How Long Between Botox and EMatrix

There are two points to consider.

1. If you and your doctor agree to do both treatments the same day, then you should do the laser first, followed by the Botox.

2. If you want to improve the results possibly, by having the laser resurfaced skin, whether by Fraxel Restore, Fraxel Repair, Ematrix or other lasers, then you can consider having the Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, done two weeks prior to the laser resurfacing so that the laser is done on more relaxed skin and when the new skin heals after laser it is healing on a smoother, less wrinkled undersurface.

Hi T,

We advise our patients to wait 24-48 hours between having Botox/Xeomin/Dysport injections and procedures with devices that cause soft tissue swelling because we do not wish for the neuromodulator to spread to unintended areas.  Good luck and be well.

Dr. P

You don’t need take any time between BOTOX and Ematrix.  If you are doing them in the same visit, I would do the Ematrix first, followed by the BOTOX.  But, it doesn’t really matter.

Although most of Botox is bound to the nerve endings within the first hour to two of injection, I prefer to wait for two weeks after the Botox injection before doing laser procedures.

The full effects of Botox are seen at approximately 2 weeks.  The choice of what needs to be done with the laser may be affected by what the final results are.

Generally it is recommended to not lie down or have your head below your heart/ bend over for 3-4 hours after having botox. The concern is having the botox migrate from the area it was placed. If that does happen you can end up with a droopy eyelid or asymmetrical response in your botox treatment.

It is usually okay to have the fractional treatment first, then botox following. The only reason you may not want to do that is if you are going to have swelling from the fractional treatment, this too can cause the botox to migrate. It is always best to discuss this with your treating physician

I perform fractional resurfacing in my office. I always wait 2 weeks between Botox treatment and any laser resurfacing. Although EMatrix is not a CO2 laser, I would probably still wait 2 weeks between the two treatments.

We ask our patients to wait 2 weeks between Botox treatments and laser procedures. The two week time period is the time in which full effect of Botox is generally seen.

Within 20 to 90 minutes after Botox is injected, botulinum neurotoxin type A can be detected inside the motor nerve endings. Therefore the muscles and nerve endings take up Botox very quickly before it can spread far from the injection site. There are many factors that can affect Botox or Dysport uptake including muscle size, amount of nerve innervation, nerve stimulation, muscle activity and metabolism.  It is generally felt that after sixty minutes the reaction is over and it is safe to do anything. So either have the eMatrix treatment first or wait at least one hour after your Botox injection.

Most of the BOTOX® [or other formulations of BTX-A] is either taken up by the nerve endings in the treated area or washed away by natural circulation during the first hour after injection. For that reason, you should leave the treated area alone [no rubbing, massaging, etc] during the first hour, so that the BTX-A will not be moved out of the treated area -- or moved into an area [like the eyelid] which you did not want treated.

After the first hour, you can do whatever pleases you.

Because that is the way it works, if you are going to have several kinds of treatments on an area, it is best to do the other ones first then finish off with BOTOX®.