Treatments / Anti-Wrinkle / Crow's Feet
Crow's feet treatment in
Glenroy, Melbourne
The fine lines that fan outward from the outer corner of the eye are called lateral canthal lines. Most patients know them as crow’s feet.
They appear earlier than lines anywhere else on the face for one reason. The skin around the eye is the thinnest on the body, and it sits directly over a muscle that contracts every time you smile, squint or laugh.
Dr Ibrahim Hawli
MBBS · Registered Medical Practitioner
Ahpra registration MED0002627622
Ahpra registration MED0002627622
In short
Crow’s feet are created by the orbicularis oculi, the ring shaped muscle around the eye, acting on the thinnest skin on the face. Sun exposure and squinting accelerate them. Eye creams containing retinoids and peptides improve skin quality but do not affect muscle movement. Clinical options are assessed in person because the eyelid margin is unforgiving of imprecision.
01 / Causes
What causes crows feet
around the eye
One muscle and three accelerating factors. Because this area is thin and mobile, crow’s feet frequently become the first facial lines a person notices, sometimes in the late twenties.
01
Orbicularis oculi
A circular muscle surrounding the eye that closes the eyelid. Every blink, smile and squint contracts it. The skin above folds in a fan toward the temple.
02
Ultraviolet exposure
UV degrades collagen and elastin. Australia records among the highest UV levels globally, and sunscreen application usually stops short of the orbital rim.
03
Squinting
Uncorrected vision, screen glare and afternoon sun recruit the muscle for hours a day. Patients often assume ageing when a component is simply unaddressed eyesight.
04
Skin thinning
Dermal thickness declines from the third decade. There are also fewer oil glands here, and the fat layer beneath reduces. Less support means each fold sits deeper.
02 / Assessment
Dynamic and static lines around the eye
The difference decides what is achievable, and it is assessed by asking you to smile fully, then relax completely. Most patients have both. An honest assessment names which of your lines are which, before anything is recommended.
Dynamic lines
Appear with expression and disappear at rest. Skin elasticity is intact. These respond to reducing muscle activity.
Static lines
Remain visible when the face is entirely relaxed. The crease is a change in the dermis rather than a fold in mobile skin. Muscle focused treatment softens these but does not remove them. Improving skin quality is the relevant approach.
03 / Clinical Detail
Anti wrinkle injections crows feet: what assessment involves
This region sits closest to the eye of any commonly assessed area, and the orbicularis oculi has a functional job. It closes your eyelid and helps distribute tears across the surface of the eye.
Reducing its activity too aggressively, or placing anything too close to the lower lid, can affect eyelid closure and tear film. Assessment therefore includes lower eyelid tone, tear film adequacy, existing dry eye symptoms, skin laxity and how much of your line pattern is dynamic.
Patients with pre existing dry eye or lower lid laxity may be advised against treatment of this region entirely. Australian law restricts advertising of prescription only medicines to the public, so this page names no products, brands or doses.
Documented in the literature
Dry eye is a recognised complication of this specific site
A clinical paper published in the Hawai’i Journal of Medicine and Public Health in 2012 documented dry eye syndrome developing from repeated injection into the lateral canthal region, and proposed a screening guideline for early detection.
The authors noted early symptoms are subtle, often go unreported by patients, and remain reversible if identified early. Symptoms typically begin as occasional irritation or a foreign body sensation, most noticeable in air conditioned, dry or windy conditions.
Reported duration of dryness ranges from three to six months and, in some cases, beyond a year. It resolves unless injections continue.
04 / Common Question
Are crows feet fillers used in this area?
This question comes up often and the answer is usually no.
Dermal filler is not routinely placed into crow’s feet lines. The skin is too thin to conceal a product placed superficially, and the periorbital region contains vessels where filler carries a recognised risk of serious vascular complication. Filler placed too close to the surface in thin skin can also produce visible lumps or a bluish discolouration known as the Tyndall effect.
Where volume loss in the temple or upper cheek is contributing to the line pattern, structural support placed away from the eye may be discussed as part of a broader plan. That is a different procedure from filling the lines themselves.
For established static lines around the eye, collagen stimulating treatment and medical skin treatment are the more appropriate options. Both work on dermal quality rather than muscle movement.
05 / Comparison
Creams for crows feet compared with clinical treatment
Both have a role. They do different things, and expecting one to do the other’s job is where disappointment comes from.
Crow's feet eye cream
Clinical treatment
Acts on
Skin quality: dermal collagen, hydration, barrier
Muscle activity, or dermal remodelling
Dynamic lines
None. Cream cannot reduce muscle contraction
Direct
Static lines
Gradual, modest, over months of consistent use
Gradual, generally greater
Time to change
8 to 12 weeks minimum
3 to 7 days for dynamic lines
Ongoing need
Daily, indefinitely
Repeat appointments
Prescription
Retinoid strength dependent
Yes
Ingredients with reasonable evidence for periorbital skin quality are topical retinoids, vitamin C, niacinamide and peptides. Retinoids have the strongest evidence base for collagen stimulation, and the periorbital skin is sensitive, so strength and introduction schedule should be discussed with a doctor rather than guessed at.
Sunscreen is the exception worth emphasising. It is the only topical measure that prevents further damage rather than treating existing damage. Applied to the orbital rim daily, it does more for long term periorbital ageing than any serum.
06 / Timeline
How long does treatment take to work?
Most patients notice change between three and seven days. Full effect is commonly reported at 10 to 14 days. Fine lines respond faster than deep ones, and crow’s feet are typically among the faster responding areas because the lines are finer than glabellar or forehead creases. Where lines are deeply etched, change is partial.
How long do results last?
Effect on dynamic lines is temporary and typically reported at three to four months. Dose ranging clinical studies in this region have followed patients for up to 36 weeks, which reflects how variable individual duration can be.
Duration depends on muscle strength, metabolism, dose and how expressive you are. Patients who smile and squint frequently often report shorter intervals. Static lines follow a slower path, measured in degree of improvement rather than resolution.
3 to 7
Days to first change
Earliest visible softening for most patients.
10 to 14
Days to full effect
Outcome is assessed at this point, not before.
3 to 4
Months of effect
Movement returns to its previous baseline.
Individual results vary. Not all patients are suitable candidates.
07 / Expression
Will my smile look unnatural?
No, if the assessment is done properly.
The orbicularis oculi contributes to a genuine smile, and reducing it excessively produces a smile that reads as flat. Preserving expression is a clinical goal in this area rather than a compromise. Dose is determined by your muscle strength and your line pattern, which is why examination precedes any recommendation.
08 / Suitability
Who is not suitable
Contraindications assessed at consultation include:
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Certain neuromuscular conditions, including myasthenia gravis
- Active skin or eye infection
- Pre existing dry eye disease
- Significant lower eyelid laxity or poor lid tone
- Previous eyelid surgery, depending on findings
- Certain medications, including some antibiotics and muscle relaxants
- Unrealistic expectations about achievable change
Bring a list of your current medications and mention any history of dry eye, blepharitis or eyelid surgery. In some patients the appropriate recommendation is that nothing be undertaken in this region.
09 / Risks
Risks and side effects
No cosmetic medical procedure is risk free. Documented effects for the periorbital area include:
- Bruising, more common here than elsewhere because the skin is thin and vascular
- Swelling at the injection site
- Dry eye or gritty sensation
- Lower eyelid weakness, uncommon, affecting lid position or tear distribution
- Asymmetry of the smile
- Rare allergic reaction
Because effect is temporary, unwanted outcomes resolve, though this can take weeks to months. Bruising risk can be reduced by avoiding blood thinning supplements such as fish oil and high dose vitamin E in the days before an appointment, where medically appropriate. Do not stop prescribed medication without speaking to your prescriber.
10 / What Happens
What happens at your consultation in Glenroy
Appointments run 30 to 45 minutes. A consultation fee applies and is confirmed when you book. No referral is required.
01
Discussion
What you have noticed, how long it has been present, your medical history, current medications, dry eye history and previous cosmetic procedures.
02
Assessment
The orbicularis oculi is examined at rest and in full smile. Lower lid tone, tear film, skin laxity and line pattern are assessed.
03
Information
What is clinically appropriate, what it involves, cost, timeline, risks, alternatives and the option of proceeding with nothing.
04
Decision
You are not asked to decide on the day. Time to consider information is part of informed consent.
11 / Service Area
Crow's feet treatment for Melbourne's northern suburbs
Tajmeel Cliniq is on Glenroy Road, close to Glenroy Station and the Pascoe Vale Road corridor. Patients attend from Glenroy, Oak Park, Pascoe Vale, Hadfield, Gowanbrae, Fawkner, Broadmeadows, Moonee Ponds, Campbellfield, Craigieburn and Roxburgh Park.
The clinic is on Level 1. Street parking is available on Glenroy Road and adjacent side streets. Sunday and Monday appointments suit patients who cannot attend during a standard working week.
Tajmeel Cliniq
Level 1, 10 Glenroy Road, Glenroy VIC 3046
0404 342 222
info@tajmeelcliniq.com.au
Level 1, 10 Glenroy Road, Glenroy VIC 3046
0404 342 222
info@tajmeelcliniq.com.au
Opening hours
- Sunday10am to 5pm
- Monday10am to 5pm
- TuesdayClosed
- Wednesday10am to 5pm
- Thursday10am to 5pm
- FridayClosed
- SaturdayClosed
12 / Common Questions
Questions patients ask
about crow's feet
If your question is not answered here, ask it at your consultation. There is time set aside for exactly that.
There is no fixed age. Dermatologists report seeing them as early as nineteen in some patients and not at all by thirty five in others. Onset depends on skin thickness, ethnicity, genetics, cumulative sun exposure and how expressive you are. The skin around the eye is the thinnest on the face and the muscle beneath contracts constantly, which is why lines commonly establish here before anywhere else.
They improve skin quality, which helps static lines gradually. No cream reduces muscle contraction, so a line that appears only when you smile will not respond to a cream. Retinoids have the strongest evidence, and daily sunscreen prevents further damage.
No. Dynamic lines respond well but effect is temporary. Static lines soften rather than disappear. Any clinic promising permanent removal is overstating what is achievable.
Not routinely. The skin is too thin to conceal superficial product, and the periorbital region carries a recognised risk of vascular complication. Structural support placed away from the eye is a different discussion.
Vision itself is not affected. The muscle involved closes the eyelid and helps spread tears, so poor technique can cause dry eye symptoms or lower lid weakness. This is why lid tone and tear film are assessed before anything is recommended.
Cost follows assessment and cannot be quoted before examination. A consultation fee applies. Advertising procedure prices without full disclosure of conditions is restricted in Australia.
Related assessments
Upper face lines are assessed together
Written and medically reviewed by
Dr Ibrahim Hawli
MBBS. Level 1 Certification, American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine. Advanced training in non surgical rhinoplasty with Aesthetic Intelligence.
Ahpra registration MED0002627622. Dr Hawli practises cosmetic medicine at Tajmeel Cliniq in Glenroy, Melbourne, and conducts every consultation in person.
Last reviewed: [insert month year] · Next review due: [insert month year]
Your first step is
an assessment.
0404 342 222 · Level 1, 10 Glenroy Road, Glenroy
This page provides general information about cosmetic medical consultations and does not constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to encourage the use of any procedure. Any procedure carries risks. Individual outcomes vary and not all patients are suitable candidates. Any decision follows an individual consultation with a registered medical practitioner. Dr Ibrahim Hawli, Ahpra registration MED0002627622.