With botulinum toxin – A youthful look thanks to botulinum toxin

Botulinum toxin is a synthetically produced drug with a temporary paralyzing effect: muscle contraction is significantly reduced when exposed to the toxin, eliminating the underlying cause of wrinkles for a certain time.

Botulinum toxin has long been used in ophthalmology and gynecology and has also been established for some time as a proven means of treating wrinkles. Injected in small amounts into the surface of the skin or slightly deeper into the dermis, it is very good at softening out wrinkles and fine lines.

The effect of the treatment begins to emerge in the first 24 to 48 hours after the injection of the botulinum toxin. After about a week, the final result becomes visible and lasts for about four to six months.

Botulinum toxin is injected through very fine needles of only a few millimeters in diameter, which makes the prick almost imperceptible. The pain will depend on the treated area and your individual sensitivity to pain. If you are very sensitive to pain, your attending specialist may prescribe a lidocaine-based local anesthetic to be applied as a cream. For a pleasant, low-pain treatment, please apply it around 20 minutes before the treatment.

You can take up sports again or go to the sauna one day after an injection with botulinum toxin.

Unlike injections with hyaluronic acid, the positive effect of botulinum toxin cannot be seen right away. As a rule, it takes about a week until the muscles relax completely, and the wrinkles are significantly reduced.

The positive effects of an injection with botulinum toxin generally last around four to six months.

Not at all. Wrinkles return only gradually and do not appear to a greater extent than before.

A personal consultation with a specialized doctor always precedes any treatment at Aesthea. You can, of course, proceed to a treatment with botulinum toxin immediately following the consultation.

For safety reasons, no wrinkle treatments with botulinum toxin can be carried out during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Slight swelling at the injection site immediately after treatment is normal, but usually disappears the following day. Extremely rarely, an injection with botulinum toxin in the forehead area may cause the eyebrows or eyelids to droop temporarily.

As a rule, the effect of injections with botulinum toxin lasts around four to six months, by which time the treated wrinkles have been significantly reduced. If the injections are repeated before the muscle contraction is fully restored, more lasting results can be achieved overall. Ideally, the injections will be repeated every four to six months.

Good to know: The sooner anti-aging treatments with botulinum toxin begin the better the chances of preventing the formation of wrinkles.

In the first few days following a botulinum toxin injection, some minor undesirable after-effects may occur, but will subside after a few days. As is usual with injections, at most a slight tingling or burning sensation may be felt during treatment. Temporary bruising sometimes occurs at the injection site and remains visible for a few days after the injection. You can easily cover up bruising with makeup.

Extremely rarely, the eyelids may droop (ptosis) and headaches or redness may occur. Most side effects can be treated or disappear on their own over time.

If you have any questions or are concerned, please contact your attending physician. He or she will be happy to advise you and answer all your questions!

We advise against treatment with botulinum toxin in the following cases:

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding
• Antibiotic treatment with aminoglycosides (amikacin, gentamicin, streptomycin)
• Recent treatment with anticoagulants
• Recent treatment with anti-inflammatory agents
• Known hypersensitivity to botulinum toxin
• Severe myasthenia
• Lambert-Eaton syndrome

We ask you to inform us if you are taking any medication.

Please do not massage the treated areas following a botulinum toxin injection. We also recommend that you do not wear a tight-fitting hat/cap, that you avoid sauna and hammam visits and that you do not travel by air for the first 24 hours after the injection.

We ask you not to take any medications that contain acetylsalicylic acid or that have anti-inflammatory effects for eight days before the treatment. Avoiding such medications will minimize the occurrence of small hematomas.

If your skin reacts quickly by swelling and bruising, it is recommended to take arnica tablets. You can start taking these tablets two to three days before the injection and continue until the day after the treatment. Doing this will reduce the risk of bruising to a minimum.