While you may not be familiar with the term botulinum toxin, you’ve definitely heard its more familiar names: Botox, Xeomin (pronounced Zee-o-men) and Dysport. These products can reduce the wrinkles in the face by being injected under the skin, into certain overactive facial muscles that cause the wrinkles. The most common areas to inject these products is into the wrinkles between the eyebrows, referred to as the 11’s, to the forehead and around the eyes (known as the crow’s feet). The video below demonstrates this nicely.
I find that all 3 of these products are very similar. They all start working in 1 to 3 days, hit their maximum effect at 7 days and last for 3 to 6 months. They’re very effective at reducing your facial wrinkles, taking years off your facial appearance, all without surgery.
Aside from these more common injection sites mentioned above, you can also inject Botox, Xeomin and Dysport into the muscles just below the corners of the mouth. These muscles, called the depressor anguli oris, when overactive, can pull the corners of the mouth down, giving you an unhappy appearance or a “bitchy resting face!” By injecting these muscles under the corners of the mouth, the muscles relax and allow the corners to rise, giving you a happier appearance.
You can also inject Botox, Xeomin and Dysport into the neck if you have banding of the neck muscle. Your board certified plastic surgeon can let you know if your neck banding is amenable to these injections. And finally, if you have wrinkles to the upper lip with and without pursing them, you may be a candidate for Botox, Xeomin and Dysport injections to the upper lip. But keep in mind that if you inject these products into your upper lip lines, you may not be able to pucker your lips or suck out of a straw. This freaks some patients out so be prepared for that side effect if you ask for botulinum toxin injections into the lips. If you’re wondering about cost, click here and you can find a board certified plastic surgeon near you that posts their pricing.
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