BOTOX® is a neuromodulator with a long history of treating a variety of health conditions, ranging from crossed eyes to cosmetic concerns. It first received FDA approval in 1989 for uncontrolled eyelid movements and eye misalignment. In 2002, it received another FDA approval for its use in cosmetics, as a husband and wife team (dermatologist and ophthalmologist) realized it also had the effect of relaxing the forehead muscles. Now used for many reasons, including improving muscle stiffness, overactive bladder and smoothing the look of crow’s feet, forehead lines, frown lines and more, BOTOX® has become well known for its aesthetic and therapeutic uses.
While we use BOTOX® in many ways at Schlessinger MD, we’re best known for our expertise in aesthetic injections and BOTOX®’s use in the form of wrinkle relaxers. If you’re new to wrinkle relaxers and want to learn if they’re right for your anti-aging routine, read on to learn:
- What age to start BOTOX®
- Whether preventative BOTOX® is real
- How to find the best BOTOX® injector
What age to start BOTOX®
There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to getting BOTOX®, and in fact, it can be useful for people of all ages. “When it comes to medical uses (such as treating muscle or bladder spasms), BOTOX® in various forms has been approved for use in infants as well as all elderly people and has been used for over thirty years. It’s all about the patient’s needs and if BOTOX® will be able to aid them,” says Dr. Joel Schlessinger, board-certified dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon. He continues:
“I use BOTOX® every day in my practice for concerns ranging from forehead wrinkles to jawline slimming (off-label). It is absolutely amazing to see the advances in treatments that have been discovered in the 30+ year period that BOTOX® has been available to dermatologists. Truly, I don’t know what I would do without BOTOX® in my practice. Areas I have started to love BOTOX® for include lip lines, chin wrinkles and masseters, including TMJ-related issues. Current research is being done in these and so many other areas, and the future is bright for options for cosmetic patients.”
Dr. Daniel Schlessinger, board-certified dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon, says BOTOX® and other neurotoxins can be used in patients of all ages, but for aesthetics, the technique varies. “In younger patients, I tend to either use slightly lower doses of BOTOX®, or sometimes, I use a different neurotoxin that provides a softer effect. In younger patients, I also like doing a lip flip, which uses a very small amount of BOTOX® in the upper lip to relax it and help show a little bit more fullness. It’s very nice for patients who want to see what lip filler might be like before they’re ready to jump into lip filler itself.”
Since BOTOX® can be used for aesthetic and therapeutic purposes, what age to start BOTOX® is ultimately up to you and your physician. Visiting a board-certified dermatologist can go a long way, as they’ll know what treatments can be used in what areas to achieve the results you’re after.
Is preventative BOTOX® real?
The very nature of BOTOX®’s use in aesthetics is preventative. It’s injected beneath the surface of the skin to reduce the muscle activity that causes expression lines. By limiting muscle contractions that lead to wrinkles, it helps prevent the formation (or exacerbation) of new or existing contraction lines. So, can BOTOX® prevent wrinkles? The answer is yes!
Dr. Joel Schlessinger adds, “There was a comparison of two twins, one of whom had BOTOX® treatments over many years, and the other who didn’t have these treatments, and the results of how much younger the twin using BOTOX® appeared were stunning. This is just one of many situations where BOTOX® can provide a measurable and dramatic effect if used over time to prevent wrinkles from forming.”
Whether you’re showing the first signs of fine lines, have minimal lines and wrinkles, or are showing advanced signs of aging, BOTOX® can help smooth expression lines caused by repeated muscle contractions from frowning, squinting or raising eyebrows. What’s more, it minimizes the formation of future lines and wrinkles.
The key to preventative BOTOX® is your muscles themselves. By repeatedly making facial expressions that cause the skin to wrinkle (crow’s feet around the eyes from smiling, eleven lines from frowning, etc.), your skin begins to remember that action and leave a line or wrinkle behind on the skin. BOTOX® may train your muscles not to react when you make facial expressions, thus minimizing the opportunity for contraction lines to form.
Dr. Daniel Schlessinger says, “There’s always this question of preventative BOTOX® or ‘baby BOTOX®’ and it’s really about how you think about it. Preventative BOTOX® is injecting neurotoxins to relax the muscles, usually in the forehead, before you ever make wrinkles. If you think about your skin like a piece of paper, all throughout our lifetime, we’re taking that piece of paper and crumpling it up. That makes the wrinkles. Using BOTOX® would be like you never crumpled the paper and just let it be flat from the beginning.”
However, BOTOX® injections aren’t permanent, so keeping up with your injections (and a great skin care routine) is the key to maintaining your results. Ultimately, wrinkles and contraction lines are a form of aging, and they can and should be expected as you age.
How to find the best BOTOX® injector
While BOTOX® injections are available everywhere from Medspas to dentists’ offices, a board-certified dermatologist is your best choice for natural results and better safety. “Think about going out for sushi,” Dr. Daniel Schlessinger says. “Do you want to get gas station sushi, or do you want to go to the place where someone has been rolling rice for twenty years before they’re ever allowed to touch the fish? As board-certified dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons, we’re the people who’ve been rolling rice for twenty years. We have a deeper knowledge of anatomy than most injectors out there ever would have.”
At Schlessinger MD, Drs. Joel and Daniel Schlessinger inject all their BOTOX® and fillers themselves, meaning you have a board-certified dermatologist performing your injections if and when you visit Schlessinger MD. With decades of combined experience, they have a deeper understanding of facial anatomy and can provide natural results that relax existing wrinkles and prevent new ones from forming. If you’re ready to see if BOTOX® can help you achieve your anti-aging goals, visit our appointment portal to book your consultation with expert injectors Drs. Joel and Daniel Schlessinger.