Botox
A Lesson: Lip flip vs Lip filler
You’re ready to rid yourself of the stubborn lines on your forehead, but how long exactly will your Botox treatment last? This is a question we always address in our consultations, and the answer really comes down to science. Sit back and relax while we give you the cliff notes version of your neurotoxin, how it works, and how long you should expect to see results.
What is Botox?
Botox is the best thing since sliced bread. It can reverse signs of aging to include deep and fine lines, and even improve overall integrity of the skin by minimizing pore size. Botox is a neurotoxin (trigger word, we know), and has been deemed completely safe by the FDA for 20 years when dosed appropriately. Full disclosure, we are well aware that the idea of injecting a neurotoxin into your body can be intimidating and even off-putting. We’re here to help you understand the way it works, and put your mind at ease. After all, knowledge is power. Individuals who are afraid of Botox may just not have enough information about it. Let’s dive deeper into the mechanism of action (aka how it works).
How does Botox work?
When we inject neurotoxins of any kind into the targeted muscles, the goal is essentially to freeze those muscles to prevent their movements from creating deep expression lines. Common areas to treat are the forehead, 11 lines (between the brows), and crow’s feet (the area around the eyes). Click here to read about our 5 fav areas to treat w/ Botox. Botox works by temporarily sitting in front of targeted receptor sites that receive messages from our brain telling them to move. For example, we use our frontalis (the muscle in our forehead) to lift our eyebrows when we’re surprised. This can cause horizontal expression lines that can become permanent over time. After a Botox treatment, this muscle is relaxed and the lines are softened and prevented from deepening.
How long does Botox last?
Botox is an FDA-approved neurotoxin, which means it has undergone extensive research regarding the safety and use. Studies have shown that Botox and it’s sister neurotoxin, Dysport, last between 90-120 days. Our bodies naturally metabolize these compounds, and overtime your muscles will return to full movement. It is normal to begin to see minimal movement return around 6-8 weeks after treatment, and full movement back by the 3-4 month mark.
How often should I receive treatment?
The answer to this question depends on your goals. If your goal is to maximize results and eventually require less neurotoxin, we recommend coming in every 3 months to ensure you never quite reach baseline. The more consistent you are with treatment, the smoother your fine lines will be. We discuss your goals in depth at your consultation and/or first appointment. For a detailed guide to your first appointment, read here!
We do everything we can to prepare our patients and set them up for the best results when it comes to their injectables. Part of that prep is talking about the “what not to do” in the hours, days, and weeks following your treatment. The list looks a little something like this:
1. Makeup – open wound from needle piercing the skin increases your risk of infection, especially if your sponges and/or brushes are not clean. Rule of thumb: wait 30 minutes before reapplying makeup so your skin has a chance to heal and avoid too much pressure applying the makeup on and around the injection sites.
2. Ice Rolling – we strategically place injectables into the muscles and/or under the skin in certain places for a reason. Moving the injectable in any way can effect the results!
3. Dental Work – This is a strange one, but is on this list for a reason! Holding your mouth open for prolonged periods of time and/or manipulating the mouth in certain positions can move injectables out of the targeted areas and effect results.
4. Facials – We are all for some self-care, but save the facial for next week. The pressure of the massage can manipulate fillers and move neurotoxins into areas they weren’t meant to be.
5. Naps – You may be familiar with the “no laying down for 4 hours after botox or filler”, and it exists for good reason. That reason? Gravity. Laying down too soon after an injectable treatment can give gravity the chance to take hold of your provider’s beautiful work and pull it towards one side or the other. If you’re a belly sleeper, it can also put pressure on the injected areas of the face.
6. Straws – This is mostly related to lip filler and other injectables around the mouth. You want to avoid making an “O” with your lips for at least 2-3 days after your filler appointment to mitigate migration as well as manipulation of the filler. No smoking…sucking on lollipops…sucking on popsicles…sucking on anything. K? Are you following?
7. Yoga – This is due to the inversion of the body while performing yoga poses. This risks drawing the botox out of the targeted muscles and flowing into other muscles not meant to be treated.
8. Tight Fitting Hats – This can cause too much pressure on the forehead area after Botox injections, and risks moving the Botox out of the muscles and decreasing the efficacy of treatment.
9. Alcohol – Some experts believe this can cause an increased risk of bruising, but in our opinion, if you want that glass of wine with dinner we support you! We may recommend avoiding alcohol in excess prior to your appointment, but afterwards… cheers!
10. Working out – Exercise increases your heart rate and blood pressure, which causes increased blood flow through the muscles. For the same reason yoga is not recommended, you want to avoid moderate to extreme exercise for the first 24-48 hours for best results.
Upper Face Botox
Most people are familiar with the three “most treated” areas when it comes to neurotoxins in the upper face. These include: forehead, glabella (11 lines), and crow’s feet. They are the most common areas to receive botox because they are recognized and approved by the FDA. However, this doesn’t mean the other “off-label” areas of the face and body aren’t safe. We’re going to outline some of the most underrated, understated (and totally safe) areas that we love to treat!
Units: 25-64
Masseters/TMJ
To all of our teeth grinders and jaw clenchers–this one’s for you. The masseter muscles are located on each side of the jaw, and some of y’all have STRONG ones. Strong masseter muscles are caused by grinding and clenching your teeth, chewing, and genetics, all of which can cause a lot of discomfort. Teeth breaking/cracking, steep dental bills, jaw pain, and if you’ve dealt with it you’d do a lot to put it to an end. ENTER: Neurotoxins. We can weaken the masseter muscles with Botox, and help to alleviate the ache. This treatment has grown in popularity recently due to the theory that it can help to slim the face, which is theoretically true. With the appropriate anatomy and consistency of treatment, it absolutely could slim your jaw area. Even millimeters can make a huge difference!
Units: 30-60
Nasalis/Bunny Lines
Grab a mirror or your front camera and scrunch your nose like a bunny. See those lines on either side of your nose? So cute, right? No? Those lines are created by the muscles we are treating when we recommend botox in your nasalis. Not only does it prevent deep lines from forming on either side of your nose, but it can also prevent deep horizontal lines between your brows. It can also have a slimming effect on the nose (yes).
Units: 4-8
Jelly Roll/Under Eye Smile Lines
We really love treatment nicknames in this industry, okay? This is an under eye botox treatment to relax the smallest of muscles below the eye to help mitigate fine lines and a “roll” from forming when you smile/express. Not everyone is a candidate for this treatment, as it can tend to round out the eye area and look “shelf-y” on some individuals based on anatomy. This is also not an ideal treatment for a patient with general under eye laxity, as it could exacerbate this pain point.
Units: 2-4
Nefertiti Neck Lift
Named for the infamous Ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, this is a non-surgical neck lift using neurotoxins to elongate the neck, snatch the jawline, and create a more youthful appearance. It can help relax the neck muscles that constantly pull down on the lower face and chin. Expect a few injections along the jawline as well as in the platysma bands + a smooth and lifted result.
Units: 35-55
DAOs (Depressor Angularis Oris)
A perfect example for why we avoid the anatomically correct nomenclature. It can sound so clinical and difficult to a patient who may not have a strong background in anatomy. Treating these muscles with botox can help mitigate what we in the industry call, “The Resting B*tch Face” (no nicknames needed here). The DAO muscles naturally pull down. This can cause a downturn of the mouth creating what appears to be a permanent frown, and over time can form static lines that require multiple modalities to treat (i.e. medical grade skincare, microneedling, filler, etc.)
Units: 8-12
Botox is the renaissance (wo)man of aesthetics. On the appropriate candidate, it can erase fine lines, prevent more significant signs of aging, mitigate pain, and more. It just really knows how to…smooth things out. There’s a reason it’s our favorite anti-wrinkle injectable. Book your appointment to see for yourself. The worst part about it? You’re going to l o v e it.