Cleveland OH Botox Injections Q&A

Neurotoxin treatments, such as Botox®, are a very common and popular cosmetic procedure in the U.S., being mostly used to reduce the appearance of facial wrinkles caused by years of expressions such as squinting, frowning or smiling (among others). Botox® is the trade name for Botulinum toxin type A, a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It can be poisonous in higher amounts (this is the toxin that causes the life-threatening type of food poisoning called botulism) but Botox® uses smaller, weaker doses. Whilst there can be side effects, these are rare and not typically serious and may include temporary weakness of the nearby muscles, the drooping of an eyelid or facial unevenness. These side effects depend upon the location of the injected muscles and can last a few weeks but are fully reversible. Minor, temporary bruising may also occur at the injection sites.

The way Botox works is pretty simple: it is injected into the facial muscles (without actually affecting the muscles themselves) causing them to relax by blocking the neurotransmitters that “work” them. When these muscles relax, they no longer make the expressions that cause the unwanted wrinkles, thus making the skin appear visibly smoother.

When having a Botox treatment the medical professional may first numb the area using an anesthetic cream, before injecting the medicine into specific facial muscles. This only takes a few minutes and is done as an outpatient, in-office, procedure. Instructions will be given advising which activities should be avoided immediately after treatment; the muscles should begin to relax within the first week of treatment resulting in fewer facial lines and wrinkles.

Although it would be nice if the effects of Botox lasted forever, they do eventually wear off and the nerves will start sending the signals to the muscles to start working again. In general, Botox lasts 3 to 4 months but everyone’s experience is different, and results may vary. There will be patients for whom the results will last longer – around 4 to 6 months – or shorter, around 2 months. It is also common for the effects from the first treatment to not last as long, but this generally improves with subsequent sessions.

Botox can help anyone (over 18 years of age) improve their appearance by giving them a more youthful and in some cases a less “worried”, look. The most commonly treated areas are those where facial muscle activity causes the unwanted wrinkles, such as:

• Glabellar lines (frown lines)
• Wrinkles around the eyes (crow’s feet)
• Forehead creases
• Corners of the mouth 
• Chin dimples
• Lip lines (smoker’s lines)
• Nose lines (nasolabial folds)

Botox can also be used to decrease muscle mass in the jawline to provide a slimming facial result.

A Botox treatment only takes a few minutes and there’s no need for anesthesia (except sometimes the topical numbing cream) as a very fine needle is used making the injections virtually painless. Results are usually visible within two to ten days and over time the treated lines and wrinkles should appear less noticeable due to ‘training’ the treated muscles to relax.

In addition to its esthetic function, Botox injections can also be used to treat conditions such as neck spasms, excessive sweating, an overactive bladder, and a lazy eye; they are also believed to help prevent chronic migraines.

There are a lot of different and exciting uses for Botox, like its many cosmetic uses! For example, Botox can be used for treating facial fine lines and wrinkles, taking years off of a patient’s face. Here’s a bit of a list of the most common uses for Botox. It can treat:

• Frown lines, forehead lines, worry lines, laugh lines, and other facial lines
• Crow’s feet
• Asymmetry of the brow
• Mouth corners that droop
• Wrinkles around the lips and in other areas
• Hyperhidrosis which is severe underarm sweating
• Neck banding
And more

The injections work by reducing nerve impulses and muscle activity in the treated area to help it relax, and in turn, issues like fine lines and wrinkles are softened. With line lines and wrinkles, after treatment, they won’t come back so easily for a long while, and this can be extended with regular treatments! The effects are temporary and harmless to the client which means Botox is very safe. Let’s get into this topic a bit more.

Before the procedure, the practitioner you see can numb the area with a topical treatment or ice, and during the procedure, there’s typically only minimal discomfort. Clients should expect some slight discomfort, minimal bruising, and some swelling, but that’s about it.

After the procedure, the client won’t need very much recovery time at all and can return to their regular activities after just a few short hours! It’s rare for a client to experience any complications, and the complications are temporary and minor at worst. Botox is one of the most extensively studied medical aesthetic treatments ever and has been evaluated in hundreds of peer-reviewed articles in scientific and medical journals. Also, Botox is approved by many dozens of countries and counting. Botox is very safe, and you can be sure of that.

Botox can help anyone (over 18 years of age) improve their appearance by giving them a more youthful and in some cases less “worried”, look. The most commonly treated areas are those where facial muscle activity causes the unwanted wrinkles, such as:

• Glabellar lines (frown lines)
• Wrinkles around the eyes (crow’s feet)
• Forehead creases
• Corners of the mouth 
• Chin dimples
• Lip lines (smoker’s lines)
• Nose lines (nasolabial folds)

Botox® can also be used to decrease muscle mass in the jawline to provide a slimming facial result.

A Botox® treatment only takes a few minutes and there’s no need for anesthesia (except sometimes the topical numbing cream) as a very fine needle is used making the injections virtually painless. Results are usually visible within two to ten days and over time the treated lines and wrinkles should appear less noticeable due to ‘training’ the treated muscles to relax.

In addition to its esthetic function, Botox® injections can also be used to treat conditions such as neck spasms, excessive sweating, an overactive bladder and lazy eye; they are also believed to help prevent chronic migraines.

You can find a qualified Botox injector right here at the Wellness Center of Greater Cleveland near Cleveland OH! Feel free to call us with any questions you have about Botox. Call today or book with us online if you want to see whether you’d be a good candidate for treatment. There’s a very good chance you will. You’ll be able to enjoy your treatments in our relaxing, rejuvenating clinic. We serve clients from Cleveland OH, North Olmsted OH, Olmsted Falls OH, North Ridgeville OH, Bay Village OH, Lakewood OH, Berea OH, Brooklyn OH, and BEYOND.