How Long Does Botox Last? Expectation vs Reality

Botox has been around for longer than the first time it was ever used to help correct wrinkles, thinning skin, and sagging skin. But, how long does Botox last? Well, certainly not forever. Scheduling periodic visits and touch-ups is indeed one of the side effects of Botox injections that you need to consider before you even start on this anti-aging routine.

What is Botox?

Botox is short for Botulinum toxin. Originally researched and designed to relieve muscle spasms and disorders, such as involuntary eye muscle movements. It did not take long before practitioners and experts realized that it caused a positive side effect on aging skin: it made it wrinkle-free.

So goes the history, and the first few cosmetic botox injections were delivered with promising, but not lasting, results.

How does Botox really work?

There might be many questions in your mind right now, like. How does Botox work? or does Botox really work? It paralyzes or weakens muscles underneath your problem areas for wrinkles. By inhibiting the production and release of acetylcholine, Botox stops muscle contractions in the area. Meanwhile, tensed facial muscles that contract and cause your skin to appear wrinkled also flattens. In turn, more relaxed muscles make the skin on the surface to relax and stretch out as well. You have check Solvaderm Stemuderm Reviews to see what is the alternative of Botox for wrinkle free skin.

What should you expect after a Botox injection?

Right after the procedure, it is perfectly normal for the injection site to feel sore and swollen although, if these symptoms present themselves severely then, you should immediately inform your skincare specialist. Total relief happens up to two to three days following injection.

It usually takes up to one week for the healing process to complete. In case too much Botox was injected into the problem site, you might experience a noticeable heaviness in the treatment area. You should report this immediately to your skincare specialist. Heaviness, particularly when experienced on Botox injections done on the forehead and eyebrows deserve even more attention. When these areas experience heaviness, it can cause your eyebrows to droop and, thus, can become especially problematic.

In some instances, a Botox injection around the eye area may also cause problems with blinking or, opening and shutting your eyes. In these cases, there’s a good possibility that your Botox injection may have been administered too low or, too close to the muscles that help you shut your eyes. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done to correct it except for you to wait around for your Botox to naturally lose its potency.

Experienced Botox administrators will normally take a more conservative volume of the toxin to inject around these sites. They will then gradually add if there will be a need to. This is one of the reasons why you need to be careful in making a choice where to get your procedure done and by whom.

How long will it take for you to see noticeable improvements?

Although results may be immediate, full results may not become noticeable up to one week following the procedure, while the full effect may take up to 14 days to show. On the average, most patients see visible results between 3 and 5 days after receiving an injection. So, do not be disappointed when results do not immediately become manifest.

It takes your body some time to make adjustments to your Botox injections and your injection also takes some time to act on your muscles. Results can be gradual so, if it is your first time and you’re still not quite certain of your results or, unable to tell if your results are successful, it will be good to pay your skincare specialist a visit a few days after getting Botox done. Most experienced clinicians will recommend the same and will want to monitor your results more frequently, possibly for up to two weeks after your procedure.

Since Botox may take several weeks to show its full effect, you might want to consider getting one weeks or even months ahead if you’re undergoing the procedure to look good for a wedding or an important event.

Might there be factors that affect your results?

There are a handful of factors that you should consider and that might differentiate your results from the testimonials of people you know who have had Botox done on them too. These factors include:

• The severity your wrinkles and the kind of correction necessary to smoothen out your skin.
• Age and maturity level of your skin in which older skin types may normally require other anti-aging interventions to improve results, that includes complementing your Botox injection with a dermal filler procedure.
• The level of improvement that you would like to see.
• The extent to which you followed both pre- and post- procedure skin care instructions which, most patients tend to neglect, most especially when they start seeing improvements.
• The toughness of your facial muscles which can either help facilitate the manifestation of improvements at faster or at slower than average rates.
• The structure of your skin and how your body reacts to the Botox injection, which can either speed up the breakdown of the toxin, giving you shorter periods in between treatments or, decrease the need for follow-through procedures.

How long do results last?

The length of effectivity is variable due to many reasons, including the considerations listed in the previous section. On the average, Botox improvements may last between 4 to 6 months following the procedure.

There is one other important factor that helps determine how long your results will last, and that is the level of concentration of Botox that you get. The more diluted your solution is, the more likely your results will wear off faster. Although, your body’s response to the treatment, including your rate of metabolism, will also be an important determining factor in this case.

Experts advise that those who have been using Botox longer can expect to see more immediate results that last longer. This is because treated muscles have become better accustomed to the toxin and your skin reacts to the treatment faster. It also results in more relaxed muscles over the longer term which can either lessen the volume of Botox that you need, make your results last longer or, both. If you notice that your results are wearing off before the fourth month, you should schedule a follow up check up.

How to last Botox for longer

The good news is that there are ways that you can do to make your results last longer. Here’s how:

• Zinc supplementation. Ask your skincare professional for a recommendation. Zinc has been found to help Botox injection results last longer. Zinc helps your body react better to the toxin while Botox feeds on Zinc which makes it wear off at a decreased rate.
• Get repeated treatments. Again, the more injections you’ve received on the same spot, the more likely it is that you will need lesser volume and lower concentration of the toxin to paralyze muscles on that spot. With repeated injections, your facial muscles also weaken which makes you realize results sooner as improvements last longer.
• Complement your procedure with proper skincare. There is a recommended skincare regimen for aging and mature skin types. If you haven’t been keen on your routine, here’s an easy 5-step regimen that you can follow every day and every night:
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  • Step 1: Cleanse. Improve the potency of your serums and creams by clearing your skin of debris before starting off your routine. Mild alpha and polyhydroxy acids infused in soap-free cleansers should help you eliminate more impurities without hurting your skin. You should also exfoliate your skin several times a week to enhance skin regeneration and support faster skin renewal.
  • Step 2: Tone. Aging and mature skin needs more hydration. This step helps your skin trap in more water and moisture while simultaneously tightening your pores to minimize surface water loss.
  • Step 3: Treat. Treat your skin with best anti-aging creams in the market, for example Solvaderm Stemuderm. Aging skin at 40 and beyond can take advantage of retinol and other Vitamin A derivatives. If you’re older, you might need to increase your product’s potency by using only higher concentrations of retinoids that require a prescription.
  • Step 4: Moisturize. At any age, keeping your skin full and supple requires a significant amount of moisture boost.
  • Step 5: Protect and Regenerate. Beyond your treatment, you need a product that can help restore your skin back to its more youthful and healthy state. Day and night, regenerate with peptides, antioxidants, super antioxidants like coenzyme Q10, aloe, and ceramides. During the day, make sure to put on a sunscreen that can actually protect your skin more than cause trouble.

Conclusion Botox procedures are completely safe but, that does not mean there are no side effects. You should know that a Botox injection can lead to permanent muscle weakness and paralysis, allergies, and spread to other tissues which can paralyze these parts. Availing of professional service is one of the key steps to minimize your risks for side effects but the first step involves better informing yourself of benefits and disadvantages.