It's highly recommended that you move your face around a lot after getting Botox. This includes smiling, frowning, and raising your eyebrows. It's similar to facial exercises, minus the touching. Facial movement may look — and feel — silly, but it actually helps the Botox work better.
After a Botox injection, your cosmetic surgeon or a nurse will advise you on aftercare. You should avoid any exercise for at least 3 hours after treatment. You can try frowning and raising your eyebrows about an hour after your treatment. These facial exercises aren't necessary, but they may lead to better results.
When injected properly by a medical doctor, you can expect to see results after your first treatment. It can take two to four days before the weakening of the muscle begins and movement is stalled. You can see the maximum results of your treatment anywhere from ten to fourteen days after treatment.
Too much Botox in the forehead muscles can cause the eyebrows to droop, making the upper eyelids look very heavy and hooded. The face may look angry or sad all the time. Too much Botox around the eyes can dramatically affect facial expression. The face is simply frozen.
After Botox, you'll still be able to smile and laugh as usual, but your skin will look smoother and more youthful while doing so.
One of the biggest things that you should avoid after Botox is rubbing the area where Botox was injected until fully healed. It can irritate it, prolonging redness and even causing bruising. Rubbing your face can even spread Botox to neighboring muscles creating an undesired result that could last a few months.
Stress releases cortisol, the “stress hormone,” which triggers an inflammatory response within the body. Consistently high-stress levels can cause the body to break down Botox more quickly while speeding the aging process.
When anti-wrinkle injections are injected into the skin it relaxes the muscle (see our 'How anti-wrinkle injections work' article) and makes the surface of the skin smooth. When light shines onto skin without wrinkles it bounces off the skin in a uniform way. The skin appears to be shiny like the surface of a mirror.
botox injected into the frowning muscles doesn't affect the frontalis muscle that helps raise the eyebrows. If you get treatment of this muscle on the forehead, if too high a dose is used you will not be able to raise your brow.
You should still be able to move your forehead and make facial expressions following Botox injections, as long as you have a full consultation with your provider prior to getting the treatment. It is important to discuss your aesthetic goals when getting a procedure such as Botox.
The heavy sensation will completely go away once your Botox wears off in 3 months. But it usually becomes less noticeable after a week or two. If this has happened to you, be sure to let your doctor know this happened next time you get Botox, so he or she can adjust your treatment to prevent this problem in the future.
In general, you can see the effects of Botox as early as 3 to 4 days after an injection. Dr. Oscar Trujillo, a facial plastic surgeon at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, says most patients will see results within 10 to 14 days but should wait the full 14 days to see the maximum results.
After receiving botox, moving your facial muscles through expressive movements such as continuously frowning will maximize the treatments effectiveness. This is done by increasing the uptake of the muscle groups which were targeted by the botox.
Don't lay down for the first 4 hours after having Botox
You might be sore or a little tired after having Botox injected, but you should avoid laying down for the first four hours after the injections. Both bending and laying down could spread the toxin and lead to bruising at the injection site.
Avoid heat exposure for 24 to 48 hours, which includes hot showers, tanning beds, hot tubs, and saunas. While alcohol consumption after Botox is not usually a risk, it is recommended you not drink alcohol for 24 hours as a precautionary measure. Alcohol is a blood-thinner, so it could potentially exacerbate bruising.
When Botox is applied to problem areas around the eyebrows, the muscles relax and the skin on top of them becomes smoother. The muscles around the eyebrows are pulled upwards, elevating the eyebrows and making a patient's eyes appear more open.
Heavy brows and the feeling of drooping.
This feeling and look comes from treatment of the forehead muscles called the frontalis. These muscles move the brows up and in certain cases after Botox treatment, the relaxed muscle then makes the brows drop.
You should NEVER leave a tip for your PA/NP or nurse injector. Injectables are medications, just like a blood pressure pill or a thyroid medication. You would not tip your primary care provider for doing an EKG on you so no need to tip on our medical services either.
"Facial exercise speeds Botox's wrinkle-reducing effects: Simple facial exercises shortly after injection get quicker results by one day." ScienceDaily.
“If you're starting with skin that's healthy, your Botox and fillers will last longer,” contends Dr. Peredo. Her medicine-cabinet recommendations include products that contain retinol, hyaluronic acid, peptides and antioxidants. “Having good skin care will also help extend your results.
Drink Coffee
You should also avoid coffee before Botox. This is because coffee contains caffeine, which may trigger your blood pressure and increase the likelihood of bruising during the procedure. For this reason, you should avoid coffee and other beverages containing caffeine at least 24 hours before the treatment.
The reason that keeping your head above your heart is so crucial right after undergoing your Botox treatment is that bending forward may increase blood circulation to your face and increase the risk that the injected material will move from the targeted areas before it is absorbed.