What is Preventive BOTOX® Treatment
BOTOX® Cosmetic has become a well-known treatment for smoothing skin and diminishing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While it is often used on patients in their late 30s and older, I also treat younger patients at our premium medical spa who are hoping to take preventive measures against early signs of aging.
Most people think that BOTOX is only useful when a deep wrinkle has formed. In fact, it cannot be further from the truth. Wrinkles are formed when structural elements in the skin like collagen destruction is greater than production. One of the biggest cause of collagen destruction besides solar radiation is mechanical stress. Muscle contractions are one of the biggest mechanical stress on the skin. This could be from focusing or scowling when you are in front of the computer, being very expressive when you talk or taking selfies or just being a very happy person who smiles a lot.
Everyone knows that when you use sunscreen at a young age, you will have less wrinkles when you are older. Unfortunately, not everyone knows that if you use reduce the mechanical stress on your skin by using BOTOX, you will also have less wrinkles when you are older. In fact, if you wait till the wrinkles are there when you are not even making an expression, the damage is done. At that stage, the BOTOX is used to help your skin heal the wrinkle which would take time depending on how bad the wrinkle is.
Expressive or dynamic wrinkles can distract a person from looking at a person’s beautiful features. You may have the most beautiful face but when you are frowning in front of an iPad or iPhone, it makes you look angry and unapproachable. You may have the most amazing eyes but if every time you smile you have train tracks radiating from the corner of your eyes and the person stops looking at your eyes. You may have the most eloquent voice but whenever you tell a story and raise your eyebrows and your forehead looks like an accordion, you lose your audience.
However, BOTOX is not only used for wrinkles, it can help shape the face, the eyes, the brows, the mouth, the nose and the smile when used in appropriate cases. One of the greatest satisfaction I get is when I use BOTOX to make a patient’s eye look bigger and more attractive.
The use of BOTOX as a preventive method is still a skin care secret to many. As a Black Diamond-status physician with Allergan and the top provider of BOTOX in the state, I get to treat a lot of younger patients who benefits from BOTOX preventive treatment. As such, I thought I would interview one of our own team members who receives preventive BOTOX to show others how the treatment is working for her.
I sat down for a Q&A with our spa manager, Audrey, after her most recent treatment to learn why she gets BOTOX as a preventive measure, right here at AlluraDerm MD Med Spa.
Dr. Lam: What is your age?
Audrey: I just turned 31.
Dr. L: How old were you when you received your first treatment?
A: I was 26 years old when I started getting BOTOX, and I will typically get a treatment every 3 months.
Dr. L: How many times have you received BOTOX?
A: I have had many BOTOX treatments since I started in the winter of 2011.
Dr. L: What are your goals for the BOTOX treatment? What do you like most about the BOTOX treatment?
A: My goal is to prevent forehead lines and the 11s in the glabella (vertical lines between the eyebrows). Whenever, the BOTOX wears off, I can see the distracting lines appearing whenever I frown or look surprised. But when the BOTOX kicks in, I can make my usual expressions, yet my forehead and glabella is nice and smooth.
I REALLY like how Dr. Lam uses BOTOX to lift my brows and open up my eyes! This is my favorite part of getting a BOTOX treatment!
Dr. L: Will you walk us through the treatment from the patient’s point of view?
A: The consultation started with me reading and signing the consent form for the treatment. I removed my makeup and cleansed my skin to take new pre-treatment photos. Then, Dr. Lam came in and we talked about the treatment for a few minutes. He asked what my goals were and which areas bother me. Dr. Lam then explained the way the muscles work throughout the face, and described what the BOTOX would do in each of the areas I wanted to be treated.
Next, Dr. Lam prepped the area where the injections would be placed with an alcohol swab, and measured and marked the injection sites for accurate and reproducible results. He also marked the treatment plan on a face sheet in my chart, reviewed the injection pattern and showed it to me before we began injecting.
The injections began, and they only took about 5 minutes. There were a few slight/faint “crunching” noises in a few of the injection sites, but they were pretty painless. Throughout the treatment, we talked about work and some things going on around the office, which was a great distraction from the injections, and before I knew it, we were done!
Dr. Lam cleaned the markings from the injection sites and explained that I should not touch the injection sites for 4 hours and to avoid any strenuous physical activities for 4 hours as well. This completed my treatment, and I went back to work!
Dr. L: Did it hurt? What does it feel like?
A: Treatment does not hurt at all. The needles are very small, and it can be done fairly quickly. You’ll feel a small pinch, but that’s it.
Dr. L: How much BOTOX did you receive?
During this treatment, I got 40.5 units in the forehead glabella (between the eyebrows) and the brow area, to create a brow lift.
Dr. L: Did you notice results right away? If not, how long did it take to see them?
A: BOTOX will typically “kick in” after about a week to 10 days. I am usually closer to the 10-day mark, but I start seeing slight changes before then.
Audrey has found preventive BOTOX treatments to be an effective solution to smooth her skin from distracting lines in her daily facial expressions and to open her eyes and lift her brows. As a bonus, BOTOX helps to prevent wrinkles from forming!
Are you ready to learn whether you’re a candidate for preventive BOTOX? Request a consultation with me online, or call our practice at (505) 821-9630. We look forward to helping you meet your aesthetic goals and maintaining beautiful, youthful skin.
