Botox is a preventative treatment

Let's start with a concept. Some treatments prevent aging and some rejuvenate the skin.  For example, sun screen is a preventative skin treatment.  It prevents UV radiation from breaking down your skin's collagen and elastic fibers. If you take twins and one twin uses sun screen every day and the other does not, what do you think you would find after 20 years? That's right the twin that used sunscreen would have healthier, better looking skin. If she stopped using sunscreen after 20 years, would her skin suddenly get worse or catch up to her sister's skin? The answer is no.

In many ways, Botox is a preventative treatment and just like sunscreen you have to continue to use it in a maintenance fashion. I believe other treatments are rejuvenating, such as IPL and hyaluronic acid fillers and may actually stimulate new collagen growth, repairing tissue damage.

Cosmetic medicine is a new and growing field. We don't have all the answers, but there is a new way of looking at how we take care of our faces. The old model of letting things go and then lifting and pulling your skin back (face lift) is in my opinion, not the best way to maintain your facial aesthetics.

It is important to find a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who understands  these concepts and helps you make educated decisions about your skin and facial aesthetic maintenance.

The majority of people do not continuously use Botox and/or restylane. They, like you, will have it for special occasions. Afterward, you go back to exactly where you started. Botox and/or restalyne was never meant to be a permanent solution.

You are not alone in your questions regarding the ongoing use of Botox and Restylane.  Both Botox and Restylane offer temporary results and any use can be discontinued at your discretion. There is some evidence that Restylane and other dermal fillers can increase your own collagen to some degree and this may give a longer duration of wrinkle softening.

However, many patients find that they really like the softening of wrinkles and  the refreshed appearance resulting from Botox and dermal fillers such as Restylane, that they choose to continue getting them with some degree of regularity.

We always recommend that patients don't have their injectables done just prior to an important event due to the possiblity of bruising, or in rare circumstances an undesired result.   If you are considering Botox and Restylane prior to your wedding, you should probably be treated at least 1 month prior.

Always choose your provider with proper credentials in mind.  You can visit www.surgery.org for information on members of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) is the leading organization of board-certified plastic surgeons specializing in cosmetic plastic surgery. ASAPS Active-Member plastic surgeons are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

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