Botox has been steadily increasing in popularity! In fact, Botox is currently the number one cosmetic treatment in the United States. The reason for this sudden spike may have something to do with the increase in social media trends, along with people staring at their reflections during Zoom calls throughout the pandemic. The fact remains, Botox is quickly becoming the go-to cosmetic treatment for all ages!
What Is Botox?
This non-invasive treatment is neurotoxin which reduces the look of stress and aging by temporarily eliminating the fine lines and wrinkles on your face. “Botox” is the first injectable medication made from the bacterium clostridium botulinum. This bacterium is a neurotoxin naturally found in forests, lakes, and soil! In its natural state, it can cause illnesses like food poisoning. However, thanks to the development of anti-aging technology, doctors have learned how to harness this toxin and use it for good.
Botox in small amounts can correct several health-related issues, such as:
- Blepharospasm, which is a condition that causes uncontrollable blinking
- Cervical dystonia, which causes severe muscle contractions in the shoulder and neck
- Chronic migraines
- Overactive bladder
- Severe underarm sweating
- Strabismus, which are crossed or misaligned eyes
Despite its use to treat these conditions, Botox is used much more frequently as a cosmetic treatment to reduce the appearance of facial wrinkles.
What Can Botox Do For My Skin?
Botox can help patients achieve a younger, more refreshed, and less stressed appearance. Cosmetic Botox injections work by paralyzing or weakening muscles and nerves that contract to form a wrinkle. When Botox is administered, the muscle that contracts to create the wrinkle relaxes, which makes your wrinkles smooth out, soften, and even disappear!
To better understand what Botox can and cannot do for your face, it is important to first understand the types of wrinkles that can form on your face.
There are two types of facial wrinkles: dynamic and static. Botox helps with dynamic wrinkles. Laughing, squinting, or smiling cause wrinkles to form as the muscles move over and over. This repeated creasing and relaxing can leave permanent lines on the skin.
Examples of dynamic wrinkles include:
- Crow’s feet, which form on the side of your face at the outside of your eye
- Frown lines on your forehead
- Laugh lines in your cheeks
Botox can help reduce the appearance of dynamic wrinkles by relaxing the muscles in these areas. This gives you a more youthful appearance.
Static wrinkles happen as you age. Your skin eventually becomes thinner and drier, giving you a more worn and hollowed out appearance as your skin loses collagen and elasticity. Smoking or spending a lot of time in the sun can speed up this process. For static wrinkles, Synergy Plastic Surgery’s board certified plastic surgeons recommend dermal fillers over Botox for lifting the skin, smoothing out age-related wrinkles, and freshening the appearance! Botox can’t target these wrinkles because they have less to do with muscle movement and more to do with the results of aging in general.
How Long Does Botox Last?
A typical Botox treatment lasts up to four months. If you’re starting Botox in your 20s or 30s for wrinkle prevention, you may even be able to stretch out the treatments to twice or even once a year! Injecting a small amount of Botox into very targeted facial muscles temporarily relaxes the face. However, eventually the effect will wear off so a new treatment will be required.
At What Age Should I Start Botox? How Do I Know if Botox Is Right For Me?
There is no magic number, and the answer to this question will likely be different for everyone. This can be due to the unique anatomy everyone possesses, smoking, sun exposure, differing levels of stress, or simply because some people simply begin aging sooner than others and may benefit from starting Botox injections sooner.
Botox injections are usually associated with people entering or within middle age. However, the concept of preventative Botox has grown in popularity over the last few years! Preventative Botox consists of u undergoing small doses of Botox in your twenties can help prevent aging and prolong the need for full doses. This is due to the prevention of wrinkles from the get-go, which can ultimately prevent deep lines from happening in the first place.
It is important to note that there are uses for Botox that are not purely cosmetic or meant to treat aging such as treating migraines, TMJ, and the Botox lip flip. All these uses can benefit adults of any age.
Nevertheless, Botox has been approved by the FDA for patients over the age of 18 for medical and cosmetic conditions.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, young patients are increasingly seeking out Botox treatments to prevent wrinkles before they start. When comparing data from the years 2000 to 2019, there is approximately a 20% increase in treatments performed on patients aged 20 to 39. Today, a high number of women who receive Botox are in their mid-20s to mid-30s. If you’re part of this generation, you know the importance of good skin care. Botox is a natural part of taking care of yourself and preventing fine lines from forming!
Using Botox for cosmetic reasons is a personal choice. Before your treatment, it’s important to research the safety of the treatment and find the right clinical provider to administer it. Botox is an effective, non-invasive treatment for all the stages in a person’s life.
- In your 20s, Botox can eliminate the lines that have begun to form in your forehead and around your mouth
- In your 30s, Botox can reduce the appearance of early crow’s feet caused by laughing or squinting in the sun
- In your 40s, Botox can help your dynamic wrinkles that stick around even when your face has no expression at all
- Beyond your 40s, the anti-aging effects of Botox can make anyone look younger, which is why the treatment is so popular
Generally, the earlier you start Botox, the faster you’ll be able to get a handle on those fine lines that can deepen over time. Our knowledgeable medical team at Synergy Plastic Surgery is equipped with nurse injectors experienced in Botox treatments as well as several other cosmetic procedures to help you look and feel your best.
In our state-of-the-art clinical MedSpa, our team can provide a variety of skincare treatments to help you look and feel your best. Call our clinic at (512) 244-1444 today to find out if Botox is the right treatment option for you!
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