Our hard-working muscles make everything from walking and running to facial expressions possible. Unfortunately, the facial muscles related to expressing emotion also cause wrinkles and creases to develop overtime, giving the face an overall aged appearance. Anyone who wants to enjoy smooth and youthful-looking skin can’t simply stop making facial expressions—but there is a treatment designed specifically to address the issue: BOTOX®. At Palm Beach’s Carroll Dermatology, our experienced injectors use BOTOX® to target forehead lines, overworked masseter muscles, and more, all with a goal of helping you to look refreshed and alert.
BOTOX® is what is known as an injectable neuromodulator. This treatment has been used for decades in both cosmetic and medical settings to reliably relax targeted muscles for months at a time. The formula has been well-studied,tested, and found safe for routine use—which has also been proven through millions of applications for patients around the world.
When you want to move a muscle—for example, to raise your eyebrows in surprise or lower them into a squint—your brain sends a movement-triggering message via the nervous system. The nerves release certain chemicals, which “tell” the appropriate muscles to contract, resulting in movement.
Once injected into a muscle, BOTOX® keeps those chemical messages from being received. That means the muscle doesn’t get the signal to contract, so it stays at rest. All of the other muscles related to the activity still move as they always would, but the specifically targeted muscles remain still. This means you can still make your desired expressions, but your skin in the treatment area will stay smoother, helping you achieve a more youthful look.
The effects wear off in a matter of months, with muscle activity gradually returning.
Regular facial activity that pulls the skin into various positions eventually causes lines, wrinkles, and folds to appear. This is because aging skin loses moisture and pliability over the years, making it even more likely to show the effects of decades of creases.
Lines that develop due to ongoing muscle activity are called“dynamic wrinkles.” They tend to appear faint at first, then grow deeper and more prominent as time goes by and muscle activity continues.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BOTOX® Cosmetic for four uses.
Horizontal Forehead Lines
As the name indicates, these wrinkles form horizontally across the forehead. They are most apparent when you raise your eyebrows in surprise or alarm.
Frown Lines
Developing due to repetitive scowls and squints, frown lines—also known as glabellar lines—most often look like two short vertical creases between the eyebrows, like this: ||. These wrinkles are nicknames “11s”for obvious reasons.
Crow’s Feet
Whether or not you agree that these fine lines look like actual crow’s feet, these fine lines form next to the outside corners of the eyes due to decades of squinting and smiling. They are medically known as lateral canthal lines, but some people prefer to call them smile lines.
Neck Bands
In October 2024, the FDA added a new approval for BOTOX®Cosmetic: relaxing vertical muscles that connect the neck to the jaw, known as the platysma. When contracting, these muscles can look like bands on the neck,as well as give the jawline a less-defined look.
Medical Uses
BOTOX® is also approved by the FDA for a range of medical applications, most often related to muscle spasticity. It can be used to help patients with TMJ (masseter muscle BOTOX®), to reduce migraines, and to shutoff overactive sweat glands to combat a condition known as hyperhidrosis(excessive sweating in the hands, feet, or elsewhere).
Off-Label Uses
Because BOTOX® has been so widely studied, doctors around the United States—and world—have been able to develop treatments and applications beyond FDA approval. These are treatments that have been proven both safe and effective over the years, including injections for bunny lines, a gummy smile, downturned corners of the mouth, chin dimpling, a “BOTOX® browlift,” and more.
Our injectors at Carroll Dermatology are highly trained and experienced in administering all sorts of treatments—including BOTOX®. We have specific BOTOX® training, and we use sophisticated techniques to maximize our patients’ comfort throughout the process, as well as their long-term results.We recommend against anyone simply searching “BOTOX® near me” (or even “best BOTOX® near me) and automatically going with whichever provider is closest to home or offering the cheapest deals. This is a medical procedure, and only qualified professionals—like our team at Carroll Dermatology—should be making the injections.
Before making any BOTOX® injections, we will first meet with you for a personalized consultation. This will allow us to get to know you, as well as to assess the signs of aging you want to address and determine the ideal approach.
The consultation is also designed for you to get answers to any questions you may have, from your treatment options to your expected results from injections to BOTOX® cost to our qualifications. We want you to feel both comfortable and confident as we move forward!
The treatment process itself is brief. It typically takes less than 15 minutes to complete the necessary BOTOX® injections. We use a fine needle, and each injection may feel similar to someone giving your skin a little pinch. That’s it!
Aside from some easy aftercare instructions (don’t rub or put pressure on the treatment area for a few days, stay out of saunas for 24hours, etc.), you can get back to life as usual as soon as you want following your BOTOX® treatment. There may be some minor bruising, swelling, and discomfort at the injection site, but these will go away on their own within a few days.
Muscle activity will also begin to slow during that time,with the peak effect developing in about one to two weeks. After this, the muscles should stay at rest for several months. As activity returns, the wrinkles will, too. When this happens, don’t worry—you can contact Carroll Dermatology and schedule another BOTOX® treatment session.
BOTOX® was the first muscle-relaxing treatment available,but it’s not the only one on the market. Other neuromodulators at Carroll Dermatology include Dysport®, Xeomin®, Jeuveau®, and Daxxify®. All of these work the same way and provide wrinkle-smoothing results, but each has unique benefits that could make them ideal for certain patients.
If the facial lines you want to address aren’t related to muscle activity—such as parentheses lines next to your nose and mouth—or you are concerned about the development of facial hollows and other signs of volume loss, you need something other than BOTOX®. Dermal fillers are ideal for adding volume that can last for years. Choose from the Juvederm® family, the Revance RHA family, Radiesse®, Revanesse® Versa™, and collagen-building Sculptra®.
We’re ready to meet with you and help you figure out which approach—or combination of strategies—would work best to give you the results you are seeking: a refreshed and rejuvenated look!
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