Botox®

The cosmetic form of botulinum toxin, often referred to by its product name BOTOX® (also Xeomin® and Dysport®), is a very popular injectable treatment for facial wrinkles. This purified solution temporarily relaxes the muscles that cause wrinkles and gives the skin a smoother, more refreshed appearance. Studies have shown that Botox is also effective in relieving migraine headaches, muscle spasms in the neck and eyes and excessive sweating in the palms, soles and under the arms.

Botox Can Be Used For

Botox can be used as a wrinkle treatment to soften and erase:

• Frown lines between the eyebrows
• Crow’s feet lines by the outer corners of the eyes
• Forehead furrows, the horizontal lines across your forehead
• Lip lines
• Excessive dimpling of the chin, the “orange-peel” appearance on your chin
• Horizontal skin lines on the neck
• Vertical muscle banding in the neck
• Skin lines on the upper chest

Botox can also be used to shape and sculpt the eyebrows, the corners of the mouth and other areas of the face that change with the aging process. Smiling, frowning, squinting and even chewing, basically any facial movement, can eventually lead to one of the most common signs of aging: wrinkles. They can make you appear tired or even angry when you are not. One of the quickest and safest remedies to remove wrinkles is an injection of Botox.

Botox can be combined with other cosmetic procedures such as fillers, microdermabrasion, chemical peels or LaserPeels to further improve your results. This combination of therapies can even help to prevent the formation of new lines and wrinkles. In fact, at Cosmetique, we can make you look 9 years younger in 90 minutes with our combination of Botox, fillers and laser resurfacing – part of our signature ACELIFT procedure .

Who Should Consider Botox?

The cosmetic use of Botox has been approved by the FDA and is indicated for the temporary correction of the frown lines between your eyebrows and the Crow’s feet lines by the outer corners of your eyes. There are many other “off-label” uses of Botox (see above) and Dr. Gotkin, Dr. Sarnoff, and their associates are very experienced in painlessly administering BTX to take years off your appearance.

Botox won’t fix all types of skin problems. For example, while it can diminish under-eye wrinkles, it can’t repair the damage caused by the sun. Your skin type, thickness and the degree of wrinkling all play a role in determining the effectiveness of Botox. The doctors at Cosmetique are the best people to evaluate the appropriateness of Botox treatment for you and to determine how it fits in with your overall goals to improve your cosmetic appearance. They may also suggest combining BTX with other treatments to further enhance the outcome of your treatment.

Special Considerations, Risks, and Recovery

You may resume normal activities immediately. One note of caution: Don’t rub or massage the treated areas for several hours after your BTX treatment. You don’t want to massage the BTX into other adjacent muscles that may, therefore, change the outcome of your treatment.

Although generally quite safe, possible BTX side effects and complications can include:

• Bruising and pain at the injection site
• Redness
• Headache
• Dryness or eye irritation
• Temporary brow, upper eyelid or other facial weakness or drooping