How Does Preventative Botulinum Toxin Work?
It’s important to understand how muscle relaxation works so you can be fully informed about how preventative Botulinum Toxin will work. There are many brands in the UK. The medical name of the drug is Botulinum Toxin Type A which is derived from Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium. It’s naturally found in soil, lakes, and forests. Botulin Toxin Type A is a medication which is why it’s so important that you get muscle relaxation treatments from a trained professional. They are knowledgeable about the appropriate dosage and know where to inject it to alleviate wrinkles.
To create Botulinum Toxin to inject, the powder is mixed with a saline solution and then injected into certain areas to weaken the muscles. This is how it works to reduce wrinkles. By weakening the muscles, Botulinum Toxin prevents them from moving and causing static or permanent wrinkles.
Most people wait until they start to see wrinkles before they seek Botulinum Toxin treatment, but preventative treatment uses Botulinum Toxin to treat wrinkles before they emerge. By injecting the muscles that typically cause wrinkles around the mouth, eyes, and eyebrows with Botulinum Toxin before they start to develop wrinkles, you are essentially preventing them before they happen. The Botulinum Toxin slows down the use of those muscles, preventing lines from developing (or at least delaying the development of the lines). One of the most common places for preventative Botulinum Toxin is to the forehead, frown and glabellar area. Preventative Botulinum Toxin can prevent deep lines, which can make you look older and tired and are harder to treat once they develop.
Typical areas of Botulinum Toxin Injections include:
• The Glabella: Vertical lines between the eyebrows.
• The Forehead: Horizontal lines across the forehead
• The Crow’s Feet: The lines around the outer eyes.
When to Start Botulinum Toxin How Young is Too Young?
If you’re looking for a hard and fast rule about when to start Botulinum Toxin, we’re going to disappoint you, because there isn’t one. Although many people start getting preventive treatments in their 20s there’s no one “magic” age when you should start getting it. Instead, you should focus on your skin and its issues. Once you start noticing fine lines beginning to start, that’s when you should consider Botulinum Toxin. If you want to prevent the earliest fine lines from becoming full-blown wrinkles, preventative Botulinum Toxin can be the solution. Botulinum Toxin is approved for patients who are 21 years and older and most experts agree that patients in their mid to late 20s are at a good age for preventative Botulinum Toxin treatment.
Bruxism - Masseter muscle relaxation and jaw line slimming:
Conventional treatments such as mouth guards can help bruxism sufferers successfully protect their teeth from damage at night, however, they do not address the source of the problem, the tension or the appearance of an enlarged jawline. Recently, a new procedure with the injectable neurotoxin Botulinum Type A, has proven to be an innovative treatment option for targeting and treating excessive muscle activity and spasticity. Botulinum toxin can soften the appearance of the jawline, leading to dramatic changes in face shape after regular treatment. A slimmer jawline also results in more prominent cheekbones and chin, which are especially important for women, who typically want high cheekbones and a clean jawline. Chin sculpting with filler can also enhance the jaw angle, which is why this treatment is often done in combination with the jawline slimming procedure.
How does the procedure work?
Small doses of botulinum toxin are injected directly into the masseter muscles on each side of the face and spread out at multiple points within the muscles. This helps the muscles relax, reducing the grinding and the masseters hypertrophy. Most patients report thinning of the face and jaw as a result of treatment with botulinum toxin, while voluntary movements, such as chewing and facial expressions, are not affected by the procedure. The procedure is highly effective, with minimal or no pain and absolutely no downtime at all. Face slimming and jaw reduction effect is seen at any time between 2 to 8 weeks.
Results?
The jawline slimming treatment can transform your face completely. In fact, people can go from having a square and masculine jaw, to a narrow and oval face in a matter of weeks Depending on the treatment recommended, you could start to see the results within three weeks. Results typically lasts for three to four months. Sometimes a repeat treatment is needed 4-8 weeks later to ensure the best results, with a follow up six months after that. The results generally improve significantly over the first year of treatment. Finally, as the muscles relax and atrophy over time, less botulinum will be needed and there will be with longer periods between treatments.
Side effects and contraindications?
Using botulinum toxin to relax the masseter muscles is a safe and effective way for treating both the neurogenic and muscular components of bruxism with little downtime and minimal side effects. The injections are slightly prickly or stingy and take about 15 minutes to complete, after which you can return to your normal activities. Side effects relating to the spread of botulinum toxin far away from the injection site have been reported very rarely.
Lip Flip Treatments
Botulinum toxin lip flips are a quick, pain free non-surgical cosmetic procedure during which a medical professional uses a small amount of Botulinum toxin to make your upper lip look fuller. A lip flip is a quick, in-clinic cosmetic procedure that takes about 10 to 20 minutes. It involves the injection of Botulinum toxin into your Cupid’s bow, which is the middle of your upper lip, and into the corners of your mouth. The injection temporarily relaxes the muscles around your lip. This causes the part of your upper lip that’s inside your mouth to “flip” upward and outward, giving your lip a fuller appearance.
Who’s a good candidate for the procedure?
People who opt for the lip flip procedure include those who: • are hoping to achieve fuller lips without dermal filler • think their upper lip “disappears” when they smile • want their smile to appear less gummy which is when your smile shows more of your gums than you’d like Generally, the effects of the procedure last for 8 to 12 weeks. If you’re looking for a more permanent option lip filler might be a more suitable option for you.
What’s the difference between a lip flip and a dermal filler?
Lip flips and dermal fillers both result in fuller-looking lips. But the procedures differ. While lip flips only appear to make lips plumper, dermal filler actually make lips fuller. With Lip filler, a medical professional will inject your lips with a substance made mostly of hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid helps give your skin structure and a hydrated appearance. Lip flips, on the other hand, use a small amount of Botulinum toxin to relax the muscles around your upper lip so it turns upward. This makes your lip look fuller, but its actual volume doesn’t increase; it just gets rearranged. If you want to truly change the shape and volume of your lips, dermal fillers may be a better choice for you.
Gummy Smile
A gummy smile happens to certain people when their upper lip lifts above their teeth too much, exposing the upper gums and resulting in what can be perceived as an unattractive ‘gummy’ smile.
This may be caused by several issues. The main reason this happens that is treatable by Botulinum toxin is when the muscle that elevates the upper lip is hyperactive. Occasionally, a gummy smile can be made worse if you have a thin upper lip, contributing to the problem by exposing the upper gum even more. Botulinum toxin also fix a gummy smile. Botulinum toxin is injected in the area between your upper lip and nose to temporarily freeze the muscles that contract or elevate when you smile which allows you to smile without showing your gums.
Downturned Smile
A Downturned Mouth is often the result of excessive downward pull by muscles attached to the corners of your mouth. Loss of volume and structure in the soft tissues that support your mouth can also be the cause – without good support, the corners of the mouth simply fall down and create a sad look. Botulinum toxin can be placed into the muscle that acts to pull the corners of the mouth down. This is generally done in combination with filler for optimal results, but can be done alone.
Neck Treatment - Nefertiti Neck Lift
Many people have very visible and prominent platysmal bands in their neck, especially when they talk. Botulinum Toxin can be injected into these bands at several injection points along each band to decrease the contraction and visibility of the bands. Relaxing these bands in the neck with Botulinum Toxin can reduce lateral cheek lines and marionette lines in the face while also helping define the jawline.
This procedure I also known as the Nefertiti lift. It targets the neck and jawline and is used for lifting and rejuvenating this area. The term ‘Jowling’ or ‘Jowls’ refers to flesh along the lower jaw, where the skin has begun to sag downwards. Often sinking further than the jawline itself. This sagging gives the appearance of a loose skin either side of the mouth and below the cheeks. Whilst it had been considered difficult to treat without surgical intervention, with the expert team at SkinQR Clinic, jowls can be eliminated with a very simple in-house procedure: the Nefertiti Neck Lift.
It is a new technique, where multiple Botulinum Toxin injections are placed along the lower jawline, as well as the neck along the platysma muscles. By administering injections in specific areas, it is possible to improve jawline definition, rebalance underlying muscles, and lift the neck and jawline.
What results should you expect from neck Botulinum Toxin?
Anti-wrinkle treatments usually begin working within 5-10 days, with optimum results around 10-14 days. Your treatment ought to last for approximately 3-6 months. Most patients, expect to have a smoother appearance, and an improvement of the lines and superficial wrinkles. When the effects start wearing off, you will notice a gradual fading.
Botulinum Toxin injection treatments, such as the Nefertiti Neck Lift, are often considered a simple lunchtime procedure.
What are the contraindications for treatment?
The use of Botulinum Toxin is contraindicated in people with:
neuromuscular disorders such as myasthenia gravis
taking certain muscle relaxants and antibodies such as aminoglycosides
pregnant
breast feeding women
infection
inflammation at the proposed site of injections
bleeding disorders.