The Amazing & Surprising Benefits of Botox

Last Updated: November 21, 2022

When it was first introduced more than a decade ago, the injectable Botox Cosmetic revolutionized the way plastic surgeons and clinicians are able to affect the signs of aging. Since then, Botox has earned its place as a household name, which also makes it susceptible to critics about its effectiveness or even its safety. In reality, Botox is a safe, effective, and smart choice for patients looking to temporarily reverse or suspend aging symptoms, including fine lines and wrinkles, deep creases, and more. It offers prospective patients a low-risk and nonsurgical treatment option. If you’ve been considering Botox treatments or just want to learn more, you might be impressed with its many benefits.

Totally Nonsurgical, But Completely Effective

One of the biggest draws about Botox treatments is that it is nonsurgical. For patients who aren’t ready or willing to go under the knife, Botox is an effective option to try instead. Instead of anesthesia and incisions, Botox patients are faced with numbing agents and injections. For many, it’s a welcome alternative to hours-long procedures and lengthy recoveries.

Derived from the toxin Clostridium botulinum, Botox Cosmetic has been FDA-approved for specific anti-aging treatments when injected in a controlled manner. While the word “toxin” makes people nervous, the formula is not a toxic or dangerous substance patients need to worry about. Instead, it is specifically targeted to temporarily freeze selected muscles in the face. With the muscles unable to move, facial lines and wrinkles cannot be deepened and will likely diminish I appearance. Botox is especially effective in areas where the muscles move frequently.

Lines & Wrinkles Be Gone!

Without the muscles constantly moving and creasing the skin, facial lines and wrinkles will begin to smooth. Not only will Botox help to lessen the appearance of existing aging signs, but it can also stop new lines from forming in other places. Combining preventative measures with healing time for the skin is one of the unique benefits that Botox Cosmetic has to offer.

Discover what Botox can do for you at The Rejuva Center by browsing through our Botox before and after photos.

A Quick, Nonsurgical Brow Treatment

One of the hardest hit spots during the aging process is the forehead and brow, where deep lines can form and tired muscles can leave the skin to sag. Brow lift surgery is one treatment option to correct these problems, but Botox can provide a temporary, nonsurgical alternative. With injections placed strategically in the muscles of the brow, it can be lifted to a more natural looking position and alleviate the pressure and sagging. Some patients are happy to repeat brow Botox treatments at regular intervals to maintain these results, while others use it as a preview of what surgery could offer them. Either way, the results will speak for themselves.

A Low-Risk Treatment Option

Surgeries are often accompanied with the risk of complications. While some nonsurgical treatments also carry risks, Botox ranks among the safest. Some mild side effects can occur, such as headaches, light bruising, tingling, and discomfort at the injection site, but even these are not common. Each of these symptoms will gradually subside on their own, without any long-term damage or other complications to follow.

Customizable Treatments for Individual Needs

Botox Cosmetic is not administered as a one-size-fits-all procedure. Instead, one of our cosmetic specialists  will work with you to discover what areas are of the most concern to you and what results you’d like to see. The injections themselves can be used in tiny amounts to gradually provide buildable results. Areas with deeper, more dramatic wrinkles may need more injections or larger amounts of Botox. Finer lines will need much smaller amounts in turn. By customizing your treatment in this way, your cosmetic specialists can create a natural looking end result. You don’t have to worry about the overly-filled, “frozen” or plastic-y looks that you’re afraid of getting. Work together with your clinician to achieve the best results for you.

What Are the Benefits of Botox® for Your Skin?

Botox® is a popular cosmetic treatment because it offers clear results with minimal pain. However, Botox® also benefits the skin by relieving the muscle tension that causes wrinkles in the first place.

In fact, as a muscle relaxant, Botox® prevents the muscles in the face from reacting harshly to movements like scowls and laughs.

These types of repeated movements crease the skin, much like the result when a piece of paper is repeatedly folded. Botox® prevents these folds from becoming too deep by relaxing the skin and smoothing out its appearance. As these Botox® before and after photos show, the results are clean, natural, and smooth.

Botox® Prevents Wrinkles

In addition to its immediate positive effects on the skin, Botox® can also help prevent future wrinkles from forming. Preventative Botox® treatments are becoming more and more popular among younger patients who have noticed lines and wrinkles forming on their faces due to those same extreme movements (i.e., scowls and laughs). When patients use Botox® to relax muscles and prevent repeated, dramatic movement, it inhibits wrinkles from forming at all.

Help Your Skin Build Collagen

Another important benefit of using Botox® is the effect that it has on the skin’s natural ability to look young and stay that way — namely, its collagen. In fact, a Canadian study from 2015 found that repeated Botox® injections can have a cumulatively positive effect on people’s overall appearance. This includes increased skin elasticity, which is attributed to higher levels of collagen, in the areas where they received their Botox® injections.

Long-Lasting Results

Finally, when it comes to anti-aging results, Botox® is one of the most favored and popular cosmetic solutions on the market. Not only is it the bestselling product of its kind, but repeated studies have found that Botox® injections are safe and effective for fighting the signs of aging, and the results may last longer.

Initially, patients may need to repeat Botox® injections every three to four months, but those who consistently use Botox® can often go up to six months between treatments.

Where on Your Face Can Botox® Be Injected?

Botox® has many different applications for both cosmetic and non-cosmetic uses. In fact, doctors first began using Botox® to treat crossed eyes all the way back in the 1970s. Since Botox® gained FDA approval for cosmetic treatment in 2002, the list of applications has significantly expanded.

Botox® for Forehead and Brow

The forehead and brow are popular areas for Botox® treatment and are often the most requested sites. As these Botox® for forehead before and after photos show, common areas patients address are the horizontal lines across the forehead as well as the “elevens” lines, also called frown lines, located in between the eyes.

Botox® for Wrinkles Under Eyes and Crows Feet

Moving down the face, Botox® is a popular option to fight the signs of aging around the eyes as well. Botox® injections are a popular and safe solution for addressing the fine lines at the corners of the eyes, known as squint lines or crow’s feet. Some patients also use Botox® under the eyes, often in combination with dermal fillers, to address fine lines surrounding the tear trough and create a more bright-eyed and awake look.

Take a look at these Botox® crow’s feet before and after photos to see the incredible effects of this popular treatment option.

Botox® for Chin, Jaw, and Neck

Finally, Botox® also has applications in the lower face, including the chin, jaw, and neck.

• Chin: Getting Botox® in the chin is a common solution for chin dimpling, a condition that occurs when the muscles in the lower face become overactive, resulting in a puckered appearance.
• Jaw: On the flip side, jaw Botox® treatments target the masseter muscle and help reduce the appearance of a clenched jaw, thus slimming the face.
• Neck: Finally, neck Botox® injections are a popular solution for both horizontal and vertical lines along the neck. The so-called Botox® necklace treatment includes a series of Botox® injections along the necklace line to relax the muscles in that area and smooth the appearance of the neck.

What Else is Botox® Used For?

Botox® has been used in the medical field since the 1970s, gaining approval for cosmetic use under the name Botox® Cosmetic, in 2002. As a result, doctors have discovered many ways to use Botox® to treat all manner of medical conditions.

Repair Damaged Hair

Although it’s not the most common or talked about treatment, Botox® can help repair damaged hair by smoothing out the cuticle, just like it does wrinkles. As a result, hair fills the cuticle gaps, appearing shinier and more manageable.

Reduce Migraines

Using Botox® for migraine treatment is perhaps one of its best-known non-cosmetic applications. Initially approved by the FDA in 2010, regular Botox® treatments can reduce both the number and severity of chronic headaches, including migraines.

Botox® for Pain Management

The use of Botox® for pain management is usually concentrated in the neck and jaw. Chronic conditions such as bruxism (teeth grinding) as well as pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) may be treatable with Botox®.

Blepharospasm

One of the oldest uses for Botox®, treating eyelid spasms known as blepharospasm, started in 1989. Used in this manner, Botox® is FDA-approved for patients 12 and older.

Focal Hyperhidrosis

The use of Botox® for excessive sweating, or hyperhidrosis, is another popular medical application, and one that we offer at The Rejuva Center.

Hyperhidrosis solutions are not for everyday body odor and sweating during exercise or a heat wave, however. Instead, they are reserved for people who experience extreme and uncomfortable sweating, even when they sit in an air-conditioned room.

Discover the Benefits Botox Can Offer You

Discuss this and other options and procedures with Dr. Edwin F. Williams of the Williams Center and Rejuva Center. He is certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. If you want to consult with an experienced New York plastic surgeon, call the Rejuva Center at 1-518-308-4119.