our many years of experience, here is everything you need to know when planning your treatment.

Nasolabial Fold Filler Before and After

You can see from these photos of our patients that nasolabial folds can affect people young and old, male or female.

Before nasolabial fold filler in San Francisco from Mabrie Facial Institute
Before
After nasolabial fold filler in San Francisco from Mabrie Facial Institute
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Before filler for nasolabial folds in San Francisco from Mabrie Facial Institute
Before
After filler for nasolabial folds in San Francisco from Mabrie Facial Institute
After

Understanding Nasolabial Folds

Diagram showing the nasolabial folds on a  female patient of Mabrie Facial Institute in San Francisco
The nasolabial folds are the bottom edge of the cheek.

Unsure if nasolabial fold filler is the right treatment for you? Let’s start first by identifying the nasolabial folds on your face. The image below can help when examining your face. The area highlighted in blue is your cheek. The white outline at the bottom of the cheek is the nasolabial fold. And while it’s natural for our eyes to zoom in and notice the crease itself, the nasolabial fold is actually the bottom of your cheeks.

Here’s the bottom line on the bottom of your cheeks: When the Midface “sinks,” the unsupported cheek skin slides down and forward, creating the nasolabial fold. Read on for two other reasons you may have NLF.

What Causes Nasolabial Folds? 

The two main causes of age-related nasolabial folds are midface volume loss and muscle movement.

Volume Loss

Losing volume in the midface causes cheek skin to droop downward, creating a crease from the nose to the lips. Midface volume loss occurs with age and can increase over time.

Before nasolabial fold filler in San Francisco from Mabrie Facial Institute
Before
After nasolabial fold filler in San Francisco from Mabrie Facial Institute
After
gif depicting how NLFs develop due to volume loss and sagging skin
As the midface deflates and the cheek sags, the nasolabial fold deepens

Muscle Movement

You may be snarling and not even know it! When your snarl muscles are engaged, the nasolabial folds become visibly pronounced.

A diagram depicting involuntary muscle tension making NLF more pronounced.
A glimpse at the snarl muscles
gif of Kimberly, PA-C snarling
Snarling accentuates the NLF

How To Treat Laugh Lines With Filler

Because the fold results from a loss of support in the midface, we need to restore that underlying structure with nasolabial fold filler. Midface and cheekbone volume loss causes not just nasolabial folds, but also hollows/shadows under the eyes (dark circles) and sagging cheeks. The right amount and type of filler to the midface and cheekbones restores the underlying structure to the middle third of the face, rejuvenating multiple areas and lifting and smoothing the NLF. This can be a game-changer for so many of our patients!

Before filler for nasolabial folds in San Francisco from Mabrie Facial Institute
Before
After filler for nasolabial folds in San Francisco from Mabrie Facial Institute
After
nasolabial folds treatment areas
Treatment Areas

This is a patient who had filler for nasolabial folds. The folds are diminished with the added benefits of decreasing under-eye bags and making the cheekbones pop. 

Dr. David C. Mabrie and Kimberly Rolley, PA-C, explain three ways to treat nasolabial folds.

Why Filler for Nasolabial Folds Alone Is NOT Enough

A common misconception is that you correct NLF simply by adding filler directly beneath the fold. This is how we used to do things, but we’ve learned a better way. Although single-area treatment improves the folds, it does little to help patients look younger. We can dramatically improve results by applying a more holistic approach. The support in the midface brightens and refreshes the under-eye area, restores youthful contours to the cheeks, and smooths the NLF. This is the difference between good and awesome results!

Dr. Mabrie and Kimberly discuss how NLF treatment has evolved beyond just treating the folds themselves.

Reducing Nasolabial Folds With BOTOX

You may be snarling and not even know it! Some people have more prominent NLF due to a facial muscle causing tension in the area. This muscle, responsible for elevating your lip or sneering, can be overactive. This tightness causes a deepening of the crease along the bottom of the cheek. 

before reducing nasolabial folds with botox
Before
after reducing nasolabial folds with botox
After
A diagram depicting involuntary muscle tension making NLF more pronounced.
Involuntary muscle tension making NLF more pronounced.

OK, What’s the Solution? 

Believe it or not, when the fold is caused by a tight muscle, the answer is BOTOX. Our Bay Area patients with a snarl or resting “not-so-nice” face can get two quick, easy BOTOX injections (one on each side of the nose) to relax this muscle and soften their snarl and their nasolabial folds. 

Dr. Mabrie and Kimberly explain how BOTOX can treat some nasolabial folds.

Choosing the Best Nasolabial Treatment for You 

Choosing the best treatment for your nasolabial folds can vary based on your facial anatomy, the severity of your nasolabial folds (is it a crease or a deep fold?), age, etc. The best treatment option is the one that is created for your specific needs.  

The best way to determine the most effective approach to treating your nasolabial folds is to choose an experienced Injector to guide you through the non surgical options.  

How do I Schedule My Nasolabial Fold Treatment? 

We invite you to call us at (415) 445-9513 or request a consultation online for an in-person evaluation with one of our highly trained Injectors. Online consultations are also available by request. Let us know what works best for you!  

In the meantime, check out our nasolabial fold before and after photos and the amazing results we achieve with BOTOX and fillers. People visit us from Daly City, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as other parts of the state and the country. 

The MFI Advantage

MFI focuses exclusively on injectables, and has set the bar in the art and science of fillers for more than 15 years. Dr. Mabrie, trained as a facial plastic surgeon, has dedicated thousands of hours to carefully selecting and training our talented Injectors in the most innovative, effective, and safe techniques for injectables. There is no other practice in the Bay Area with the level of experience, education, and passion for injectables you'll find at MFI.

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6 Responses to More Smiles, Fewer Smile Lines With Nasolabial Fold Filler (Updated 2023)

    • Dr. David Mabrie says:

      Hi Isabel – we would be happy to schedule a consultation/treatment for non surgical nasolabial fold treatment. To get started, please send your contact phone and email to [email protected]. One of our Scheduling Coordinators will contact you to answer any questions and find a time for you to come in! We are excited to welcome you to the practice!

  • FLAVIA BRILLI says:

    How l9bg does the nadolabial fold typi ally take to complete if it involves both midface cheek filler and filler applied to the nasolabial fold?

    • Hi Flavia, thank you for the question! We always tell our patients that treatment takes a minimum of 2 visits! This allows for us to build the most natural looking results. It is important to note that everyone’s anatomy is different, though. For patients with more significant volume loss or deeper folds it could take an additional visit. For the most accurate assessment an in person examination would be needed. If interested in setting up a consultation, feel free to reach out to our office directly at [email protected].

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