Many men and women wish to have frown lines on the forehead, worry lines on the brow, and lines around the eyes and lips smoothed out, some even going as far as receiving facelift surgery. Facial wrinkles and the worried or angry look caused by the pulling in of the brows in the midline can be significantly improved with BOTOX injections.1 We're proud to offer patients in Naples and Fort Myers a range of minimally-invasive cosmetic treatments such as BOTOX that can reduce visible signs of aging.
Patients like using BOTOX Cosmetic because it allows them to address some of the signs of aging on the upper third of the face without resorting to surgery. A brow lift can address some of these wrinkles, namely the 11s and crow’s feet, but this is a surgical procedure. Some people opt instead to take the 10 minutes required for a BOTOX Cosmetic session to say goodbye to their dynamic wrinkles, even though the results are only temporary (3-4 months).
BOTOX Cosmetic was first approved by the FDA in 2002 for the treatment of crow’s feet, the 11s between the brows, and forehead wrinkles. These wrinkles, known as dynamic wrinkles, form when a person makes expressions such as frowning, grinning, showing surprise, or squinting.
BOTOX Cosmetic works on the upper third, the expressive area, of the face. BOTOX Cosmetic does not work on the other kind of wrinkles – static wrinkles. Static wrinkles show themselves at all times, not unlike a wrinkled shirt. Static wrinkles are the result of sun damage, decreasing collagen production, and natural aging. Static wrinkles can be addressed with dermal fillers.
BOTOX Cosmetic works by temporarily relaxing the facial muscles that cause visible signs of aging such as facial wrinkles, crow’s feet, and frown lines.
Prior to beginning treatment, Dr. Gill or Dr. Kazim will ensure the treatment area is clean and offer a topical numbing cream to sensitive patients. BOTOX is then injected into the facial muscles causing frown lines, furrows, crow’s feet, and wrinkles.
BOTOX results can vary depending on a variety of factors, however, results are typically visible within five to ten days after treatment, and can last up to four months.3
The best candidates for BOTOX Cosmetic treatments are people plagued by dynamic wrinkles. When you smile, frown, squint, or make other expressions, if the muscle contractions create crow’s feet at the outside of your eyes or the 11s between your eyebrows, then BOTOX Cosmetic injections are the perfect way to erase these wrinkles for a period of 4-6 months.
However, if you have lines from your nose stretching down to your mouth (nasolabial folds) or parentheses lines around your mouth, these are static wrinkles, and BOTOX Cosmetic will not help with those. You need dermal fillers such as Juvederm or Restylane to fill static wrinkles.
Patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not have BOTOX injections as it is unknown how botulinum toxin products may affect the baby.
Dr. Gill injects BOTOX Cosmetic with a very tiny needle. Most patients equate the feeling of these injections to a pinprick. For that reason, we usually don’t use numbing cream on the injection sites. However, if you would like to have numbing cream, of course, we’re happy to provide that for you.
Yes, BOTOX has undergone numerous clinical trials and is considered safe. People sometimes worry about injecting botulinum toxin (basically what BOTOX is made of) into their skin. Scientists first discovered back in the 1950s that when the botulinum toxin is injected in minute amounts, it does nothing more than temporarily stop a muscle from contracting.
This is how BOTOX Cosmetic stops dynamic wrinkles from forming during muscle contractions. Since its approval in 2002, BOTOX Cosmetic has been used hundreds of millions of times around the world, with very few side effects of any sort.
The skill of the healthcare provider is important to ensure BOTOX Cosmetic is injected into the correct muscle. That’s where the providers at Naples Aesthetic Institute’s extensive understanding of facial anatomy and experience with BOTOX Cosmetic comes into play.
An inexperienced injector can inject the BOTOX into an incorrect muscle, or it may migrate, leading to temporary problems such as a droopy eyelid.
Common side effects include temporary redness at the injection sites and possibly some slight swelling. This passes quickly. Otherwise, it’s important not to rub your injection sites for the first 24 hours after your BOTOX Cosmetic session. Rubbing the sites can make the BOTOX migrate to an unwanted muscle.
While rare, more serious side effects of BOTOX include dry mouth, neck pain, allergic reactions, eye problems like double vision, drooping eyelids, dry eyes, and trouble swallowing.5 Patients suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS may have an increased risk of developing these side effects.
In addition to cosmetic uses, injections of botulinum toxin have a range of medical uses. An injection of BOTOX can treat medical conditions including excessive sweating, severe underarm sweating (hyperhidrosis), chronic migraine, and certain neurological conditions that cause overactive bladder, cervical dystonia, loss of bladder control or urinary incontinence, blepharospasm, muscle spasms, upper limb spasticity, and strabismus.
These three injectables are all botulinum neurotoxins. BOTOX is largely considered the “gold standard” of wrinkle-reducing treatments, but they all work by causing temporary paralysis of the facial muscles that cause facial wrinkling.
If you would like to learn more about BOTOX or to schedule a consultation please contact us today. Our entire team is dedicated to providing patients in Naples and Fort Myers, Florida with the highest level of care and achieving beautiful and natural-looking results.
The Doctors at Naples Aesthetic Institute have either authored or reviewed and approved this content.
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