How to Ensure Natural-Looking Botox Results

Botox® is the most popular cosmetic treatment in the United States, helping people reduce the appearance of wrinkles so their skin looks smoother and more youthful. Botox works by temporarily paralyzing specific facial muscles. If you’ve never had Botox before, you might be worried about stiff or unnatural results. 

Fortunately, Ken Jesser, MD, and the team at Vein Specialists Institute have extensive experience using Botox treatments to help patients in Palm Desert and La Quinta, California, look and feel their best. In this blog, learn what you can do to get the results you’re looking for and feel more confident about your treatment, too.

How Botox works

Facial wrinkles and lines can roughly be divided into two types: dynamic and static. Dynamic wrinkles form when facial expressions etch lines into your skin. They’re most common around the forehead, eyes, and lips. Static wrinkles are lines that form from sun exposure, genetics, and other causes not related to facial expressions.

Botox works on dynamic wrinkles. As a neuromodulating agent (sometimes called a neuromuscular agent), Botox affects or “modulates” the way your nerves communicate. Specifically, Botox blocks nerve signaling that causes facial nerves to contract during facial expressions, so no wrinkles form on your skin.

Once Botox is injected, it takes a few days to see your initial results, with maximum results appearing after about two weeks. Those effects last for about four months, after which we can repeat treatments.

The key to natural results

If you’ve never had Botox before, you might be concerned about looking stiff or unnatural afterward. Fortunately, these four steps can help you get beautiful, natural-looking results so you feel more confident about your results.

Choose an experienced Botox provider

The most important step you can take when it comes to having Botox treatment is to select an injector with plenty of experience. To get the best results from Botox, your provider needs to understand your facial anatomy, so they can optimize both your dose and the needle placement. 

An experienced provider also works closely with you to understand your goals and analyze your facial expressions to understand their impact on wrinkle formation. Our team takes plenty of time to evaluate your facial anatomy and review your concerns before mapping out a precise treatment just for you.

Focus on key areas

Rather than having injections in multiple areas, consider focusing on one area at first, like your forehead lines or crow’s feet. Treating just one area, at least initially, helps you feel more comfortable with the effects of treatment, and it can also help determine the ideal dosing for future treatments in other areas of your face.

Start small

If you’ve never had Botox before, it’s a good idea to start at a lower dose so you can learn what to expect following treatment. 

While an experienced injector focuses on reducing the signs of aging without making you look “stiff” or expressionless, many people find they feel more comfortable beginning with a lower dose or a very small area so they can get a “feel” for what to expect from Botox treatment.

Consider adjustments

Once your final results become visible in about two weeks, it’s perfectly fine to call the office and schedule a follow-up treatment if you want additional effects in one or more areas. Depending on how our body metabolizes Botox, you may find you need additional injections to get the result you’re looking for. The same is true if you begin with a small dose to gauge its effects.

Use them with fillers

Since Botox only works on dynamic wrinkles, you can still be left with static lines following your Botox treatment. For a more consistent effect across your face, consider using Botox with cosmetic fillers designed to replace lost volume and “plump up” lines around your chin and nose.

Learn more about Botox

Lines and wrinkles may be unavoidable as we get older, but fortunately, Botox® can help us fight back. To learn how Botox can help you achieve your aesthetic goals, request an appointment online or over the phone with Vein Specialists Institute today.