Beauty shots: everything you need to know about botox for the face

We all age, and this is a fact that can be difficult to accept. Until the age of 25 you don't think about it at all, but closer to 30 it becomes obvious that wrinkles do not paint a woman. This age deficiency can be corrected with the help of botulinum therapy or, as it is popularly called, Botox injections. Today this procedure is becoming more and more popular. It is offered in almost every beauty salon, but the result is often not at all the same as the client wanted. Lifeless mask, asymmetry of the face, "drooping" eyebrows and other unexpected effects scare away many comers.

Why does this happen and is there always a risk of botox? When and to whom should Botox be injected and how to choose the “right” drug? Is it possible to become addicted to these injections and are there any contraindications to them? These and many other questions are answered by a dermatovenerologist, an injection cosmetologist at the Comfort Clinic

What is Botox? What is the effect of this drug and why is it injected in the face?

Botox is a household name, like a diaper. For the first time this drug was manufactured by the American company Allergan, and brought it to the market under the name "Botox". In fact, the active ingredient is called botulinum toxin. Now with this substance there are already four officially registered drugs that are used in injection cosmetology. However, out of habit, all botulinum toxins continue to be called botox.

Botulinum toxin blocks muscle movement that causes wrinkles / istockphoto.com

The action of botulinum toxin is that it blocks the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscle. Because of this, the muscle does not move as actively as it did before. At the same time, the nutrition and blood supply of the muscle does not suffer in any way, it does not "die off", but freezes in place as long as the effect of the drug remains. This allows you to temporarily smooth out the expression lines that appear due to intensive movement of the facial muscles: for example, when we frown, wrinkle our forehead, smile or laugh.

Many are afraid of the very name "botulinum toxin", which reminds both of botulism and toxins ...

Indeed, botulinum toxin is the same toxin that produces Clostridium botulism. But she produces it in the laboratory, after which it is purified as much as possible (for example, from proteins that can cause allergic reactions) and packaged in bottles, clearly calculating the dosage. There are generally accepted points of injection into muscles, and there is a generally accepted number of units that can be injected into a given muscle. This amount is strictly controlled, so the procedure is safe for the body.

The four legal botulinum toxin preparations are Botox (USA), Dysport (France), Xiamin (Germany) and Relatox (Russia). They are purchased from official distributors, have a quality certificate and strictly correspond to the dosage stated on the bottle. However, there are also "gray" drugs, most often made in China. Working with them, the doctor is incredibly risky, since there are no guarantees for the contents of the bottle.

How do you know if a doctor is working with a legal drug?

This is the first thing you should ask about at your appointment. The situation "I was injected with something" is unacceptable. All clients must be shown a bottle with the name of the drug and the expiration date. If in doubt, you have every right to request a quality certificate.

You must clearly know which drug is used for the procedure / istockphoto.com

After botulinum therapy, the doctor must give the client a "passport" of the procedure. This is a special map in which a series of the drug from the vial is prescribed, all the points where the drug was injected and the number of units of the substance injected at each point are marked. Each client should have such a document so that later he can make ends meet and, in case of an unexpected effect, correct it in the same or in another clinic.

It is important to know that according to Ukrainian legislation, only doctors have the right to inject botulinum toxin into a person. No nurses or beauticians injecting Botox somewhere in the barber shop around the corner. This should be a doctor who has completed additional courses in injection cosmetology and trainings on working with a specific drug on the basis of the manufacturer.

When to start injecting Botox? How to understand that "it's time"?

The main indication for botox is your discontent with wrinkles / istockphoto.com

The answer to this question lies in the aesthetic plane. Botox is injected not for age or medical reasons, but when a person develops mimic wrinkles. For some, they can be very pronounced as early as 18-20 years old. From this age, it is permissible to resort to botulinum therapy.

However, everything depends only on the desire of the person. Now all over the world there is a tendency towards body positivity, when a woman accepts herself as she is. Many people say: I have wrinkles, I am aging - and this is normal. In this case, you do not need to do anything with your face. However, if wrinkles embarrass a woman, spoil her mood and drive her into stress, this can and should be dealt with.

Is there a non-injectable alternative to botox? What procedures can improve the condition of the face and "delay" the botulinum therapy procedure?

Most often, mimic wrinkles begin to bother a woman at the stage when they already turn into dermal creases: these are static wrinkles that do not go anywhere when the muscles of the face are relaxed. In this case, it is impossible to effectively act on the skin “from the outside”, since the fold has already gone inside the epidermis.

Peeling and laser resurfacing can smooth out fine wrinkles / istockphoto.com

True, depending on the depth of the dermal creases, you can get a small smoothing effect without injections. So, at the initial stage of the formation of wrinkles, peeling helps: due to the fact that it dissolves the upper layer of the epidermis, mimic wrinkles will be slightly smoothed out. Laser resurfacing works well in this regard. It can "remove" rather deep dermal creases. However, they will again form in the same place due to the fact that the muscle continues to actively contract.

Are there times when it is too late to resort to Botox?

This happens most often with older clients. For example, in women under 50, the depth of dermal creases is usually such that it will not be possible to smooth them out with one Botox. Here you have to use an integrated approach: block the muscle and fill the hall with filler. There are also contraindications for certain muscle groups. For example, to work with the frontal muscle, which provokes horizontal wrinkles on the forehead. If the client has deep-set eyes or an overhanging upper eyelid, work with it very carefully or not work at all. After all, if we block it, the upper eyelid will overhang even more.

How quickly does the effect of Botox appear and how long does it last?

The effect of the introduction of botulinum toxin can appear from 1 to 14 days after administration. And we can never predict what day it will happen. If a woman needs to “be beautiful” for tomorrow, this is unlikely to succeed. It is better to inject the drug in two weeks so that the result is definitely there.

The effect of botulinum therapy can be expected up to two weeks / istockphoto.com

According to the instructions for the drugs, the effect lasts 3-4 months. But this is also purely individual. There are people who are hyperactive, who go in for sports, visit saunas and swimming pools, move a lot - their botulinum toxin can "come out" faster, in 2-3 months. At the same time, in people with slow metabolic processes, the effect can last for 8 months.

On average, the drug is administered every six months. After 4 months, the effect of botulinum toxin begins to weaken, but the overall picture remains due to muscle memory: a person stops frowning.

After the effect wears off, do the wrinkles get deeper?

The wrinkles do not get deeper, quite the opposite: we slow down their deepening. If you do the procedure at least occasionally, the wrinkles will not be as noticeable as if you had not injected Botox at all.

Many people are afraid that after the Botox procedure, the face will become motionless and look like a mask...

This situation is possible if the doctor pricks at the wrong points, chooses the wrong depth, or exceeds the dosage. Then the mask effect can really occur. Eyebrows may "fall" or asymmetry may appear when the right and left are very different from each other.

It all depends only on the professionalism of the doctor, because there are no universal recommendations for the same dosage. It is calculated specifically on the basis of a person's facial expressions. The specialist will always clarify with the client what effect he expects: completely block a certain area or leave it "working" so that it is not so noticeable. According to these wishes, the dose of the drug, the place and depth of administration are selected. The professional understands the final result. Surprises are possible only for beginners or "home-grown" specialists.

What medical contraindications are there for botulinum toxin injections?

Pregnancy and lactation are the main contraindications for botox / istockphoto.com

The main contraindications to the procedure are pregnancy, lactation, oncological diseases and all types of myopathies (muscle problems). Also, botulinum therapy should not be carried out in the acute phase of the disease: if you get the flu, it will have to be postponed until you recover. There is some caution when combining Botox with Covid-19 vaccination: the procedures should be diluted in time by at least two weeks, and preferably a month.

Is it possible to develop insensitivity to the drug with constant injections?

Yes, such situations are described in practice. But their frequency directly depends on the chosen drug. Botox, as the oldest on the market, is the least purified of complexing proteins that work like a vaccine and are indeed addictive over time. In "Dysport" there are already fewer of them, and the least of all complexing proteins in "Xiamine". Accordingly, the effect of insensitivity occurs later. However, in any of the drugs we are talking about many years of regular use, more than 15, or even 20 years.

Are there times when a drug just doesn't work?

If you are using an officially registered drug, almost never. The only option is violation of storage and transportation conditions. Botox and Dysport are stored at temperatures between 2 and 8 degrees, so a cold chain is required for transportation. If something happens (for example, the batch was detained at customs) and the cold chain is destroyed, the drug loses its properties and then there really will be no effect from the injection. "Xiamin" is safer in this regard, since it is stored at room temperature.

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