If you stop BOTOX treatments after many years of regular injections, the only effect will be that your wrinkles will return, albeit a bit more slowly than if you had not been using BOTOX. It's true: Even after you stop, you will still look younger than you would have if you had never been injected.
“Your skin will still look younger, smoother with softer wrinkles as the muscle itself will have weakened over time.” She continued, “You will still look much younger than you would have if you hadn't gotten injected, but you will be at risk of getting wrinkles again as the effect of Botox wears off in 3 to 6 months.”
Stopping treatments won't make you look older
Many fear that their faces will become dramatically wrinkled when they stop having Botox, but that is not true.
You would expect your skin just to return to its original state and the wrinkles would slowly reappear. So in a nutshell, it would be no better or no worse than when you first had Botox. I however, was still pretty upset by the fact that I would have to be Botox-free for so long.
Many people worry that if they stop getting BOTOX injections, their wrinkles will come back faster and worse than before. However, this is not the case. If you stop BOTOX injections, your wrinkles will slowly start to come back, but slower than if you had never used BOTOX to begin with.
"Many people fear that their faces will become dramatically wrinkled when they stop Botox. If you choose not to continue, those muscles staying out of use while Botox is active can delay the aging process; it reduces movement when injected, slowing the formation of wrinkles," Farber explains.
"If you do too much Botox on your forehead for many, many years, the muscles will get weaker and flatter," cautions Wexler, adding that the skin can also appear thinner and looser. Moreover, as your muscles become weaker, they can start to recruit surrounding muscles when you make facial expressions.
Negative side-effects of prolonged over-use of Botox may include muscle weakness as the facial muscles involved with Botox application slowly lose their ability to function normally. This might be regarded as a positive if these same muscles result in the development of prominent lines and wrinkles.
Is It Safe to Use BOTOX in the Long Term? BOTOX is an FDA-approved, low-risk treatment with a great safety record. If you continue to work with an experienced, credentialed injector, it is unlikely you will experience any negative effects of long-term BOTOX use.
If you use Botox for ten or more years, your skin will appear brighter and smoother with fewer wrinkles. Even after stopping Botox injections after years of use, you'll still notice fewer wrinkles between your eyes or on your forehead, which means you'll continue to age gracefully.
People of any age can get treatment with Botox, and it is regularly used on people between the ages of 25 and 50 particularly. No matter how old or young you are, however, this treatment can relax the look of wrinkles and even stop them from forming in the first place.
Some of the people who shouldn't be using Botox are nursing or pregnant women, those who suffer from neuromuscular disorders, and people suffering from neurological illnesses. If you are thinking about taking Botox injections, you need to be aware of the potential risks and their effects on your body.
Yes! Botox injections are available to people of all ages. In fact, many users in their 60s and older love the rejuvenated appearance that Botox and complementing treatments may provide.
Patients must be 18 years or older to be able to get Botox. However, most experts agree that in most cases, patients at a good age for preventative Botox treatment are those in their mid-late 20s and early 30s who are prone to wrinkles.
FDA has reported adverse events after BoNT injection affecting nervous system far from initial site of injection such as speech disorder, nystagmus, restless leg syndrome, and even coma. Central nervous system involvement included 23.5% of serious and 24.9% of non-serious events (1).
Is Botox Permanent? No, injections are not permanent. They will last anywhere from 3-5 months. It all depends on factors such as age, metabolism, and activity level.
Puffy, bulging cheeks
But if it's done by a less-than-credible injector, you can get the dreaded “pillow face.” If too much filler is put into the cheeks, or it's injected into the wrong area, the cheeks can bulge and essentially give you chipmunk cheeks.
Possible side effects and unwanted results include: Pain, swelling or bruising at the injection site. Headache or flu-like symptoms. Droopy eyelids or crooked eyebrows.
Here's how it happens: After a Botox session, a patient tries to make a facial expression, but Botox-injected muscles can't move. Nearby muscles contract instead, causing new wrinkles. The process is called “recruitment” of the nearby muscles.
When people see lines forming after BOTOX wears off, they assume treatment made their wrinkles worse. Actually, your face simply returns back to its natural state. No new wrinkles or lines are ever caused by these injections.
While BOTOX is most known for smoothing out wrinkles and creases, it can also make small adjustments to your jawline. BOTOX can narrow your face and make it appear thinner. It works by temporarily freezing the masseter muscle, so it eventually shrinks down in size.
As discussed above, after BoNT injections muscles have the propensity to accumulate lipid which may lead to underestimation of atrophy in these muscles.