Botulinum Toxin A

BOTOX® Cosmetic targets one of the underlying causes of frown lines and crow’s feet—the repeated muscle contractions from frowning and squinting over the years. Your specialist will inject these muscles with BOTOX® Cosmetic to temporarily reduce muscle activity. You will begin to notice a visible smoothing of your crow’s feet lines and frown lines between your brows.

Wrinkles result from a combination of many factors. It’s not just about cellular changes that can occur over time, reduction of collagen, or damage caused by free radicals in the sun and the environment. When you frown or concentrate, the muscles between your brows contract, causing your skin to furrow and fold. And when you squint, the muscles around your eyes contract and cause crow’s feet.

BOTOX® Cosmetic works beneath the skin’s surface and targets the underlying muscle activity that causes frown lines and crow’s feet.

What is BOTOX®?

BOTOX® Cosmetic contains tiny amounts of a highly purified botulinum toxin protein refined from the bacterium, Clostridium botulinum – a source that exists in nature.

BOTOX® Cosmetic is one of the most extensively studied medical aesthetic treatments and is approved for cosmetic use in 78 countries. BOTOX® Cosmetic has a record of experience that aesthetic specialists know and trust. And, the safety and efficacy of BOTOX® Cosmetic have been evaluated in both Allergan sponsored clinical trials as well as in 417 peer-reviewed articles in scientific and medical journals.

Approximately 10.9 million vials of BOTOX® Cosmetic have been sold in the United States since 2002, and millions of people have already made BOTOX® Cosmetic a part of what they do for themselves. Today, BOTOX® Cosmetic is the #1 selling product of its kind in the world.

How does BOTOX® work?

BOTOX® blocks the signal from the nerve to the muscles. The injected muscle can no longer contract or tighten as forcefully, which causes the wrinkles to relax and soften.

What should I expect from my treatment with BOTOX®?

• Some patients report that being injected with BOTOX® Cosmetic feels like a pinch
  Your practitioner may use ice to numb the treatment area. If you are concerned about discomfort, your practitioner may apply a topical numbing cream before administering your treatment.
• The actual injection process takes about 10 minutes
  Your practitioner will discuss your treatment goals and perform a facial analysis to determine the appropriate treatment areas for you.
• You’ll look like yourself—only with less noticeable frown lines and crow’s feet
  BOTOX® Cosmetic is a technique-sensitive treatment. You should not lose the ability to show expression when you are treated by someone who is licensed, trained, and a medical expert in facial anatomy.
• Return to your daily routine
  Treatment requires minimal downtime or recovery; it’s often called a lunchtime procedure. You’ll be able to go about your normal routine immediately after you leave your practitioner’s office.
• Real, noticeable results
  You may begin to notice results within 24 to 48 hours for moderate to severe frown lines, with results lasting up to 4 months.

Will BOTOX® Cosmetic make me look like I’ve had work done?

BOTOX® Cosmetic is a technique-sensitive treatment. You should not lose the ability to show expression when you are treated by someone who is licensed, trained, and a medical expert in facial anatomy. It is important to talk to your practitioner about the results you want from treatment.

What other conditions can BOTOX® treat?

The FDA approved BOTOX® usage in the late 1980s when it was discovered that BOTOX® could stop ailments such as blepharospasm (uncontrolled blinking) and strabismus (lazy eye). Since then, aesthetic practitioners have been using BOTOX® for years to successfully treat wrinkles and facial creases. BOTOX® is approved for treatment of frown lines on the forehead, crow’s feet, and axillary hyperhidrosis (increased sweating of the armpits). Within the past few years, some off-label indications that have shown an improvement when treated with BOTOX® are migraines, teeth-clenching, stuttering and urinary incontinence.

Who should not have BOTOX®?

The use of BOTOX® during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding is not recommended.  If you have a neurological disease or are allergic to albumin or a constituent (part) of the preservative, you should also not have BOTOX®. Be sure that your practitioner knows about all medications you are currently taking, especially aminoglycoside antibiotics (gentamicin, neomycin), aspirin, anti-inflammatories, Gingko Biloba and St John’s Wort.

Are there any side effects?

Side effects associated with the injection may include localised pain, infection, inflammation, tenderness, swelling, redness, and/or bleeding/bruising. Rest assured, this will go away within a few hours to a couple of days after your treatment.  Occasionally you may have a small bruise that will take a bit longer to go, but it can easily be covered up.  In very rare instances, heaviness of the eyebrows may be experienced.  This may take up to three weeks to improve.

Although rare, other side effects of BOTOX® Cosmetic may include: dry mouth; discomfort or pain at the injection site; tiredness; headache; neck pain; and eye problems: double vision, blurred vision, decreased eyesight, drooping eyelids and eyebrows, swelling of your eyelids and dry eyes. Contact your practitioner immediately should you experience any of the above-mentioned.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION 

BOTOX® Cosmetic may cause serious side effects that can be life threatening. Get medical help right away if you have any of these problems any time (hours to weeks) after injection of BOTOX® Cosmetic:

Problems swallowing, speaking, or breathing, due to weakening of associated muscles, can be severe and result in loss of life. You are at the highest risk if these problems are pre-existing before injection. Swallowing problems may last for several months.
Spread of toxin effects. The effect of botulinum toxin may affect areas away from the injection site and cause serious symptoms including: loss of strength and all-over muscle weakness, double vision, blurred vision and drooping eyelids, hoarseness or change or loss of voice, trouble saying words clearly, loss of bladder control, trouble breathing, and trouble swallowing.

BOTOX® Cosmetic may cause loss of strength or general muscle weakness, vision problems, or dizziness within hours to weeks of taking BOTOX® Cosmetic. If this happens, do not drive a car, operate machinery, or do other dangerous activities.

Serious and/or immediate allergic reactions have been reported. They include: itching, rash, red itchy welts, wheezing, asthma symptoms, or dizziness or feeling faint. Get medical help right away if you are wheezing or have asthma symptoms, or if you become dizzy or faint.

Do not receive BOTOX® Cosmetic if you: are allergic to any of the ingredients in BOTOX® Cosmetic; had an allergic reaction to any other botulinum toxin product such as Myobloc® (rimabotulinumtoxinB), Dysport® (abobotulinumtoxinA), or Xeomin® (incobotulinumtoxinA); have a skin infection at the planned injection site.

Tell your practitioner about all your muscle or nerve conditions, such as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, myasthenia gravis, or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, as you may be at increased risk of serious side effects including difficulty swallowing and difficulty breathing from typical doses of BOTOX® Cosmetic.

Tell your practitioner about all your medical conditions, including: plans to have surgery; had surgery on your face; have trouble raising your eyebrows; drooping eyelids; any other abnormal facial change; are pregnant or plan to become pregnant (it is not known if BOTOX® Cosmetic can harm your unborn baby); are breast-feeding or plan to (it is not known if BOTOX® Cosmetic passes into breast milk).

Tell your practitioner about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Using BOTOX® Cosmetic with certain other medicines may cause serious side effects. Do not start any new medicines until you have told your practitioner that you have received BOTOX® Cosmetic in the past.

Tell your practitioner if you have received any other botulinum toxin product in the last 4 months; have received injections of botulinum toxin such as Myobloc®, Dysport®, or Xeomin® in the past (tell your practitioner exactly which product you received); have recently received an antibiotic by injection; take muscle relaxants; take an allergy or cold medicine; take a sleep medicine; take aspirin-like products or blood thinners.

Pre-treatment Care:

It is best to avoid alcohol at least one week before treatment. Aspirin and anti-inflammatory medications should be stopped 2 weeks before treatment (if given permission by a physician) in order to reduce the risk of bruising.

Post-treatment Care:

Do not lie down for 4 hours after the treatment. Do not apply make-up for 12 hours after the treatment. Your practitioner may apply safe, treatment-specific camouflage for you if needed. Please avoid strenuous exercise, extreme facial expressions, alcohol consumption and rubbing/massaging the treated areas for 24 hours after your treatment.   Also avoid extreme sun exposure, UV light, freezing temperatures and saunas for two weeks after the treatment.

Pre-treatment Consultation

• On arrival, you will be asked to complete a confidential patient intake form.
• A VISIA Skin Analysis may be conducted.
• Your practitioner will then discuss your concerns and requirements with you in order to get a clear understanding of your expectations.
• After a thorough examination, the most suitable treatment options and their alternatives will be proposed to you.  Treatment procedures will be clearly outlined and discussed, together with the benefits and possible risks of each.
• To ensure a good result, it is of utmost importance to carefully select our patients for this treatment.
• Should we find that surgery will be better, we will then refer you to a plastic surgeon.
• Your practitioner may also provide you with a quotation.
• Any questions you have about the process or treatment will be answered honestly.
• Together, you and the practitioner will then decide on the treatment that is most appropriate and safe for you.
• Any pre- and post-treatment care will be explained in detail. Written instructions may be handed to you.

You are under no obligation to book the treatment with us after your consultation, however, should you wish to book a treatment this can be done for you after your consultation or at a later date via phone or email.

At Skinlogic we can assure you that we value your health and wellbeing. You will only be seen and treated by qualified and experienced professionals.

During the Treatment

Before your treatment you will be provided with a detailed consent form. You will be asked to read and sign this prior to your having your treatment.

You will have plenty of opportunity to ask any questions you may still have regarding the treatment.

Your practitioner will evaluate your facial musculature and examine the areas to be treated. Strategic points on your face may be marked as the appropriate injection sites for the BOTOX®.

For the crow’s feet area, your practitioner will inject 3 areas of the orbicularis oculi, the muscle that frames the side of the eye. This will be repeated on the orbicularis oculi muscle on the other eye.

For the frown lines area, your specialist will administer 5 injections into muscles in your forehead—1 in the procerus muscle and 4 in the corrugator muscles.

The injection sites are cleansed with an antibacterial agent prior to treatment.

Pain can prevented with an anesthetic ointment to numb the skin or by the application of ice. Only mild discomfort will be felt and injections are usually easily tolerated.

Each injection usually takes only a few moments per site. The process of injecting, massaging, and evaluating the result are performed. Depending on the number of areas to be treated, the whole process may be as short as 15 minutes.

Once the results are deemed satisfactory, any markings will be cleansed off.

You may be offered an ice pack to reduce swelling and alleviate discomfort. Although the area may feel a bit tender for a day or two, it is usually not painful enough to require any medication.

The Final Effect

You may begin to notice results within 24 to 48 hours for moderate to severe frown lines, but it can take up to 10 days to see your final result. Results may last up to 4 months. Expect a refreshed, relaxed, naturally-smooth and youthful look.