Botox and fillers such as Juvederm or Restylane are not affected by retinols or AHAs. These products, along with sunscreen, will keep your skin healthy and young-looking.
Be extra gentle when applying skincare products and steer clear of retinol, glycolic acid, and exfoliating agents for 24 to 48 hours post-treatment to minimize the risk of irritation, says Dr. Goldberg.
Dr. Manios recommends that you not use makeup before your appointment or for one day after your visit. Makeup and other foreign substances on the skin can interact with BOTOX injection sites, and this can lead to an infection that causes redness, swelling, and discomfort.
Botox and fillers such as Juvederm or Restylane are not affected by retinols or AHAs. These products, along with sunscreen, will keep your skin healthy and young-looking.
Continue to avoid blood thinners for 24 hours after Botox. Wait two days to re-introduce retinol into your skincare routine.
Avoid Topical Skin Irritants
Around 48 hours before treatment, you should stop using topical anti-aging ointments, serums, and creams. This essentially boils down to products that contain glycolic acid, retinoids, retinol, and Retin-A. These can irritate skin and negatively impact your treatment outcomes.
Take a Zinc Supplement
In a study from the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, researchers found that people who received Botox and then took a 50-milligram zinc supplement saw a significantly longer duration in their results.
2 Days Prior to Injections
Avoid topical products such as Tretinoin (Retin-A), Retinol, Retinoids, Glycolic Acid, or any “anti-aging” products. Avoid waxing, bleaching, tweezing, or using hair removal cream on the area to be treated. Do start taking Arnica two days prior to the procedure.
First, the answer is yes, retinol can make wrinkles worse, especially when you first start using it. What is happening is a drying effect, and one can get epidermal sliding from separation from the dermis.
The short answer is: no, you don't! Botox (Botulinium toxin) works on the muscles underneath the skin, while tretinoin works only within the epidermis layer of the skin itself, so neither interferes with the other.
Some products that may interact with this drug include: certain antibiotics (including aminoglycosides such as gentamicin, polymyxin), anticoagulants (such as warfarin), Alzheimer's disease drugs (such as galantamine, rivastigmine, tacrine), myasthenia gravis drugs (such as ambenonium, pyridostigmine), quinidine.
The body begins to form antibodies against the product. Eventually the antibodies will block Botox® from working, and the facial muscles will recover very rapidly. At that point, there is little point in getting further injections of Botox®. This resistance process typically takes months or years to complete.
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.
"Facial exercise speeds Botox's wrinkle-reducing effects: Simple facial exercises shortly after injection get quicker results by one day." ScienceDaily.
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.
Also avoid retinol if you're going to be spending a lot of time in direct sunlight without proper sun protection. Retinol can make your skin more sensitive to the sun, so it's important to use sunscreen with at least SPF 30 every day — even when it looks cloudy.
Don't Mix: Retinol with vitamin C, benzoyl peroxide, and AHA/BHA acids. AHA and BHA acids are exfoliating, which can dry out the skin and cause further irritation if your skincare routine already includes retinol.
Avoid alcohol, caffeine, Niacin supplement, high-sodium foods, high sugar foods, refined carbohydrates, spicy foods, and cigarettes 24-48 hours before and after your treatment. (All of these factors may increase risk of bruising and swelling).
No there are no specific foods that you should avoid prior to Botox injections. To limit the risk/amount of any bruising with injections though you should not take aspirin, drink alcohol or other be taking other blood thinners prior to Botox/filler injections. Best of luck.
Up till now, there is no known antidote for Botox! Which means that there is no fast way to dissolve Botox of reverse its symptoms. Time is the only thing that is going to help Botox go away.
Between 10 to 50 Units of botox
A forehead botox injection can require between 10 to 50 units needed in the forehead depending on the severity of your wrinkles. Allergan, the manufacturer of Botox suggests the amount of units that's recommended in the “five” sites of the forehead is 4 units.
Your body continues producing new neurotransmitters, so the Botox injection's “blocking” effects will eventually wear off. Generally speaking, Botox injections in the forehead last for approximately 4 months.
- Avoid the use of Aspirin, NSAIDS, Ginko Biloba, Garlic Supplements, Green Tea, Flax Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Vitamins A and E, and essential fatty acids for up to 1 week pre and post injection as they will increase your risk of bruising.
Avoid certain products
In the week prior to the Botox® treatment, avoid taking aspirin, anti-inflammatories (such as Advil or Aleve), ginkgo biloba, vitamin E, or fish oil supplements. Compounds in these oral supplements and medications may increase bruising and bleeding.