You may have heard about Botox and some of the benefits that this treatment can have. If you have been thinking about getting Botox treatments, there are a number of things that you should know before you begin. Botox injections are used for a variety of problems, but the most common of these is to help the skin look younger and have fewer lines and wrinkles. Many people find that their skin is changing as they get older, and getting Botox can be a good way to get back the look they had before.
Smoothing Lines and Wrinkles
Lines and wrinkles can make you look older, and Botox can smooth these for you to take years off your face. Lines and wrinkles often form on the forehead and in the areas around the eyes. With Botox treatments, some of them can be smoothed out for a more youthful look. Whenever you frown, squint, smile, or purse your lips, it causes the underlying muscles to pull the skin in that area into various directions. When skin is young, it has a lot of elasticity. This allows it to bounce back when the muscles stop.
However, as the skin gets older, it loses much of this elasticity. This makes lines and wrinkles form in the areas that get a lot of use through your facial expressions. When the skin is creased over and over again over the years, the lines and wrinkles begin to form. The frequent movement of the muscles can lead to skin that is thinner where the wrinkles are. This is the area of the crease that isn’t bouncing back like it used to. Botox can help those areas to relax so that you don’t have the wrinkles that bothered you before.
Botox is often used on forehead lines, crow’s feet around the eyes, and even deep frown lines. Many people also get preventative Botox so that they can prevent wrinkles from forming in the first place. However, it’s most common after a few wrinkles have formed and the patient isn’t as happy with their skin as they could be.
Facial Injections
When you get Botox, it is only administered through injections. When patients get these injections, a doctor will assess the skin and any lines and wrinkles first and talk to you about what you want Botox to change on your face. It’s important to target those areas with the injectable cosmetic, so the doctor chooses the right area to put the injections. The doctor will likely also talk to you about how many units of Botox you want. FI you have never gotten Botox before, it can be helpful to do a little research up front and figure out how many units that you want to get. The price for the injections is per unit, and there is generally a minimum amount of one vial of Botox required.
The injections are placed in the correct areas to relax the muscles that are holding the wrinkles in place. When the cosmetic is injected into specific areas of your skin, it will relax certain muscles temporarily. It does this by blocking the signals from the nerve that tell those muscles when to move. With the signals blocked, these muscles won’t be able to contract. With the muscles relaxed, the skin won’t be bunched into the shape of a wrinkle. For some wrinkles, the result is smooth. For other wrinkles, the treatment may make them smaller and not as noticeable.
What Is Botox?
This substance is only available with a prescription. It’s a substance that is a specific protein created by bacteria. The injection itself is a purified form of the botulinum toxin. Scientists in the 60s and 70s figured out that they could use the toxin for a number of medical uses. The substance is now approved by the FDA to serve a number of medical and cosmetic purposes. It is often used for excess sweating, for urinary incontinence, and as a treatment for frequent migraines. It’s also approved for use on crow’s feet, the wrinkles that so often form at the corners of the eyes.
Your Botox Treatments
There are several injections that patients get to temporarily smooth their wrinkles. It takes just a couple of minutes to have them administered, and there is no need for anesthesia. It can produce minor discomfort in some patients. The needle used to inject it is very small, so you may not feel that much when it’s used. Once it has been injected, you will be given instructions for the rest of the day. Generally, patients are told not to touch or press on the area for the rest of the day and not to lie down within eight hours of the injections.
The results of Botox aren’t seen immediately, so you need to have patience with the results. It can be between one and two weeks before you have the full results of the injections. Once you’ve had the injections, they are a temporary way to take care of lines and wrinkles. After about three to six months, the effects will wear off, and you will need to get treated with Botox again. Each time you get the treatment, the wrinkles will get better as the treatment leads to the muscles getting smaller over time. As you keep getting the treatments, they will last longer each time.
If you’re interested in getting Botox for your lines and wrinkles, contact us at DFW Oral Surgeons to make your appointment for this cosmetic treatment. Find out more about Botox by contacting us with your questions.