Think Long and Hard Before Getting Botox, It Ruined my Face

Hi There, how long has it been since you had the botox done?, I'm 38 and had the botox around my eyes for the same reason as you, I also used to pass for 31-32, but the botox has totally ruined my face, the wrinkles around my eyes, the sagging skin and the bags have left me looking years older, I still am so angry at myslef more than anything for being as stupid as to get it done in the first place for the sake of a few crows feet that you could only see when I smiled. I have the same fears as yourself that the muscle will never be the same again, I mean it has been 4 months now for me and there is little improvement...i just don't see how it will all go back to normal now as all the doctors promised it would. I wish you the very best and hope against hope that we do go back to our previous selfs sooner rather than later, thanks for sharing your experience with me.

Hi, has your face improved since you wrote this post in May. I have also had devastating effects from Botox (same results as you) and I'm scared that I have ruined my face forever. I look older and ugly with weird cheeks and new lines under my eyes.

Hi Beth F...i saw your encouraging comments about being back to how you were before botox. Exactly how long did that take? Did you take any supplements or do the heat and exercise thing?

I had BOTOX done 3 years ago around crow feet . The worst thing was that I did not even ask my doctor to inject there , never had any problem with those smile wrinkles , cane inky fur 11 lines .He did what he did and ruined my face . My face dropped completely, I could not smile properly , even talking was difficult for me . In the mirror there was a freak looking back at me , all my face features were lost . I went through dozens of doctors and cosmetologists in attempt to have it corrected . Spend enormous amount of money on that . I look better now than I looked 3 years ago after the injection , but my face has not returned completely. The first thing that helped me but unfortunately it was recommended to me only a year past BOTOX was plasma therapy into the face . Plasma helped to get rid of the toxin , I could see that my cheek got lifted after that . But the volume , subcutaneous tissue has not returned 100%. So my advice would be have it done as soon as you can if you are not happy with your BOTOX results . I sold my business 2 years ago and went into beauty industry as I was spending hours on trying to understand what happened to my face and felt like I knew more than majority of certified specialists. However only a few month ago I found the last piece to this puzzle . I could not understand how my face got smaller after BOTOX . I though it was paralysed muscles that lead to loss of volume .. it turns out It is not only that . Our skull and bones of the skull are breathing and if they are deprived of oxygen ( they get it when muscles contract over them ) the process of resorption starts . The bones get thinner even change their position under immobile muscles etc . That is why after more than 3 years of recovery I still have got skin that is hanging as the foundation under it shrunk thanks to BOTOX . I wish you all full recovery . Apart from plasma , I do massage and facial yoga . That also helps a lot , also I work with bones of the skull to help them breathe and restore . Never give up ! Wish you all health and recovery

Hi Jane Thanks for your your comment, it has given me hope that things will start to get better soon, over the last few days I've actually noticed the bags going down a bit, so fingers crossed that it is a sign that the horrible bad affects are going too all resolve, fingers crossed. I agree with you that it is mostly down to the technique, but like you I would never get it done again, it has been the worst decision off my life and I would never risk doing it again. I wish you the very best and again thanks for sharing.

Hi Jane, I had botox two weeks ago and my right eye is terrible and I can't smile properly, either. I only had two injections near the crows feet. Where did you have your injections and did you notice any improvements before 4 months. I'm freaking out and regret this decision every moment of the day.

It's been about 5 months and my situation is looking much better, thank goodness. Yes, mine looked awful at 2 weeks. I looked really odd and poeple kept asking if I was "ok". Obviously, I'm not a medical practitioner, so I can't comment on your outcome in a medical sense. However, just keep in mind that botox wears off. That's the best thing about it. Mine started to look much better after 2 months. Apparently, if it's injected incorrectly or unevenly around the eyes, it can look strange or really affect your smile. I'm sure you'll be fine. Hang in there. Just try to think about other things for a few months (hard as that is). At least it's not a permanent surgery disaster!

Thank you, Jane! I'll definitely try to hang in there. I have definitely gained a whole new appreciation for my face as it is. I can't wait to get my smile back - that's the worst part.

I totally understand how you feel, i felt exactly the same way, stupid, depressed, lonely and angry with myself for getting the botox in the first place and ruining my face. I also feared that it would never go back to normal, I would look at the bags and think how will they ever go away, I didn't think the muscle would recover......but it has, it does take between 5 to 6 months that's the hard part, i will say however that i am still left with slightly saggy skin under the eyes, however this i can life with and it does seem to be getting better each week...i do NOT have the bunching up effect, the chipmunk look or the bags anymore. I know it is hard and a horrible experience to have to go through but hang in there it will slowly get better, but it will take at least 5 months before you start to look like your old self again...i wish you all the best

I have great news. My face was the worst at week three and four. It seemed to "peak" at that time and I lost all hope of returning to normal. I got acupuncture and eating super healthy - I didn't know if anything would work, but was desperate. It slowly started to improve and it's only been nine weeks for me and I'm about 95% back to normal! I feel great and will NEVER do this again! And any guy who would leave you over something like this IS a cad and not worth it! Hang in there - I think it will beging to improve.

Hi Beth F, We were in contact via this website while I too was going through my Botox disaster. I had it injected in my crows feet area and it looked just awful around my eyes. I am approaching the 5-6 month mark with some improvement, not complete yet. I still have bags, and was wondering if it will improve anymore. I am dying to know as I have considered blepharoplasty to remove these new bags that I never had before. Do you think I should wait it out? How long has it been for you now?

Hi Beth F, I'd love to talk to you further about your recovery. You give me hope as I still have bags under my eyes from Botox in crows feet and wonder if they'll ever go away. I'm a little behind you in the process. I too live in Britain. Would it be possible to communicate with you? Let me know. Thanks! Best, Amaxy

Hi Amy Yeah I remember you, penelope and I all going through this at around about the same time, I am almost back to normal, I do not have the chipmunk look anymore or the swollen bags, it took between 5 and 6 months before everything returned to almost how I was before, I still have wrinkles and slight sagging skin under the eyes that I didn't have before, but its not too bad and I can life with it, I'm just so happy that I can finally smile again!! Hows things for you now? x

Hi Beth, It is now six months since my disastrous bout with Botox. I know it is almost completely out of my system, but I still feel a slight tug around my eyes so I think I have a few more weeks to go. I too have more wrinkles and sagging skin under my eyes that wasn't there before but maybe that's because I was doing so much squinting during the past few months to try and get the Botox to wear off faster! I sadly also had filler and hyrulonadaise (to dissolve the filler) at the same time due to a stupid suggestion from a doctor that said it would make me look more 'refreshed' - (it didn't!), so I think that also wreaked havoc under my eyes. I know you live in the UK as do I, so we are in the same time zone. Perhaps we can chat or email one of these days. Can I send you a personal email? Best, Amaxy

Yeah of course send me your private email and we can catch up more beth x

Hi Beth - I am sorry that we all seem to be harassing you because you have got through this horror (and from what I have read of your posts, for the most part unscathed). I am in email contact with Petrified and Amaxy, to whom I have also spoken with a few times on the phone. We even got brave and swapped photos last week. At only 2 months post-botox, I am way behind all of you. Sigh. My cheek ptosis (aka the botox chipmunk) is severe and I still have tingling in my face under the skin of my dropped cheeks every day. The bags under my eyes - ugh! I only had botox injected under the lashes on my left eye and it is the worst by far in terms of puffiness etc. It is just awful. The puffy Nike swoosh. I also have a burning sensation under the skin around the lower lash injection site that has persisted for the last two months and my left eye is also now slightly crossed. I hope this is not permanent. It is like my whole face has just collapsed inwards and downwards. The horrible fleshy feel of my loose skin over the flat, paralysed muscles is just horrid. I hear that at 7 1/2 months post-botox you are pretty much looking like yourself again and that makes me very happy. Not only is that totally brilliant for you (yay!), it gives the rest of us HOPE even though it is a long way away for me. My goal is small - I just want to look normal and be able to smile at Christmas, even if it not completely resolved by then. (Would I ever have imagined that smiling normally would be a goal in life?!) Amaxy is 6 months and Petrified 4+ months post-botox now. I really don't know what I would have done without this website and I am so grateful to all of the people who have taken the time to share their stories and progress. It helps keep the desperation at bay. Your review really helped me work out what had happened to me and took away some of the fear. Today I am super-depressed and fretting about going to work tomorrow. I just feel flat and despondent like this is never going to come right. Logically I know the time will pass more quickly if I am busy but it is so hard to get motivated to do anything because of the lack of confidence and self-imposed isolation. While I am furious with myself for my own stupidity, I am also cross with the doctors who keep repeating the lie that botox wears off in 3-4 months. Clearly, this is not the case. Even though science tells us that the nerve-muscle connection is established again after 3-4 months (and in this sense the botox has technically 'worn off') the EFFECT of the botox has NOT worn off because the previously paralysed eye muscle needs time to build up the strength to drag all the dropped facial and cheek fat back up the face against gravity. From your experience, it appears that this can take another 5 to 6 months after the botox itself has 'worn off' and stopped paralysing the affected muscle. This means that the overall visible effect of botox may last 8-9 months before completely returning to baseline. There is a BIG difference between the botox wearing off clinically and the effect of the botox wearing off physically. Doctors should make this distinction clear to all potential users of botox and perhaps they would think twice about using it. I KNOW I WOULD HAVE. Sorry for the long post - I am not doing well today so I am hiding at home and was hoping that writing to you would make me feel better. It has. Thank you. Cheers, K

Hi I didn't read when this was written so if I am late sorry, i have a Tua Viso and I would recommend it, it tightens up everything they say it doesn't help with wrinkles etc but it certainly tones and should be able to restore the muscle. some people have also had success with wrinkles too, anyway hope that helps.

It helps increase blood flow and circulation, all of which helped with the bags, frozen expression, etc. You'll be back to your old self soon!

Thanks for yr reply MeToo. so if i go to the accupunturist, i tell them i had botox, and they will do accupunture at my eye bags? im really desperate. could you share in detail how they did the accupunture, how many times you did and for how long each session? where are you from? cos if its in singapore, I'd like to get yr recommendation. i just looked at my fotos and i look hideous! please help :(

I'm sorry it took me so long to respond! I had acupuncture every week, alternating 30 minutes to an hour for each session. I wish I had a recommendation for where you live, but I live in the US.My acupuncturist used needles around my hairline, and not anywhere near my eyes or on my face. I did tell her specifically that I had botox, so she was really able to focus on increasing the circulation to that area. I was never so miserable and I'll never forget how this changed my entire face. It definitely works for some people, but I'll take big natural smiles from now on.mine was very severe, so try not to worry - it will definitely get better!!

Hi MeToo - can you please tell me when you had botox and when it wore off? My botox effect is also 'severe' and I am in complete despair. After almost 9 weeks it actually looks WORSE this weekend than it did before. I am beside myself with worry today and fretting about going to work tomorrow.

Did this improve?

Just wondering, do you think massage will help get the muscles active again? I feel positive that if I mention any of this to my cosmetic surgeon he will deny it is a result of the Botox. Has anyone discussed the issue with their physician?