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Are Botox Results Permanent After Long-term Use?

asked 2 years ago by fanny123 in USA
Latest answer by Steven Svehlak, MD
Question viewed 3,299 times
Tags: permanent, results

I read somewhere that Botox results become semi-permanent after perhaps 8-12 treatments. Is this true? If so, would it only be true for certain areas or for any area treated with Botox? I'm getting Botox for down-turned corners. Thank you!

19 answers to Are Botox Results Permanent After Long-term Use?

Unfortunately, Botox results are never permanent

Botox results last 3-4 months on the average but sometimes up to 6-8 months but never permanent. Dysport results may last 3-5 months but also never permanent. Hopefully, someday we will have something that lasts a year or 2, but not yet.

David Hansen, MD
Beverly Hills Dermatologic Surgeon

www.DrDavidHansen.com

BOTOX results are usually not permanent

Botox causes weakness of muscles which are causing wrinkles or in your case, downward turning of the corners of the mouth. Over repeated treatments, the muscles will atrophy, provided there is not a long period between the time the effect of Botox wears off and your next injection. I tell my patients you can think of Botox as a chemical cast on the muscles. Just like when you wear a cast on your leg or arm, the muscles get weak and smaller over time. But when the cast comes off, you can... more

Steven F. Weiner, MD
Pensacola Facial Plastic Surgeon

Botox results are not permanent

Botox results are only temporary, and typically last 3-4 months for most people. For those who get injected at regular intervals over time, however, the results can sometimes last a little bit longer, since the muscles have been immobilized for a long period and can atrophy. That said, once Botox use is discontinued, they will slowly return to how they were initially, prior to treatment.

Steven Svehlak, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Botox results are not permanent

I am not aware of any scientific reports that find that Botox effects are permanent. With repeated use the muscles that Botox targets may atrophy, but with discontinuation of Botox treatment they should gradually return to normal.

Sanjiv Kayastha, MD
Albany Plastic Surgeon

www.kplasticsurgery.com

Botox and long term effect

Botox can have a thoeretical longer term effect over time for several reasons. I havent seen any studies concerning this but there are patients who get botox for blepharospasm (spasm of the eyelid muscles) that get a lower dose over the years. The reasons are the following: 1. As muscles become paralyzed they become atrophied or weaker. Thus you may need less botox to paralyze the muscle and even off the botox the muscle may not be as strong as they were before botox 2.... more

Chris Thiagarajah, MD
Washington DC Oculoplastic Surgeon

Botox results not usually permanent with long term use.

Botox usually works for 3 to 4 months. This depends on the dose, as well as the patient. If the patient is hyper-metabolic, (i.e. in the gym twice a day) it may last a shorter period of time. Likewise if a patient is very animated with the muscles of facial expression, this can also decrease the length of effectiveness. Some will say that with continued use, the muscle will atrophy and one may use less Botox, or come in less frequently. As of this writing... more

Jeffrey Roth, MD
Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon

Botox results are never permanent

After repeated injections of Botox, muscles can have disuse atrophy making them weaker. That will reduce the frequency of Botox injections but unlikely to be permanent. In a way it is a blessing because any severe side effects or complications related to Botox will always be temporary. Regards

Tanveer Janjua, MD
Bedminster Facial Plastic Surgeon

Permanant Botox Effect

Botox is a paralytic and thus stops the motion of muscles. The more the muscles go without moving the more they will atrophy or get smaller. Although they will never full go away continues Botox injection will make them very small. Therefore, less Botox is needed to keep the muscle from moving and the longer the effect will last. Stopping the Botox will allow the muscle function to return. It will eventually return to its pre-Botox state.

Christopher L. Hess, MD
Fairfax Plastic Surgeon

Repeated use of Botox may weaken but not eliminate muscles

To my knowledge, there are no widely accepted reports of this phenomenon. The muscles may weaken after repeated use but can return to normal after cessation of use.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Botox effects after long-term use

Unfortunately, I have not seen any data supporting your claim. Botox typically lasts 3-4 months and it will then have to be re-injected to continue the effect. I have seen the effect last 6 months, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

Jeffrey E. Schreiber, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon

Long term effect of Botulinium toxin

I do not believe Botulinium Toxin has permanent effect on your neuromusculature, which is both good and bad. The upside is that any asymmetry will fade out with time, but the downside is that you need repeated injections. Over time though, you can decrease the dosage of your injection or frequency of your injections, because the muscles being injected are going through under-use atrophy (means smaller).

Isabel Zhu, MD, PhD
Boulder Dermatologist

Botox results

Botox results are not permanent. Their effects last about 4-6 months. But, overtime the results may last longer as the muscle function diminishes. But, they will never be permanent.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Botox Longevity

Botox results are essentially never permanent. It is true, howevr, that muscles tend to fatigue more after several injections of Botox and the results do last a bit longer after repeated injections.

John Whitt, MD
Louisville Plastic Surgeon

How long do the results of BOTOX last?

The relaxation effects of BOTOX are not permanent. BOTOX has a long history of safety and it is estimated that world-wide there have been more than 10 million injections. I am not aware of any reports of the result being permanent. In the majority of patients the relaxation of the muscle from BOTOX lasts 3-4 months. Although i am not aware of any scientific publications to support this, i have observed in some of my own patients, that after a year or two of regular BOTOX therapy the... more

John E. Gross, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Interesting question

There are many long term studies demonstrating what long-time Botox doctors know: Botox is safe. Whether it would ever become permanent is doubtful, but I do have many patients who began to use Botox in their early 20's in the glabellar area who report very extended benefits (years) with even one injection. THIS IS, HOWEVER, NOT SCIENTIFIC. No study has ever proven this. What I think happens is in young patients, they re-train the frown muscles and stop unconsciously frowning all the time,... more

Mary Lupo, MD
New Orleans Dermatologist

No

It does seem that Botox works longer following each Botox administration, but the nerve-muscle complex always does find a way to reconnect. Thus, this is not a permanent treatment but I have heard of cases extending out to six months. Interestingly, in the Dysport ( a competitor of Botox) study, about 20% of people had an affect that lasted six months.

Arnold R. Oppenheim, MD
Virginia Beach Dermatologist

Botox results are temporary, but last longer the more you do it

Botox results are temporary. Botox binds on to the part of the nerve that releases neurotransmitter into the space that eventually blocks muscle contraction. Your nerves eventually regrow though and that determines how long Botox lasts which is around 3-6 months. The more Botox you do, the more that your muscles get weaker over time and hence the results of Botox has the potential to last longer. But they are never permanent. There are ways to take away or clip specific nerves to get the... more

Philip Young, MD
Bellevue Facial Plastic Surgeon

Permanent botox

No. I have not seen any studies that would support this finding. Botox typically lasts 3-4 months regardless of the number of treatments. Dr. Singer

Elan B. Singer, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

No truth to Botox results being permanent after long-term use

BOTOX and Dysport are phenomenal. These botulinum A toxin products are very effective in softening lines in the forehead and around the eyes. This idea that the effects of BOTOX become permanent after multiple treatments is the stuff of urban myth. It is simply not true. If you stop getting treatment the effects will eventually wear off. There is something to muscle retraining which is thought to be why some effects of treatment do seem to last beyond the 4 months that it takes for these... more