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When Stopping the Use of Botox, Do Wrinkles Become Worse Than Before Treatment?

asked 11 months ago by karen in texas in Dallas, TX
Latest answer by Ronald Shelton, MD
Question viewed 934 times
Tags: wrinkles, discontinue, results

21 answers to When Stopping the Use of Botox, Do Wrinkles Become Worse Than Before Treatment?

+1

Are Wrinkles Worse after Botox?

Hi Karen. Maybe the wrinkles would look worse if you have been using Botox continuously for 10 years or longer. Other than that, the wrinkles should look exactly the same. Botox does not change the makeup of the skin, it is only capable of temporarily relaxing the facial muscles. Any smoothing effects will last only as long as the Botox does (3-4 months) and your face will look exactly as it did before the treatments if you do not use it again. Good luck. more
Harold J. Kaplan, MD

Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.celibre.com

+1

Wrinkles do not become worse, rather better,then before treatment, after stopping Botox

I often see patients who were not able to return for one reason or another, for a long while after their last Botox and typically the lines present are better than before their first treatment they ever received. The muscles can get retrained by you and after having Botox for a while, you tend not to reflexively frown or squint as much so that even when the Botox is not effective any longer, your more relaxed facial state keeps the skin smoother than before your onset of treatment. more
Ronald Shelton, MD

Manhattan Dermatologist
+1

Do wrinkles become worse when botox treatment is stopped?

Hi Karen. Thank you for your question, which is frequently asked by patients. The simple answer to your question is no. Compared to before any botox treatment, dynamic wrinkles in botox-treated areas should not become worse due to stopping the botox treatment. Good luck.
James M. Pearson, MD

Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

When you stop BOTOX, wrinkles do not become worse than before the treatments

When you stop BOTOX, wrinkles do not become worse than before the treatments. In fact, after having BOTOX for several years, the lines completely fade and often come back much slower than if you never had BOTOX in the first place. But, BOTOX does not stop the aging process. Overtime wrinkles come back to where they were and as you age they may continue to get worse. see video
Joseph A. Eviatar, MD

Bronx Oculoplastic Surgeon
+1

Wrinkles will not be worse after Botox wears off

Neuromodulators such as Botox and Dysport soften wrinkles that are caused by hyperactive muscles of expression such as the corrugator muscles that cause the "11" between the eyebrows. Once the effect wears off, the muscles will re-form the wrinkles as they were before. It is possible that if the effect is maintained with regular injections, you could prevent wrinkles from becoming worse since they would tend to worsen over time without any treatment..
Richard Baxter, MD

Seattle Plastic Surgeon
+1

After Botox Wears Off . . .

About three or four months after you’ve had an injection with Botox, your muscles will slowly start functioning again and once the Botox has completely worn off, your wrinkles will be back again. Also, over time you’ll start to lose fat and collagen and elasticity, so you may need to add other treatments to address future aging. But, no Botox does not make your wrinkles worse than before. Think of Botox as a maintenance treatment that you’ll need every three to four months... more
Timothy Jochen, MD

Palm Springs Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Wrinkles should return as they were before

While Botox is in effect you are making less muscle movements than you would be without Botox so your wrinkles cannot be worse. If you do not continue treatment you just go back to the way you were before your treatment.
Paul Vitenas, Jr., MD

Houston Plastic Surgeon
+1

Botox Shouldn't Worsen Wrinkles Long Term

If you stop using Botox, your wrinkles should not worsen compared with how they were to begin with. Usually, they will either go back to how they looked you started getting Botox, or, the wrinkles may be slightly less noticeable, depending on how long you have been getting injections, which can sometimes weaken those front muscles longer-term over time with repeated treatment. The texture and thickness of your skin is not effected one way or another with Botox, however, so your... more
Steven Svehlak, MD

Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon
+1

When Stopping the Use of Botox, Do Wrinkles Become Worse Than Before Treatment?

Botox temporarily paralyzes your muscles so wrinkles go away. Once the Botox wears off, the wrinkles should not be any worse then what they would have been had you never received Botox. You will just see a significant change once the Botox wears off, but this will actually be what you would look like without Botox.
Sam Goldberger, MD

Beverly Hills Oculoplastic Surgeon
+1

Stopping Botox does make wrinkles worse.

If you used Botox to soften unwanted lines and wrinkles and then decided, at some point, to stop using Botox...the wrinkles would return to the state they were before you started using the Botox but would not be worse. However, with age and time these wrinkles may worsen anyway.
Francis R. Palmer, III, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

Wrinkles will go back to they were before treatment

Your wrinkles will go back to the way they were before treatment. if you are unhappy with the way it looks you can just start getting Botox again. see video
Babak Azizzadeh, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon
+1

NO

NO, you will just return to how you were before the treatment. If you use it for 5 years and stop, you will likely return to how you were 5 years ago when you started IF you were using it regularly. In essence you have stopped the clock on aging for those 5 years, this is due to those muscles becoming weak and therefore unable to make the movements that worsen the lines which "age" you.
Robyn D. Siperstein, MD

Boynton Beach Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

What happens after I stop getting Botox injections?

That is an excellent question that gets asked of me by a lot of my patients. In short, the answer is, as with fillers, you revert back to your normal state. I'm in total agreement with what the other experts pointed out, which is if you are now used to your new and improved relaxed appearance and it wears off it may appear as you have worsened. There should be no reason why your wrinkles would worsen after stopping Botox or fillers.
Ted Brezel, MD

Long Island Dermatologist
+1

Wrinkles After Botox Is Discontinued

Botox treatments help relax the muscles of facial expression that when overused, often combined with sun exposure, stress, smoking and other "insults" to the skin, cause unsightly lines and wrinkles of the forehead, between the eyes and at the sides of the eyes (crow's feet). During the time that the botox treatments are in effect, there is limited movement of those areas, which when done properly looks very natural, and also helps allow time for your skin to naturally... more
Doris Day, MD

New York Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Are Wrinkles Worse After Botox Treatments?

The question of whether or not Botox or filler treatments will increase the risk of worsening of the lines after they have worn off has come up frequently. In my experience, the opposite has been the case. I have never seen an instance where I felt that these treatments made things worse after they wore off. Quite to the contrary, I feel that Botox and fillers not only eliminate lines but will also prevent new ones from forming. Eventually, when the effects have worn off, I believe you will... more
Mitchell Schwartz, MD

South Burlington Dermatologic Surgeon

dorsetstreetdermatology.com

+1

Wrinkles After Stopping Botox

Wrinkles will reappear after Botox is stopped, but I would not expect the wrinkles to worsen in the short term. In fact, if there have been several sessions of Botox injections, the muscles seem to fatigue a bit and it will probably be a relatively long period of time before the wrinkles reach the pre-treatment severity. Of couse the wrinkles will likely recur over a longer period of time.
John Whitt, MD

Louisville Plastic Surgeon
+1

Wrinkles will return to baseline depending on how long you have had injections

After you have stopped using Botox your wrinkles should not worsen. Depending on how long you have been receiving injections you may notice that they are not as prominent as they were prior to having injections. You may however notice changes in the texture of your skin that can occur with the normal aging process. Many patients worry that having botox will accelerate the aging process and that in not the case.
Rosalyn George, MD

Wilmington Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Wrinkles slowly return to baseline as Botox wears off

The question is a common one. Many patients worry that their wrinkles might be worse after the Botox wears off than they were prior to injection. Fortunately, this is not the case. Botox and other facial rejuvenating treatments set the hands of the clock back, but of course they do not stop time. Skin aging will continue even if one controls the underlying muscle activity that produces dynamic (frowning) wrinkles. That said, most... more
Mark J. Lucarelli, MD

Madison Oculoplastic Surgeon

www.UWHealth.org

+1

Wrinkles should return as they were before

I agree with Dr. Prather. Wrinkles are due to genetics, sun exposure, and dynamic/animated movement. While yes the quality of the skin will age as a result of the first two reasons, the wrinkle lines will not age if you are not moving your muscles to cause the wrinkle. Once Botox wears off, you will return as you were before, but depending on how long you have been receiving regular injections of Botox, the quality of the skin may have aged.
Daniel I. Wasserman, MD

Naples Dermatologic Surgeon
+1

Yes of course.

When these treatments wear off, you are going to be 6 months older so what do you think? It is not an antiaging serum! Plus when it wears off, you are not going to remember what you looked like before your treatment. You are going to remember how great you looked while the treatment was working. However, the treatment is not going to age you faster or create more lines than you would have had. Nothing sinister going on here.
Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD

Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon
+1

Wrinkles no worse after stopping Botox

Many patients worry that after stopping Botox treatments, their wrinkles may be worse. Fortunately, however, this is not the case. Botox is wonderful for reducing and improving wrinkles, but it only lasts for approximately 3 months. Patients who want to keep the results they've achieved with Botox will return to the office every three months for their next injection. When patients decide to stop injections, their wrinkles will return to "baseline". That is, they will go back to... more
Chad L. Prather, MD

Baton Rouge Dermatologist

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