BOTOX® Injections and Treatment

Our goal is always to make you look completely natural and not “frozen”. The most common side effect is a small bruise. Another common side effect is the “Spock effect” which means one eyebrow goes up more than the other. This is easily corrected with an additional small amount of BOTOX® injected above the elevated brow.

Much less common side effects include a drooping brow or eyelid, or double vision. These conditions are uncommon and occur only if BOTOX® migrates to nearby tissues. At Advanced Dermatology, we inject very carefully and dilute our BOTOX® minimally to avoid migration. If it occurs, it is temporary, although we will do whatever we can (prescription eye drops, additional procedures to attempt correction).

BOTOX® may also cause a headache, which occurs because other muscles try to compensate for the muscles that have relaxed. A severe headache may persist up to 2 weeks after BOTOX® injections, but this is very rare.

Treatments given too early (less than 3 months) may reduce the effectiveness of BOTOX®.

BOTOX® has been used safely since 1998 to treat muscle diseases of the eyes and voice box, headaches, stomach spasm, and other neuromuscular diseases. BOTOX® is approved by the FDA for the cosmetic treatment of brow wrinkles, excessive sweating of the underarms, and certain muscular disorders of the neck, eyes, and eyelids.

Prior to treatment all potential risks and side effects will be discussed with you by your medical provider and cosmetic coordinator.

The injected area may look like a mosquito bite for 20 to 60 minutes. Usually, there is no residual visual evidence after that. However, little red dots may appear but resolve in a few days. Bruising is uncommon but if it occurs, it may require 7 to 10 days to clear. In the meantime, the bruise can be camouflaged with makeup, which may be applied after treatment.

You can help the BOTOX® be absorbed by the muscles by frowning, raising your eyebrows, smiling, and squinting. Do this several times for 1-2 hours after the injections. Try not to lay back or fall asleep for 4 hours after the injections because the injected BOTOX® is more likely to then spread to nearby areas and cause unwanted relaxation of other muscles. Feel free to resume your regular skin care after treatment. Also, you may exercise 24 hours after treatment.

Try to avoid aspirin-containing products or high-dosage vitamin E supplements for 48 hours unless your doctor has recommended otherwise.

To prevent bruising after treatment, do not take aspirin-containing products or high-dose vitamin E supplements (unless your doctor has recommended otherwise) for 10 days before the procedure. The vitamin E of a typical multivitamin may be taken during this time.

Yes. Wrinkles of the forehead and eyes can be non-surgically smoothed out by injectable fillers, laser resurfacing, tissue tightening, and topical therapy. Surgical choices include brow lift with resection of brow muscles and blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery).

Yes. BOTOX® Cosmetic may be combined with many other cosmetic treatments in our office. Many patients choose combination treatments to achieve the best possible aesthetic result.

How much cosmetic treatments cost depends on the amount of BOTOX® needed and this varies among patients. We charge on the basis of units (this is the true way of measuring it, not by the volume of fluid used because different practitioners dilute their BOTOX® differently) used during treatment. Men need more units than women because their muscles are larger.