Your Guide to Botox® Wrinkles are one of the primary signs of aging. They are caused by repetitive squeezing of the same areas of skin thousands of times. The gradual sagging around the eyes is another commonly complained of feature. Botox combats them both. Botox gets right to the route the problem by relaxing the muscles in three key areas. This allows often dramatic smoothing of lines in the areas where we frown, forehead and crows feet, as well as gentle lifting of the eyebrows if desired.
What Botox can do:	Before muscle relaxant is injected the eyes have a weighted look and frown and forehead lines are prominent
	After Botox the frown lines are vastly improved and eyebrows have been lifted giving a highly rejuvenated look

 

Which areas can Botox Treat?
	1	Muscles in the central forehead area can be relaxed with Botox to greatly improve the appearance of lines. The muscles above the outer part of each eyebrow are never injected to ensure maintained eyebrow expression after procedure.
	2	Frown lines are often the most hated feature of aging as they give some people a permanently 'angry' look. These lines too respond well to Botox, often improving over the years with regular treatments as the skin slowly recovers.
	3	Crows feet are a result of contraction of the outer aspect of a circular muscle which surrounds the eyes. These are very easily relaxed with Botox for a noticeable improvement.
		Botox is priced per zone treated with generous discounts for multiple zones. The three main zones are below:
Wrinkles in the lower part of the face are generally treated with fillers

 

 

How does it work?

Botox works by stopping the muscle responding to incoming nerve signals in the chosen muscle groups. The compound prevents muscles from contracting and limits wrinkles for as long as it is present in the muscles.

How long does Botox last?

Results are visible within three to seven days of treatment and, depending on skin type and condition, can remain effective for up to six months. As skin movement returns, so do wrinkles. Many people therefore find they need a top up three to four times a year. Dr Pearce only uses Vistabyl, a form of Botox that has been shown to last the longest.

Who can use Botox?

The procedure is increasingly used as a wrinkle preventive as well as a treatment for existing wrinkles. It can be appropriately used in people from 18 years and up with realistic expectations. People who cannot use Botox include pregnant and breastfeeding women. No cases of damage to unborn or breastfed babies have been recorded, but because no trials have been carried out it is a matter of prudence not to treat such people. Other people who should not use, or will not benefit from, Botox include those with neurological diseases such as myasthenia gravis and Parkinson's disease. People with local skin disorders or infections are not recommended to use Botox. If you are using blood thinning medications such as Warfarin or Heparin you are at a far higher risk of bruising from the injection.

Side effects

As with any medical intervention there are possible side effects. Beneficial side effects which have been reported include a reduction in tension headaches and facial sweating.

In the period immediately after the procedure some people get a headache which lasts for a limited period. This is best treated with normal over-the-counter pain killers.

Swelling around the area which has been injected is normal and usually resolves in minutes but in rare cases can last longer. Bruising can occur and is caused by bleeding under the skin when a tiny invisible blood vessel is nicked by the needle. There is little that can be done to prevent it but it is usually very mild and resolves quickly.

Infection: it is possible if you ALREADY have cold sores (herpes / HSV) that the injection site may become infected in the same way. There is a very small risk of bacterial skin infection from your normal skin bacteria getting into the injection site. To prevent this, alcohol based sterets are used prior to treatment.

Rarely the compound may sink lower in the face or have greater uptake in one side of he face than the other. This can result in asymmetry and unwanted relaxation of the eye muscles. This is rare and temporary.

In the long term many people find they need less Botox to achieve the same results. Where significant, these savings will be passed on to you. However, some people develop resistance to Botox which may mean greater amounts are needed. This can sometimes be improved by changing the type of Botox used.

 

If you have any of these side effects or queries please contact Dr Pearce for further advice