Prejuvenation: Preventative Botox

This weekend I met up with some friends I hadn’t seen in awhile. Had some wine and dinner and listened to live music. We watched an elderly lady in sweat pants and a jog bra dance solo in front of the band…

But that’s not what this blog is about (although it was very entertaining to watch…Sweet, but also weird). Anyway! As we listened to the band, my friends asked me what different procedures I have had done at Body Tonic. They said things like: “I cannot believe you are 40! You definitely don’t look it.”

Well, that’s Botox for you! You look younger when you don’t show the lines and wrinkles on your face from a lifetime of squinting, laughing, frowning, and worrying. So what would happen if you slowed down this process greatly? What if you had started Botox at 25 instead of 45?

Botox as a preventative measure against deep lines and wrinkles is called “prejuvenation.” The idea is this: instead of diminishing those wrinkles years after they have formed, Botox earlier in life can prevent those wrinkles from forming at all.

Deep, noticeable facial lines are often the primary motivators of those seeking Botox treatment. Twenty- or thirty-somethings with relatively supple, unmarred faces may not feel a pressing need to consider anything other than skin creams, serums, and sunscreen, leaving their older selves to deal with the inevitable lines that result from continued movement of the skin through facial expressions. But Botox, by inhibiting this movement, can keep these lines from forming in the first place.

Botox works by temporarily paralyzing the muscle into which it is injected. Continual use of the facial muscles for repetivive actions like frowning, squinting, smiling, and laughing causes wrinkles to form. Botox injections temporarily block the nerve signals that make your muscles contract. This relaxes the muscle, resulting in skin with a more smoothed appearance with fewer lines, wrinkles, and creases.

So when should you start Botox as a preventative? Generally, if you have no wrinkles at all, it’s too early. If there are no wrinkles on your face when it is at rest, Botox will not do anything for you. But once these lines do begin to appear, Botox can help ward off more noticeable furrows and creases.

Other benefits to preventative Botox? The less lines you have on your face, the less often you will have to get Botox treatments, and thus, the less you will spend on Botox in any given year. People who wait until their wrinkles are well formed have to come in more often before desired results are achieved. The muscles that formed those lines are strong from years of use, and so it takes longer to relax them, and just as long to let the skin your skin return to a more smooth, youthful condition.