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How Long Should I Wait After my Intial Botox Treatment to Receive my Second?

asked 1 year ago by WiGuy in Merrill, WI
Latest answer by Sanusi Umar, MD
Question viewed 682 times
Tags: results, wait

I just received my first treatment (which went well:) and know the effects of Botox last about 3 - 4 months. My question is should I wait for the effects to wear off, or at least start to wear off prior to receiving my second treatment, or should I just schedule my next appt. at 3 (or 4) months? Any advantages or disadvantages to either approach?

18 answers to How Long Should I Wait After my Intial Botox Treatment to Receive my Second?

How Long Should I wait Between Botox Treatments?

Hi WiGuy. The choice about when to return to your next Botox injection is a personal one and there is no simple answer. We have patients that come back religiously every three months because these patients do not want any lines to appear before having the treatment again. Others will wait until they start to see lines creep back before they come in and others still just have the injections around their important events. Let how you feel about your appearance guide... more

Harold J. Kaplan, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.celibre.com

How often Botox is a persona decision

Some patients don't want to feel and see the early wrinkles returning- so for them reinjection at3-4 months is ideal. However many other patients want to stretch the treatments so they may come back when it has mostly worn off but may still have some residual effect at 4-6 months. In some cases after repeated injections we still see residual improvement up to one year later.

Joshua L. Fox, MD
Long Island Dermatologic Surgeon

How Long Patients Should Wait Before Receiving Their Next Botox Treatment

There is really no set rule or standard practice which governs the amount of time that patients should wait before getting another injection. If individuals are concerned about their appearance and do not want their frown lines, crows feet or forehead lines to resume, it might be best for them to get injections according to scheduled time intervals. If patients choose to wait until the Botox wears off, this is also an acceptable decision. However when the Botox does wear off, the... more

Sanusi Umar, MD
Redondo Beach Dermatologic Surgeon

Botox Frequency

I like to have my Botox patients return at 1 month for a full second Botox treatment...after that it's between 4-6 month intervals on average.

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Botox scheduling

The recommendations are to retreat at 3 months. I have seen patients that have gone 4 to 5 months. I always recommend to follow up at their 3 to 4 months post treatment to see the amount of movement and return of facial lines. It is very individualized and truly depends on what your goals are. If you are wanting complete resolution of lines or prevention of lines than I would advise to return as soon as you see movement but not less than 3 months. more

David V. Poole, MD
Orlando Plastic Surgeon

Botox treatment should be repeated in 12 weeks after initial treatment

Botox treatment should be repeated in 12 weeks after initial treatment because the drug is no longer bound to its muscle receptor. If the treatment is not repeated its effects wear off and the next treatment will be in effect starting over.

Edward Lack, MD
Chicago Dermatologist

Botox - Consistency is Key!

In my experience, when you are just starting your Botox treatments and your muscles are at their strongest, I recommend repeating your Botox every three to four months. Although individual cases vary depending on the treatment area, the dose used, and the desired level of activity, three to four months tends to be when the treatment is starting to wear off but your muscles have not yet regained full mobility. I prefer to repeat the treatment before your muscles have regained all of their... more

Frances Jang, MD
Vancouver Dermatologic Surgeon

Botulinum toxin will last about 3 months

I would recommend waiting until you start seeing unacceptable amounts of movement of wrinkles before returning for repeat injections. Otherwise, you're just wasting your hard-earned money. With this being your first injection you really don't know how long you will see benefits. It could be greater or less than 3 months. Best, Stephen Weber, M.D., Ph.D. Portland Facial Plastic Surgeon

Stephen Weber, MD
Lone Tree Facial Plastic Surgeon

The timing of botulinum toxin injections.

In my experience it has lasted 3-5 months so I typically have most patients schedule a follow up injection at 4 months. In some instances my patients have reported longer results with Dysport so that I have injected them at 5 months. However, variations in the longevity of the results do vary and treatments are adjusted appropriately for the individual.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Make Botox work for you.

Use Botox as your servant. If it is giving you the results you want then do nothing. Repeat Botox as soon as it seems to be losing its ability to keep you happy with the wrinkle reduction. In 2 -3 days it will be working fully again. You could wait until all the benefit disappeared but why do so? Probably having Botox every 4-5 months is what works for a lot of people but it is OK to individualize it so you get it whenever you see those unwanted lines coming back.

Harlow Hollis, MD
Victoria Plastic Surgeon

Followup for botox

After a patient receives their first botox injection treatment I ask them to return in one month so I can see the effectiveness. I then schedule a four month appointment as they probably will need another treatment. Should they see that the muscles are waking up prematurely, they can call and get a sooner appointment.

Ronald Shelton, MD
Manhattan Dermatologist

Botox and scheduling

Although Botox lasts about three to four months, I usually have my patients come back at the 3 month mark or so when funciton is jsut starting to come back. I think it helps minimize and improve upon thos lines that begin to etch into the skin.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Frequency of Botox Injections

I tell all of my patients that they should expect their Botox or Dysport injection to last anywhere from 3 to 6 months. The timing of their next injection will depend upon: 1. How long their treatment lasts before the muscles start to regain movement. 2. Whether they want to keep really tight control of the muscles to let as little motion return as possible and eventually get longer and longer lasting results. 3. Their budget. 4. The convenience or inconvenience of returning... more

Mitchell Schwartz, MD
South Burlington Dermatologic Surgeon

dorsetstreetdermatology.com

Best Interval for Sequential Botox Treatments

Hi Wi, You should retreat with Botox at the very first signs of movement in the muscles treated. Studies on muscles have shown that if they are kept paralyzed for one to two years, they atrophy (become smaller and weaker). At that point, most patients find that they can go much longer between their Botox treatments. Good luck and be well. Dr. P

Michael A. Persky, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

Botox - when to get second treatment

There is no correct time frame - basically you can see when you are starting to get movement back. If you want it "frozen" again, then it's time. In general, Botox takes about 4-6 mo to wear off and if you're using it for wrinkle prevention, getting a repeat treatment in that time frame is recommended. Dr. Cat Begovic M.D.

Catherine Huang-Begovic, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Try to Not let is return to baseline

Ideally, retreat at 3.5 months in most cases. That way, you can actually see a cumulative benefit. If you wait more than 4 months, it is like starting from scratch each time. The same thing is true for fillers: topping off the filler at 4-8 months gives excellent cumulative benefit.

Mary Lupo, MD
New Orleans Dermatologist

Don't wait for wear-off if you want wrinkles to go

The whole idea of botox as a wrinkle treatment, or even prevention, is that by blocking the exaggerated motion during a long period the skin has time to recover from the repetitive folding. If you wait until the effect wears off there is a chance that your wrinkles will appear again, basically putting you back on square one. Therefore my advice is to have a treatment with regular intervals. Typically after the first treatment you should come back already after 3 months (as the muscles... more

Alexis Verpaele, MD
Belgium Plastic Surgeon

How long to wait between Botox injections

The average time between injections is 3-6 months. How long it lasts for a particular individual is hard to predict. You will notice when the Botox begins to wear off. At that point you will decide whether it's time to go back for more injections.