How do Botox and Dysport work and what am I going to look like if I do it? If you’re a little hesitant, here’s everything you need to know before you try it.
Both Botox and Dysport are neurotoxins. They are both derived from the botulism toxin. It might sound crazy to put a toxin into your body, but in fact it is perfectly safe. Tiny amounts of the product are injected into certain areas in order to temporarily paralyze the muscle and prevent the wrinkle or line that the muscle is producing (this lasts about 3-4 months). The classic area to treat is the frown lines or glabella– the “11’s” between the eyebrows. These vertical lines are made when you frown or make an angry face.
This is the most popular area to treat. The only thing those lines convey is anger or concern. Some of us carry such tension in these muscles that we always look angry even when we are just being thoughtful. In fact, a common side effect is that headaches often go away. That’s how much tension we have up there!
As I described, the number one spot people treat with toxin is the glabella (or 11’s). The next most popular area to treat are the forehead wrinkles. These are often the first wrinkles to become permanent. Once a wrinkle has been etched into the skin, it cannot be completely resolved with toxin alone, but to the extent the line is there from a resting tension in the muscle, we can soften it quite a bit.
The third area that is super popular is the corners of the eyes or the crows feet. These crinkles are smile lines and make you look happy! But they often are the one area that makes us look older before our time. It is very easy to eliminate these wrinkles without altering the smile at all.
Treatments for common disorders
Done properly, people who have Botox or Dysport treatment look totally natural. For the main three areas, you can eliminate the lines without distorting the face or facial expressions. The forehead is the most challenging to inject, because the forehead muscles control the shape of the brows. The forehead must be treated evenly in order to preserve the normal brow shape. The glabella and crow's feet are very easy to treat without any issue.
Problems can arise when the toxin gets into a muscle that you need to keep working. The most common problem is having an uneven smile if the toxin has been placed in the lower face– that’s why the lower face is an advanced technique and should only be done by experienced injectors. With proper technique these treatments look completely natural.
The vast majority of that weird look on TV is likely from too much filler! Many of us have loose skin as we age. That skin laxity is something that we treat at Glow Medispa with skin tightening (like Genius RF). But many injectors don’t have that kind of technology. Many will inject fillers to plump the face and to make the skin look taut. But now you look like a balloon! Fillers are great tools, but should be used judiciously, adding volume back where it has been lost (not putting volume somewhere you never had it!) It is possible to put Botox in all the wrong places and make people look weird, but that is not what I think is happening. I think what we are seeing is just too much filler.
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