A treatment with botulinum toxin ensures subtle adjustments to your face. Fewer wrinkles, a subtle brow lift, or a fuller upper lip: you can achieve many things with botulinum toxin. Botulinum toxin also offers a solution for medical complaints such as migraine or excessive sweating.
What is Botulinum toxin?
Botulinum toxin is a protein that is actually called botulinum toxin type A. This protein, obtained from nature, is used to temporarily relax muscles. It temporarily blocks the signal transmission from nerve to muscle, causing the (treated) muscle to tighten less and weaken. The agent is used for both medical and cosmetic purposes and applied via injections. In the cosmetic world, botulinum toxin is mainly used to reduce wrinkles. There are three different brands of botulinum toxin available in the Netherlands; at Dokter Finn, we use Azzalure®.
What you need to know about a botulinum toxin treatment
After a botulinum toxin treatment, it takes 3 to 5 days before the agent begins to work. However, it takes 2 weeks before it is fully integrated and the optimal effect is visible.
Generally speaking, a treatment with muscle relaxants is repeated every 3 months, although this differs per person and per type of treatment. Treatment results last for an average of 3 to approximately 6 months.
Unfortunately, we cannot treat pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding with botulinum toxin.
And after the treatment?
After the treatment, we often see that the skin where the injection was made is a bit red. This fades within an hour. Sometimes a small bruise can also appear at the injection site; these take a few days to fade. Make-up may be applied to the treated area after 10 minutes to camouflage any bruising.
In addition, there are the following aftercare instructions:
- On the day itself, do not massage or press hard on the treated area.
- For 24 hours, do not get overheated, such as in a strenuous exercise class or in the sauna.
Contrary to what is often thought, both sunlight and alcohol consumption have no influence on a botulinum toxin treatment.
