Want to look more rested? Here’s How.
By Dr. Valerie Tokarz
In college my friends would frequently ask me, “what are you mad about?” or “why are you so tired?” The reason? The muscles between my eyebrows were in overdrive from concentrating on my studies (with no end in sight)!
Was there anything I could do to make me look less tired (or as they would tell me, rid myself of the “resting bitch face!”). The answer? Botox® - a neruomodulator medication that is an FDA approved treatment to temporarily improve the appearance of moderate to severe forehead lines, frown lines between the brows, and crow’s feet lines in adults.
Botox works by temporarily stopping the signal that goes from your nerve to the muscle. Used by many specialties for a variety of reasons, it stays local to the area injected, which makes it safe! It’s a protein familiar to the body, so you’re very unlikely to have a reaction to the injections as it doesn’t travel through your bloodstream to other muscles or organs.
So, why do it?
By softening the motion between your eyebrows, those muscles can relax and will allow the eyes to appear more “awake” and provide you with an overall happier appearance. This is nice for those of us who take out stress on the muscles responsible for facial expression! Take a moment and view some Before/Afters on our website.
What about Botox with “Fake Hollywood”?
Often we blame Botox for the fake look we see in several famous people (Meg Ryan, Courtney Cox, Kardashian’s, etc). In reality, they’ve had A LOT MORE than just a few needle sticks! in those cases they’ve had significant plastic surgery and too much filler causing them to lose the normal depressions around their eyes and mouth, taking away from their natural facial contours. Botox, used in a manner intended to soften muscles, will give a “natural” rested appearance.
What about Filler? Isn’t that the same as Botox?
Filler is just that, it helps to fill the volume loss created by the natural aging process. Starting in our 30s, we’re loosing bone and fat density in our faces. That’s the scaffolding keeping the rest of the layers up. Filler can help support the loss of bone (cheeks) as well as fill in volume loss around the mouth and chin due to loss of our jawbone density and fat pads. Since our faces are full of “danger zones” due to the vast blood supply, it is highly recommends that you find a physician (preferably a dermatologist or plastic surgeon) very familiar with the properties of filler and facial anatomy. In inexperienced hands, you can put your health at risk.
How do I know what I need?
Your dermatologist or plastic surgeon will help you decide! When I meet with patients I’m very sensitive to a variety of factors, including budgets and the fact that we don’t want people to necessarily notice that anything was done.
What are the side effects?
Because we’re all living/breathing human beings, when we inject anything through our skin we have the potential to bleed. I use very fine needles and magnifier lenses when I inject Botox. I also use local anesthesia and blunt instruments called cannulas to inject my filler to reduce your risk of pain and bruising.
Are you noticing deep-set wrinkles and thinning skin? Schedule a consultation with Dr Tokarz and we can discuss if Botox and fillers are an option for you.
Photo credits: Allergan. Results may vary. Photos taken at maximum smile and at maximum frown before treatment with BOTOX® Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA), and taken at maximum smile after treatment with BOTOX® Cosmetic at day 7, and taken at maximum frown after treatment with BOTOX® Cosmetic at day 7 and months 3 and 4.