Your Guide to Everything Botox + Before and After Photos

Are you considering BOTOX®? As a cosmetic treatment, it has a long history of helping the rich and the famous brush away the unwanted signs of aging. As a medical treatment, it has been used to treat spasms, sweating, and even migraines.

No matter what has led you to try BOTOX®, you need to know what to expect. In this short guide, you’re going to learn about some of the most important considerations. You’ll learn what it is, how it works, and how it is typically used. 

In the end, you can learn what’s possible in real life with some before-and-after images.

Table of Contents

• What is BOTOX®?

• How does it work?

• What is it used to treat?

• Before-and-after

What is BOTOX®?

BOTOX® is a protein that is capable of weakening or relaxing muscle tissue. When it is used in small, precise doses, it can have safe and predictable benefits. 

This drug was originally approved to treat muscle eye disorders. In the late 1980s, researchers discovered that precise injections could help patients recover from uncontrollable blinking and crossed eyes. 

Over time, it was also discovered that applying small amounts of the drug around the eyes resulted in tighter, younger-looking skin. 

By the early 2000s, BOTOX® was approved by the FDA for cosmetic treatments. At first, it was only approved to treat frown lines between the eyebrows. It has steadily been approved for many more cosmetic uses since.

While the uses of BOTOX® have increased dramatically, the method by which it works is very similar to when it was first approved.

How does it work?

BOTOX® is typically applied as an injection. It arrives at your clinic as a powder, but a saline solution is applied to it to make it injectable. 

When it is applied, the protein blocks the signals that pass between the nerves and the muscles. It accomplishes this by relaxing the synapses that form the communication system between that section of the muscle and the brain.

Without the signals that are processed by the synapses, the muscles can no longer contract. As a result, the wrinkles relax, and the skin appears smooth and firm. For a limited time, new wrinkles are prevented from forming.

What is BOTOX® used to treat?

BOTOX® is used for an impressive number of treatments. 

BOTOX®  Cosmetic treatments

Starting from the time of its introduction, BOTOX® has been FDA-approved for three different cosmetic treatments. 

• Moderate-to-severe frown lines: Frown lines are wrinkles that appear as a result of years of squinting or frowning. As a result, people who spend a lot of time in sunlight are at a particularly high risk of developing these signs of aging. Frown lines form vertical grooves around your upper nose, in the area between and above the eyes.  
• Moderate to severe crow’s feet: Crow’s feet are wrinkles that can easily develop from nearly any facial expression over time. They appear as lines that extend from the outer edges of the eyes. They may be far more obvious when the muscles are contracted, such as when you’re squinting your eyes.
• Moderate-to-severe forehead lines: Forehead lines (also called Glabellar Lines) are wrinkles that form on the forehead. Anyone may be at high risk of developing these lines because the muscles involved contract when you make nearly any facial expression.

BOTOX® is known to be effective for all of these cosmetic problems. In all cases, it is capable of smoothing out the area and preventing new wrinkles from forming for an extended amount of time.

How is BOTOX® used therapeutically?

BOTOX® has been approved for 11 different therapeutic treatments, including:

• Chronic migraine
• Overactive bladder
• Cervical dystonia
• Spasticity
• Severe underarm sweating

Before-and-after

What do BOTOX® results look like? It may be easier to understand the answer with some before-and-after photos of treatments that have been applied. 

The results below are an example of how moderate to severe frown lines may be resolved with BOTOX® treatments. 

While these results are not guaranteed to everyone who pursues BOTOX® treatments, they do demonstrate some of the real possibilities for relief from the signs of aging. 

Ready to try BOTOX®?

Now, you understand what’s possible with BOTOX®. You know what it’s used for, and some of the history behind how it became a popular medical and cosmetic treatment. You also understand how it works and how the careful application of injections controls the risks.

Furthermore, you’ve learned what BOTOX® is used to treat. You understand that it has been used safely for both medical and cosmetic reasons. You’ve also seen what’s possible with some before-and-after examples. 

If you’re ready to learn more about BOTOX®, you should schedule a consultation. During your consultation, you can freely discuss what you want from your treatment, and learn more about the options that are available.