Botox For Every Decade

No longer reserved for celebrities or wealthy housewives, Botox is now widely known and accepted as a minimally-invasive procedure with dramatic results. Today, younger patients are utilizing the injections as a preventive measure as well as treatment for the earliest signs of aging. How do you know when to start using Botox, and what are its best features as we age?

For Everyone Considering Botox

Botox Cosmetic is Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved as a safe and effective treatment for patients 18 to 65. Made from botulin toxin, Botox temporarily paralyzes targeted muscles by blocking nerve impulses that trigger contractions. As muscles release, wrinkles are softened and disappear. Stopping repetitive expressions will help keep facial lines from forming. The full benefits of Botox Cosmetic will appear about two weeks after the injections and will then last for about three to six months.

It’s important to visit a qualified provider, such as a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon, who has received extensive training and has the absolute highest standards – including the use of pure Botox according to label instructions. With so many reports of diluted or expired product, not to mention the issues with poorly administered Botox, it’s imperative you go where you can trust the process.

Further, when you receive treatment from physicians with specialized training, often a “less is more,” natural-looking result is obtained. In fact, some of our patients report receiving fewer units of Botox than they’re used to, while receiving the best results ever.

In Your 20s

To prevent wrinkles, some physicians may recommend utilizing Botox in the mid- to late 20s to reduce facial muscle overexpression and to “train” your facial muscles not to move as much, thereby preventing the formation of lines and wrinkles in a prophylactic (preventive) way. Application expertise is essential, both in terms of the quantity used and method of injecting, to prevent “frozen face.”

In Your 30s

This is when many people begin noticing fine lines developing between the brows and around the eyes. Botox can soften or actually erase these kinds of lines. Then it just becomes a matter of maintenance.

In Your 40s

In this decade, skin becomes thinner, and wrinkles are more obvious, with some being etched in the skin from years of expression. If someone is just starting with Botox in their 40s, things like frown lines between the eyes, forehead lines, and crow’s feet can still be softened. Also, at this point, strategic injections can literally “lift” the brows and really open up the eyes.

In Your 50s and Beyond

Botox is still beneficial to soften horizontal lines across the forehead, frown lines between the brows, crow’s feet, and nasal squint lines. It also offers the opportunity to “lift” the brows by strategic injections. At this point, it can become beneficial for the lines around the neck, as well. It can become more challenging for the patient to experience the same results achieved at younger ages, due to the weight of lax facial skin. The use of dermal fillers, also available from Kelsey-Seybold’s board-certified cosmetic dermatologists and plastic surgeons, can be especially beneficial for loss of volume in conjunction with the use of Botox.