BOTOX®

No matter how diligent you are about skin care, dynamic wrinkles are an unavoidable part of aging. These are lines that appear when you squint, frown, or raise your eyebrows, and they eventually become etched into your skin from all those repeated facial expressions. Fortunately, you can smooth these wrinkles away with BOTOX at Pure Medspa in Medford, OR.

On this page, you’ll find answers to all your questions about how BOTOX works, what to expect at your appointment, how long results last, and more.

What Is BOTOX?

BOTOX is not only one of the most popular anti-aging injectables available today, but it is also the oldest. The FDA first approved it in the 1960s to treat crossed eyes, and it has since been used to treat several other medical and cosmetic conditions.

An ophthalmologist accidentally discovered the benefits of BOTOX for cosmetic use in the early 1990s. She noticed that her patients who were being treated with BOTOX for eye spasms experienced a bonus effect: a smoother forehead.

As soon as word got out of BOTOX’s anti-wrinkle capabilities, its cosmetic use skyrocketed. The FDA approved it for cosmetic use in 2002. BOTOX has continued to be the #1 nonsurgical procedure in the U.S. for many years, with nearly 2 million people reaping the benefits of its anti-aging effects each year.

How Much Does BOTOX Cost?

At our med spa in Medford, BOTOX is priced per unit. Your total cost will depend on how many units you have injected into your targeted area, which your injector will discuss with you during your consultation.

How Does BOTOX Work?

The clinical name for BOTOX is botulinum toxin type A, and it is a purified protein derived from the naturally occurring bacterium clostridium botulinum. It’s a neurotoxin designed to target the nervous system. When we inject minimal doses of BOTOX into lines and wrinkles, it blocks the signals responsible for activating your dynamic expressions.

When used to reduce wrinkles, BOTOX uses botulinum toxin A to interfere with the communication between the nerve and the muscles of the forehead or around your eyes. In normal conditions, a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine is released by nerves to communicate with muscles, telling them when to contract. When injected into a wrinkle-producing muscle, BOTOX prevents the release of acetylcholine, effectively blocking communication between the nerve and the muscle. This results in temporary immobility, relaxing the muscles in the treatment area and reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

With consistent use, BOTOX can actually train the muscles to stay relaxed, softening existing lines and helping to prevent new ones from forming.

What Causes Active vs. Passive Wrinkles?

Even though they may all look identical, there are actually two types of wrinkles on your face. Lines that form due to genetic predisposition or environmental effects are known as passive wrinkles. Naturally thin skin, dehydration, sun damage, or repeated exposure to pollution—all of these and more contribute to the gradual breakdown of collagen and elastin in your skin, eventually leaving you with varying degrees of lines and wrinkles.

Repetitive muscle use in your face is the culprit behind active or “dynamic” wrinkles. These types of lines appear where you (often unconsciously) use your facial muscles all day, every day. When you concentrate, frown, or look surprised, the glabellar muscles between your eyebrows or across your forehead contract, making your skin fold and furrow. Each time you squint, you activate the muscles around your eyes, resulting in crow’s feet.

As the collagen and elastin supply in your skin decreases over time, these dynamic wrinkles continue to etch themselves deeper into your face, making you look perpetually tired or even angry.

What Does BOTOX Treat?

BOTOX relaxes specific muscles in your face to smooth away common dynamic wrinkles, including:

• Crow’s feet
• Frown lines or “11s”
• Horizontal forehead lines
• Bunny lines on the nose

It can also effectively slim the jawline, relieve symptoms of TMJ, stop excessive sweating, and treat gummy smiles.

BOTOX Lip Flip vs. Lip Filler

Patients who want the appearance of fuller, shapelier lips often choose lip fillers to accomplish their goals. BOTOX offers an alternative if you don’t want to use fillers for upper lip augmentation, or you can combine a “lip flip” with lip filler injections. A BOTOX lip flip creates the appearance of a fuller upper lip without adding volume. It involves precisely injecting BOTOX to relax the muscles around the mouth, causing the upper lip to curl outward slightly and appear more prominent. It can also help with the appearance of a “gummy smile.”

If you’re looking for a subtle change in the height of your upper lip, a BOTOX lip flip is a good option. Fillers are a good choice for patients who want to add volume and get longer lasting results. Lip fillers last about 6 to 12 months, while BOTOX results wear off after about 4 months.

What To Expect From Your BOTOX Treatment

BOTOX is safe, convenient, and offers natural-looking results. At Pure Medspa, we perform all injectable treatments in the comfort of our office. When you come in for a consultation, one of our injectors will provide you with a professional assessment as well as a personalized treatment plan based on your goals.

BOTOX injections cause minimal discomfort, so no anesthesia is required, and the treatment takes just minutes to complete. Your highly trained and experienced injector carefully plans and maps out your injection pattern according to your treatment plan and ensures that you understand your results and after-effects. Side effects, if any, are usually limited to minor discomfort at the injection sites, but this is mild and will resolve quickly.

What Is BOTOX Recovery Like?

There is no downtime or recovery required—in fact, you could come in for a treatment during your lunch hour and return to work with anyone knowing you underwent an aesthetic procedure. At Pure Medspa, our injectors take great pride in our ability to leave you looking youthful and refreshed without looking “plastic” or “frozen.”

BOTOX Treatment Handout

How Long Do BOTOX Results Last?

It takes 3 to 5 days after your BOTOX treatment to see your full results, typically lasting between 4 and 6 months. You will still be able to smile, frown, or look animated as usual, but any creases or wrinkles will appear much softer and less noticeable. To maintain your smoother, more youthful look, you will need to undergo consistent injections according to your treatment plan.

Can You Combine BOTOX with Other Treatments?

Absolutely. Besides combining BOTOX with dermal fillers, other facial rejuvenation treatments can enhance the results of BOTOX injections. These include laser treatments such as HALO® laser skin rejuvenation and chemical peels. You can discuss your options during a consultation and one of our providers will create a customized treatment plan. Laser skin treatments and chemical peels are usually performed a couple of weeks before getting BOTOX.

BOTOX FAQs

Is BOTOX better than dermal fillers?

BOTOX and fillers target different types of lines and wrinkles, so one treatment is not better than the other. BOTOX minimizes dynamic wrinkles, sometimes called expression lines because they’re caused by squinting, frowning, smiling, and other ways we change expressions. Fillers address static wrinkles and areas of volume loss such as tear troughs and flattened cheeks.

Is BOTOX painful?

Each patient’s tolerance for discomfort is different, but most people tolerate BOTOX injections well. You may feel a quick pinch, but the treatments usually take only a few minutes.

Can BOTOX really be used as a wrinkle preventative?

Preventative BOTOX injections can help delay the onset of wrinkles because BOTOX works by limiting the movement of muscles used to change expressions. Patients who get BOTOX injections after noticing early signs of aging can prevent deeper lines and wrinkles from developing for several years.

What’s the best age to start getting BOTOX injections?

There is no “best” age to start getting BOTOX. People usually notice lines developing around the eyes and on the forehead in their late 20s or early 30s, but many people in their late 30s and 40s benefit from BOTOX.

What can ruin BOTOX results?

There are certain activities to avoid after getting BOTOX injections to ensure you enjoy the best possible results. These include:

• Rubbing the treatment area for 12 hours
• Lying down in the first couple of hours post-treatment
• Strenuous exercise
• Taking blood-thinning medications
• Taking a hot bath or using a hot tub or sauna
• Exposure to direct sunlight

We provide extensive instructions about post-treatment care to help you maintain your results.

Why can’t I use retinol after getting BOTOX?

If retinol is part of your daily skincare regimen, you’ll need to stop using it for a few days, both before and after your BOTOX injections. Retinol increases the skin’s sensitivity, and it’s best to avoid anything that promotes skin inflammation when getting BOTOX.