In the Next Few Hours
- No yoga (i.e. no upside-down positions) in the next 4 hours to prevent the neuromodulator from spreading to the wrong areas
- No swimming (i.e. no wearing swim goggles) in the next 4 hours if you received injections near your eyes
- Do not massage or rub the treated areas of the face for the first 4 hours, as it may diffuse the toxin to adjacent areas and cause an undesired effect.
- You can cleanse, moisturize, and apply sunscreen and make-up as usual.
When Will It Work, How Long Does It Last?
- Botulinum toxin starts working after 48 hours, at which point your muscles might feel a little different as they become less responsive when you try to contract them.
- Botulinum toxin reaches its peak effect at 2 weeks. This is the optimal time to schedule to come into the office to have the doctor check your results.
- The effects of botulinum toxin gradually diminish over 3-4 months. Schedule your next appointment 3-4 months from today.
- If you continue getting botulinum toxin treatments done every 3-4 months for two years or more, studies show that your muscles will start requiring fewer injections to maintain the same result.
What to Expect
- A tiny bruise might occur at one of your injection points. It is okay to apply cover-up to the area until the bruise resolve. Bruising is more likely to occur if you regularly take medications that thin the blood. These medications include: aspirin, warfarin, Plavix, fish oil, vitamin E, NSAID's (Motrin, Advil, Aleve), garlic, ginseng, or ginkgo biloba.
- If this was your first neurotoxin treatment ever, up to 15% of patients might feel a small tension headache after their first treatment. It is okay to take ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) to relieve this.
