Many people worry that if they stop getting BOTOX injections, their wrinkles will come back faster and worse than before. However, this is not the case. If you stop BOTOX injections, your wrinkles will slowly start to come back, but slower than if you had never used BOTOX to begin with.
From a medical point of view, once the effects of Botox wear off, your face will NOT look older. Actually the opposite happens with certainty. Botox injections help you get rid of some of the unwanted wrinkles around the eyes, forehead, chin etc….
Botox acts by paralyzing the muscles in a given area, causing wrinkles to smooth. Once the effects of the Botox wear off, the patient will appear the same as they did prior to the treatment. Prolonged treatments will not cause sagging of the skin.
When you stop using Botox, your muscles will eventually start working as they did before you used the treatment. However, your muscles or your skin do not make up for lost time by accelerating the aging process.
The cosmetic use of Botox is safe even in cases of repeated injections. On the other hand, the long-lasting cosmetic use of botulinum toxin can trigger permanent changes in facial expression, and an expressionless, mask-like face.
When some people see their wrinkles form again after the rejuvenating effects of Botox wear off, they assume that the treatment made their wrinkles worse. This isn't true at all. In fact, regular Botox use can actually retrain certain muscles to move less, leading to smoother skin with less Botox over time.
If you use Botox for ten or more years, your skin will appear brighter and smoother with fewer wrinkles. Even after stopping Botox injections after years of use, you'll still notice fewer wrinkles between your eyes or on your forehead, which means you'll continue to age gracefully.
When people see lines forming after BOTOX wears off, they assume treatment made their wrinkles worse. Actually, your face simply returns back to its natural state. No new wrinkles or lines are ever caused by these injections.
At what age should you stop using Botox? There is no upper age limit for people who want to have Botox. In fact, many women enjoy the refreshed look they can get from Botox and complementary treatments when they are in their 60s or older.
Answer: No, BOTOX Reduces Sagging
BOTOX works by relaxing facial muscles, but that won't lead to sagging or the loss of elasticity. In fact, the opposite is true. The constant contraction of facial muscles causes our skin to move.
The regular doses of Botox had caused complete muscle wasting in that area and was semi-permanently lost. Her actual problem was with cheek fat sagging. This area (white arrow) had been dragged down by gravity from what used to be youthful upper cheeks, resulting in heavy jowls now.
Over time, the Botox components are broken down into harmless particles called amino acids. The broken-down components are excreted from the kidneys as waste, or they're used in other proteins. As such, Botox either leaves your system completely or gets recycled in a harmless form.
"Botox is a neurotoxin that paralyzes the muscle. After people use it, they start losing volume in their face, and that accelerates the appearance of aging."
"If you do too much Botox on your forehead for many, many years, the muscles will get weaker and flatter," cautions Wexler, adding that the skin can also appear thinner and looser. Moreover, as your muscles become weaker, they can start to recruit surrounding muscles when you make facial expressions.
Long-Term Consequences of Over-Use
Negative side-effects of prolonged over-use of Botox may include muscle weakness as the facial muscles involved with Botox application slowly lose their ability to function normally.
And if you're wondering if Botox works if you already have wrinkles, the answer is a resounding YES. In fact, smoothing out facial wrinkles and fine lines, like laugh lines, crow's feet, frown lines, etc., is the primary FDA-approved purpose of Botox injections.
If you stop BOTOX treatments after many years of regular injections, the only effect will be that your wrinkles will return, albeit a bit more slowly than if you had not been using BOTOX. It's true: Even after you stop, you will still look younger than you would have if you had never been injected.
One of the main reasons that Xeomin is the Botox alternative that celebs love is that they can enjoy the treatment's benefits and still honestly and accurately state that they don't use Botox.
bruising, swelling and redness where the needles went in the skin. a frozen look – you might not be able to move the muscles in your face if too much botulinum toxin is injected. temporary weakness and droopiness in your face – for example, your eyelids or eyebrows may droop if the botulinum toxin moves into these ...
Botox toxins are thought to remain active in the body or target area for 4 to 6 months before being metabolized and excreted from the body.
As we age gravity pulls on our lower face, leading to sagging jowls, decreased elasticity and hanging skin of the chin, neck and lower face. Injecting Botox® in this area can provide a subtle lift, helping you look younger and refreshed.
Does BOTOX help sagging jowls? Unfortunately, a masseter BOTOX injection is not an effective tool for correcting sagging jowls or excess fat under the chin. In fact, it can actually make the problem worse in some cases.