Since its FDA approval in the 1980s, Botox has been an obsession for those that want to halt the aging process. Botox, or botulinum toxin, temporarily stops the communication between nerve endings and muscles.
The injected muscle is in effect paralyzed for about 3 to 6 months. It creates a smoother and more youthful appearance. Plus, regularly doing so will tackle facial wrinkles and the aging process. It can also boost your mood.
When it comes to fighting the signs of aging, Botox is used to treat both static and dynamic wrinkles. The static wrinkles are deep etchings into your face from years of smiling, frowning, and raising your eyebrows. Dynamic wrinkles only appear as you make a facial expression.
While it’s best to prevent static wrinkles from forming, regular treatments with botulinum toxin injections can soften your look. But what happens with the long-term effects of Botox? Find out more about the benefits and the risks of getting Botox.
Facts About Botox Injections
Before you consider getting Botox treatments with botulinum toxin type A, you should know what it does and how it can affect you.
Botulinum Toxin Trains Your Facial Muscles
When you get Botox injections for years, your muscles learn how to not make aggressive wrinkle-forming facial expressions. You get used to having that feeling of less movement and become more aware of those movements as this botulinum toxin type wears off. That means you’ll frown, squint, and raise your eyebrows much less in time.
Botox Causes Muscle Weakness
Regular use of botulinum toxin weakens the treated muscles. In doing so, it leaves the rest of your muscles to keep their full volume. This kind of muscle weakness is a good thing though, as it allows you to look more youthful and still make facial expressions that aren’t stiff or stony.
Botox Injections May Make Your Skin Look Thinner
After repeated injections of botulinum toxin treatment, chances are your skin may appear visibly thinner. When skin thins, it could reveal subdermal veins.
While this isn’t all that common, those that start using Botox treatments too young are more likely to experience these adverse effects. For example, when injecting botulinum toxin into the forehead, it can prematurely thin this area and create a condition of generalized muscle weakness.
Though, that may mean your brows and eyelids look heavier. Before you worry, much of that can be avoided by using a proper skincare routine and using sunscreen every day.
Botox Injections Could Cause Slight Discoloration or Textural Issues
Botulinum neurotoxins are generally well-tolerated, but another rare point to think about is that for some, it could cause waviness on the skin above the target muscle at the injection site. Discoloration of the skin may also occur.
While this is another rare thing with botulinum toxin injections, you can prevent it from happening. This is avoided by changing the pattern of the injection site and by smaller amounts of botulinum toxin administration. This creates more uniform distribution without stopping Botox injections for a long time.
You May Need Fewer Botox Injections Over Time
With long-term Botox use, you will need less maintenance as time goes on. Your muscles weaken, and as a result, you will need less botulinum toxin. It trains your muscles not to move and, in doing so, prevents deep wrinkles.
Botulinum Toxin Effects Last After You Stop Using It
One of the best effects of Botox is that it keeps working for you. If you’ve ever heard your face will become wrinkled once you stop using Botox injections, that is false.
If you choose not to keep getting botulinum toxin after using it for a while, it will continue to slow the formation of wrinkles. You will still look years younger, though how young will depend on how long you keep using Botox injections.
Long Term Effects of Botox Brighten Skin and Decreases Wrinkles
Botulinum toxins for years can keep you looking much younger with fewer wrinkles. You’ll have a smoother look with a minimized appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Skin will look brighter overall, exuding that youthfulness you want to keep with you. This is why so many people choose Botox.
Effects of Botox as the Most Common Cosmetic Procedure
Botulinum toxin is most commonly used as a cosmetic procedure. It ranks as the most chosen cosmetic treatment, largely because it delivers great results and is noninvasive. When you undergo treatments with Botox, it helps to understand how it works.
Inhibiting Nerves
One of the effects of Botox is that it inhibits nerve transmission. It binds to the muscles at the point of the chosen injection site. Over the course of a few days, it starts blocking the release of acetylcholine, the main neurotransmitter of your parasympathetic nervous system. This acts like muscle relaxants that weaken the area.
Weakening of Muscles
As the botulinum toxin takes hold, it gets to work under the surface of your skin. It takes action by weakening the muscle’s ability to contract. That means the skin on top of your muscle in the treated area looks smooth and flawless.
Smoother Skin
The reason many people choose Botox is that it results in smoother skin. At a minimum, this effect will last for 3 months though it can last for up to 6 months.
Botox Effects Over Time
Botulinum toxin has been used for a long time now. This means that any adverse effects for both therapeutic and cosmetic cases are well-documented.
Most people do not consider smoother skin to be one of those adverse events. The result of cosmetic treatments is that it weakens the muscles and keeps wrinkles from developing as much.
What we know about Botox is that it will keep you looking younger. Even if one day you decide to stop having multiple injections, the youthful look you love will last. It’s not that you will never again have a wrinkle, but you will indeed look younger from having Botox at some point compared to if you’ve never done so at all.
Is Botox Bad for You?
Botulinum toxin receptors exist in your central nervous system. Given that these receptors are there, it stands to reason that Botox can be a safe option for both therapeutic and cosmetic use. However, because it is used in small doses cosmetically, this tends to be safer than therapeutic Botox treatments.
Botox may even be ideal for treating anxiety and depression. These emotions tend to exhibit themselves on the forehead muscles. Relaxing those muscles halts the transmission of those emotions. More research is needed on this, though it looks promising that Botox could not only smooth out wrinkles but also smooth out feelings of anxiety and depression.
Most people seem to know that Botox is also FDA-approved to treat chronic migraine. It is also approved by the FDA for the treatment of cervical dystonia. Cervical dystonia is a disorder that causes involuntary neck spasms.
Another thing Botox can treat is excessive sweating. Just like with Botox for the face, in time, excessive sweating abates, and less Botox is required to keep up the result. Even for an overactive bladder, Botox can be used. The treatment of overactive bladder with Botox is very effective.
Does Botox pass the blood-brain barrier?
While botulinum toxin crosses to other parts of the body sometimes, many people worry about it crossing this barrier. Only a small amount will cross in a retrograde way like the tetanus toxin. It may have the potential to cause adverse events. If you’re worried, discussing your prior surgical procedures and other medical conditions before starting Botox is an important first step before getting any injections.
Possible Adverse Events of Botox in the Short Term
Before going into the long-term potential effects, you should know the short-term ones as well. Adverse events can occur with any kind of medication, though severe adverse events are very rare even with the upper dosing limit.
A patient’s medical history is important. Speak to your doctor if you have any conditions, hypersensitivity reactions, or are taking medications to make sure Botox will not cause a problem for you.
Some reported short-term effects of Botox include: weakened muscles, difficulty breathing, severe respiratory failure or speaking, allergic reactions, chest pain, loss of bladder control, and injection pain.
Possible Long Term Effects for Botox Treatments
Generally, if Botox is a problem for you, it will show up in the short term. Remember, serious adverse effects are rare and tend to come about with medical conditions. Among them, those with Graves hyperthyroidism could have thyroid eye disease or a sarcoid granuloma pseudoaneurysm in the frontal part of the superior temporal artery. There was only one case of Botox-related anaphylaxis, making death an extremely rare outcome.
The chemical structure of this drug is not without causing sensitivities in some. However, if you have no medical conditions or conflicting medications to take, you may only find weakened muscles at the site of injection. This means that Botox is working as it should.
The muscles treated will gradually atrophy with prolonged usage. In your face, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If you use Botox starting from a young age, you may be more prone to having a wavy appearance in your skin too, but this can be corrected with ease. Depending on where you have Botox added, there are other things to know.
Botox for Forehead
One of the most commonly treated places on the face is the forehead. It delays the process of aging even after you stop using it. After several years of use, your forehead muscles aren’t going to work as they did before Botox. Thus, your forehead will still look younger.
Botox for Face
These long-term effects will also apply to other areas of the face. That includes the crow’s feet around the eyes and other problematic areas. Even in studies with identical twins with one receiving Botox and one without, the twin that had Botox continued to look younger.
Botox for Migraines
When it comes to migraines, Botox is like a miracle cure. If you suffer from these painful interludes, regular Botox could stop them from returning again. The only downside seems to be an injection site headache and neck pain in the area of injection.
Who Should You Talk to About Botox and Its Effects?
Now that you’ve researched more on Botox, you might be ready to dive in for your cosmetic treatments or to treat migraines. The best thing you can do when you want to get started is talk to an expert in the area of cosmetic treatments like Botox.
The best expert in Miami is Vida & Co. With our extensive experience in administering Botox, we can help you decide if this treatment is best. Meet with us for a consultation, and let us answer all your questions.
Getting Botox is a personal decision, and it can be used in many different ways to create the natural and younger look you want.
Vida & Co: You’re Trusted Miami Beauty Clinic
Vida & Co is located in Miami, Florida, and has the means of offering you a wide range of Botox and other treatments to help you feel confident in the way you look. Our professional team and comfortable environment will welcome you in for these noninvasive procedures.Whether you want to see fewer wrinkles, make migraines disappear, or discuss how Botox in Miami, along with other fillers, can restore your look, contact us today. Botox can help you regain your confidence and help you enjoy your life with even better quality. Let us enhance your assets and turn back time for a new and improved, smoother you!