Botox: How It Works & Why Once You Try It, You’ll Be A Believer

Botox has become the go-to solution for those pesky facial frown lines, crow’s feet and fine lines around your eyes, forehead & glabellar region, penetrating beneath the skin to deliver smooth, youthful looking skin you thought you’d lost.

WHAT IS BOTOX?

Botox Cosmetic is a prescription medicine that is injected into the facial muscles to improve the look of moderate to severe lines between the eyebrows, across the forehead or at the side of the eyes — aka, crow’s feet. It is temporary, lasting 3 months or more.

WHO SHOULD CONSIDER BOTOX?

Anyone that is bothered by facial fine lines and wrinkles including frown lines, crow’s feet, glabellar lines between the eyes, also known as “11s.”  Men and women!  The term “Brotox” became popular as the treatment grew with men.  80% of men opt to focus their treatment on reducing the appearance of crow’s feet.

Meet Revitalize Aesthetics patient, Liz MacDonald.  She was READY to get started with Botox!  The 42-year old Shelf Help interior designer, mom & wife shares that she started to notice her “11s getting deeper by the minute and my forehead was getting a deep wrinkle from the face I was making while curling my hair.”

When Liz met Dr. Papa through a shared networking group, The Bizzy Mamas, she knew she had found her injector!

When considering Botox, it’s critically important to know who will be doing the injecting!  The person administering the Botox injection should be a licensed physician, nurse, nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant.  Be sure to ask! 

PS:  Revitalize Aesthetics has 2 physicians, 2 physician assistants and one RN on staff to perform cosmetic injections.

HOW DOES BOTOX WORK?

Botox is injected beneath the surface of the skin to temporarily reduce the targeted muscle’s activity.  Common areas treated include the forehead, the glabellar region between the eyes (11s) and areas around the eyes (crow’s feet).  Depending on the targeted areas, you might receive 3-5 injections into the muscle controlling activity in that part of your face, and experience virtually no downtime.

Liz was particularly concerned about the fine lines and wrinkles emerging across her forehead and the glabellar region.  Initially, she was nervous, mostly with regards to pain.

“I was definitely a little nervous the first time because I wasn’t sure how much pain to expect.  (Dr. Papa) gave me the “beauty bar,” a small vibrating tool to hold against my face, in an area that’s not being injected.  It was perfect to distract from the first injection.  Once I felt the first stick, I realized I had nothing to worry about.  I could barely feel anything.  I was so surprised by how little it actually hurt!” 

The medical staff at Revitalize Aesthetics likes to take their time with patients.  We genuinely enjoy making them feel as comfortable as possible with any treatment. We realize that some patients have no problems with cosmetic injectables and can do them with zero anxiety.  But there are others that experience high levels of anxiety or even fear of needles. We will help you through it. Don’t let that fear keep you from looking and feeling your best!

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?

Every Revitalize Aesthetics patient journey begins with a detailed health history, after which we can determine if Botox is right for you. If recommended, we will go over the areas of the face that Botox is appropriate for and address patients concerns.

We’ll then cleanse the face and do a “mark up” in which we map out each injection point based on your face’s unique movement pattern and lines. This process will help us give you an estimate on how many units of Botox you will need, to achieve your desired results, as well as pricing for your treatment. 

After that, you’ll sign the consent forms, we’ll take before and after photos and you are ready for your treatment.

It only takes a few minutes for us to draw up your Botox into syringes and even less time for us to inject it. Injections can take less than 15 minutes.

Post treatment, it’s important to follow these precautions to ensure your best results…

• Do not lie down for 4 hours after a treatment. This is to prevent migration of the product to unintended areas.
• Do not wear anything tight to your forehead like a hat
• Do not engage in high intensity exercise for 24 hours
• Do not drink alcohol for 24 hours. One drink is okay but it’s best to not over do it.

When you leave the office, you may have some injection marks on your forehead that resemble mosquito bites.  They will go away within 30 minutes of injection.

We’ll like to see you back in the office, two weeks after your treatment, so we can evaluate our work and make any enhancements if needed.

HOW ABOUT RESULTS?

Typically, results can be seen in 5-7 days but most often around the 2-week mark.  However, results are temporary with your Botox treatment lasting about 4 months.

Liz MacDonald’s results were along this timeline but she notes, “I honestly couldn’t, and still can’t believe that the wrinkles are gone.  It’s amazing.  I have no more wrinkles between my brows, on my forehead and no more crow’s feet.  I look younger now at 42 than I did at 35!”