Body Dezign House is a cosmetic medicine clinic in Newstead, Brisbane, led by Dr Fatemeh Asadi, MD, FRACGP, GP & Cosmetic Physician (AHPRA MED0000975343), with two decades in cosmetic medicine and general practice. This page explains how smile lines and nasolabial folds are assessed at the clinic in Newstead, Brisbane: depth at rest and during animation, midface volume change, bone-level support, ligament and muscle activity, and skin laxity. Assessment is guided by your anatomy and carries no obligation to proceed. Individual results vary. To enquire, call (07) 3250 0101 or visit the clinic at Unit 3, 104 Breakfast Creek Road, Newstead QLD 4006.
Smile Lines & Nasolabial FoldsNewstead, Brisbane
Body Dezign House is a doctor-led clinic in Newstead, Brisbane. Smile lines and nasolabial folds come from a lifetime of smiling, which is no bad thing. But when they deepen and stay set, they can make you look tired rather than happy. Every consultation here looks at the whole midface, is guided by your anatomy, and carries no obligation to go ahead.
A smile line is never just one line on its own. How deep it sits when your face is relaxed comes from different things than how it deepens when you smile or talk. We look at both. We also look at how the line sits next to the cheek above it, the lip below it, the lower face, and the muscles that move the whole area. All of that shapes what, if anything, is worth doing.Dr Fatemeh Asadi, MD, FRACGP
Dr Fatemeh Asadi, MD, FRACGP brings two decades in cosmetic medicine and general practice to every consultation. She is a Key Opinion Leader for Merz Aesthetics and an Official Trainer for Aptos Threads. This reflects her ongoing role in cosmetic medicine education, including attending national and international conferences, training other doctors and nurses, and contributing her clinical knowledge to the wider medical aesthetics community.
Our approach is careful and honest. We look at what is really driving your concern. It might be loss of support at the bone, change in the deep or surface fat, weaker ligaments, looser skin, or a mix of these. We also look at whether any treatment is genuinely right for you.
Areas Commonly
Assessed
Smile lines deepen for several reasons at once: less volume in the midface, changes in the bone, looser ligaments, busier muscles, and looser skin. A careful assessment at our Newstead clinic weighs each layer on its own before any approach is chosen.
Smile Line
Depth & Movement
How deep your smile lines sit at rest, and how they change when you smile or talk, shapes the midface overall. A fold that has set into the skin at rest can make the face look tired even when the feeling beneath is anything but. Assessment considers depth at rest, depth during animation, and how the fold relates to the cheek above and the upper lip below.
Midface
Volume Loss
The deeper fat pad in the cheek, just above the fold, shrinks with age and lets the soft tissue slide down into the smile line. This is one of the most common reasons a fold starts to look set from your forties on. We look at how full the cheek sits and how much fat is left in the pads above it. We also look at how that change flows down into the line.
Bone
Changes
With age, the bone of the upper jaw and the bony rim at the base of the nose slowly thin, as the body reabsorbs a little of them over time. That leaves less of a frame underneath to hold up the soft tissue around the fold.
Ligaments
& Muscles
Ligaments hold the cheek onto the bone underneath, and several small muscles meet near the corner of the mouth. As those ligaments loosen and some muscles get busier from years of expression, the fold deepens, both when you are relaxed and when you move. We then work out how much of your fold comes from the structure underneath, and how much comes from movement.
Age-Related
Smile Line Changes
With age, several things shift at once: the bone, the volume in the midface, the ligaments, the muscles, and the stretch in the skin. The fold gets deeper at rest, the cheek drops towards it, the upper lip flattens a little, and the skin stops springing back the way it used to. These changes build on each other, so we look at the whole midface together, not the one crease on its own.
Skin Quality
& Laxity
When the skin loses its stretch, the fold settles in place instead of easing out between expressions. We look at the quality of your skin as well as the structure underneath it.
As we age, the cheeks can gradually lose volume and support, making the folds beside the mouth appear deeper. What looks like one concern is often a combination of changes in the cheeks, facial structure, and skin. A good consultation looks at each carefully and helps you understand the most appropriate treatment options for your goals.Dr Fatemeh Asadi MD, FRACGP · GP & Cosmetic Physician
Your Consultation
in Brisbane
Your consultation at our Brisbane clinic starts with a conversation about your concerns and what you would like to achieve. We review your medical history, carefully assess the smile lines and midface, and use VISIA skin analysis where appropriate to gain a better understanding of your skin's condition. We then explain our findings, discuss the treatment options that may be suitable for you, and answer your questions so you have a clear understanding of the benefits, possible risks, and alternatives before deciding whether to proceed. Risks & Complications →
Listening
Assessment
Options
Treatments We
May Discuss
The treatments listed here are examples of what may be considered. They are not a treatment plan and do not mean you will need all of them. Your recommendation may include one option, a combination, or a different approach altogether after your skin has been properly assessed at our Brisbane clinic.
Volume Support
When the cheek above the smile line and the area at the base of the nose lose their support, the fold tends to deepen. An in-clinic treatment may help restore some of that support, so the soft tissue lifts away from the fold rather than the fold being filled directly. Whether this suits you, and where it would help, is only decided at a one-on-one consultation.
Bio-stimulation
Some in-clinic treatments work more slowly, by encouraging your skin and the tissue beneath it to build more of its own collagen over the months after treatment. The idea is to strengthen support from within and to improve the quality of your skin across the midface. Any change then comes on gradually and looks like your own face rather than something added. Whether this is worth considering for you is only decided at a one-on-one consultation.
Muscle Activity Balance Treatment
Sometimes a smile line deepens mainly when you move, as the small muscles around the upper lip and the side of the nose pull on it during expression. Where movement is the main driver, a treatment that balances muscle activity may help ease that movement-related depth, without changing your smile itself. Whether any of this fits your situation is only decided at a one-on-one consultation.
Aptos Thread Lifts
A minor procedure that uses fine, barbed threads to gently lift midface tissue that has dropped, easing it back towards the cheekbone and away from the smile line. Dr Asadi is an Official Trainer for Aptos Threads.
Morpheus8
Combines radiofrequency energy with microneedling to firm and tighten the skin across the midface and around the smile line. It may be worth discussing for skin laxity, texture, and overall skin quality, either alongside or after support-restoring approaches.
CO2 Laser Resurfacing
CO2 Laser Resurfacing may suit you where smile lines come with skin-quality concerns such as fine lines, surface texture, or thinning skin. Whether it suits you depends on your skin type, your concern, how much downtime you can take, and a medical assessment. Suitability is decided during your consultation.
CoolPeel CO2 Laser
CoolPeel CO2 Laser is a lighter resurfacing option with less time away from things, and may suit you where recovery time matters. Suitability is decided during your consultation.
Surgical Mid-Face Lift or Facelift
Sometimes the midface has dropped a long way, the skin is very loose, or the smile lines have set deeper than in-clinic options can soften. In that case, a surgical opinion from a plastic surgeon may be the right next step.
All cosmetic procedures carry some risk and possible side effects. Whether a treatment suits you, what might rule it out, and the full range of possible complications are all discussed at your consultation. Individual results vary, and no outcome can be guaranteed. Read about Risks & Complications →
A few questions
before a consultation?
If you would rather talk to our team before booking, we are happy to take a thoughtful phone call. No pressure, no obligation. Just a conversation.
Frequently
Asked
Sometimes the midface has dropped a long way, the skin is very loose, or the smile lines have set deeper than in-clinic options can soften. In that case, a surgical opinion from a plastic surgeon may be the best next step.
Smile lines deepen for a few reasons at the same time. The bone of the upper jaw and the bony rim at the base of the nose slowly thin, so there is less support underneath. The cheek above the fold loses volume and drops, the ligaments that hold the cheek loosen, the small muscles around the upper lip can get busier, and the skin loses its stretch. We look at each of these layers during your consultation in Brisbane.
How long results last depends on the type of treatment, your own body, the quality of your skin, how active your muscles are, and your lifestyle. Your clinician will talk through how long to expect at your consultation, based on the approach chosen for you. Individual results vary.
A careful approach aims to soften the depth of the fold, not to limit your expression. The goal is a more rested look, with your movement and expression left intact. Treating the structural causes of a deep fold does not affect movement at all. Where movement adds to the fold, any treatment for that is kept gentle and is always talked through in full before anything goes ahead. Individual results vary.
Smile lines sit where the cheek meets the upper lip, so they reflect what is happening above and below them. When the cheek loses volume or the lower face starts to drop, the smile line usually deepens. Restoring support in the midface may soften the fold, while also lifting the cheek around it and easing the look of marionette lines and early jowling. Whether this applies to you, and how much, is decided at your consultation. Individual results vary.
How much downtime there is depends on the approach. Some treatments need very little recovery, with mild bruising or swelling that settles over a few days. Others have a longer settling period of two to four weeks, while the tissue settles and the final shape shows. Your clinician will talk through what to expect at your consultation, based on the approach chosen for you. Individual results vary.
All cosmetic procedures carry some risk, including bruising, swelling, unevenness, infection, problems with blood vessels, and a result you are not happy with. The exact risks depend on the treatment and are explained in full at your consultation, and again on the day of treatment. You can read more on our Risks & Complications page. Individual results vary.
Dr Fatemeh Asadi MD, FRACGP
GP & Cosmetic Physician · Founder, Body Dezign House
Ready for a
Consultation or Treatment?
Book a time with Dr Asadi or her team at our Newstead clinic in Brisbane. New here? Begin with a consultation. Already consulted, or following a treatment plan you've discussed? Book your next session, or reach out with any other enquiry.