"If you do too much Botox on your forehead for many, many years, the muscles will get weaker and flatter," cautions Wexler, adding that the skin can also appear thinner and looser. Moreover, as your muscles become weaker, they can start to recruit surrounding muscles when you make facial expressions.
Botox can't affect your facial muscles permanently. Your natural regenerative properties will take over and those lines and wrinkles will start to appear again over time.
When some people see their wrinkles form again after the rejuvenating effects of Botox wear off, they assume that the treatment made their wrinkles worse. This isn't true at all. In fact, regular Botox use can actually retrain certain muscles to move less, leading to smoother skin with less Botox over time.
In this study, we showed that intramuscular Botox injection cause deprivation of mechanical loading of tendon, resulting in the induction of tendon atrophy, disorientation and degeneration of collagen fibres [6].
If you stop BOTOX treatments after many years of regular injections, the only effect will be that your wrinkles will return, albeit a bit more slowly than if you had not been using BOTOX. It's true: Even after you stop, you will still look younger than you would have if you had never been injected.
If you choose not to have further treatment, the full range of movement will return and your wrinkles will appear as they did before you had Botox. If you compare your skin during and after this period, you will feel you appear older afterwards as you have been used to seeing your fantastic, smoothed-skin results.
When botulinum toxin is used properly, the incidence of these complications is low. There are no long-term or life-threatening adverse effects related to botulinum toxin treatment for any cosmetic indications.
If you use Botox for ten or more years, your skin will appear brighter and smoother with fewer wrinkles. Even after stopping Botox injections after years of use, you'll still notice fewer wrinkles between your eyes or on your forehead, which means you'll continue to age gracefully.
Botulinum toxin-induced atrophy has been reported as early as one month after injection, and is well maintained for 6 months. In some cases, variable degrees of atrophy were noted up to one year after a single administration.
"After receiving Botox, a patient may unconsciously attempt to re-create the facial expressions in the area where treatment has paralyzed their facial muscles, "said Dr. Becker. "What can happen is that other, nearby muscles compensate--this can have the effect of actually creating new wrinkles."
Well, one of the most common complications when treating foreheads with anti-wrinkle injections is named after Dr Spock. 'Spocking' usually occurs 1-2 weeks after anti-wrinkle treatments. It is described as funny-looking eyebrows that are too high towards the outer end, especially when you raise your brows.
There is nothing harmful about stopping Botox. Nor are there any dangerous or negative side effects. Your muscles will simply not be as relaxed. You will have total mobility of the treated area, regardless of how long you received Botox injections.
The most common negative reaction to injections to your face is a droopy eyelid, also called ptosis or blepharoptosis. Most people don't have this problem. Around 5% of people who get Botox will have problems with eyelid droop. This number falls to less than 1% if a skilled doctor does the injection.
As such, the gradual dissipation of Botox leads to a reemergence of facial wrinkles, such as the forehead lines, frown lines between the eyebrows, and the crow's feet around the eyes. However, you don't look older than before — on the contrary, you might even look younger.
While BOTOX is most known for smoothing out wrinkles and creases, it can also make small adjustments to your jawline. BOTOX can narrow your face and make it appear thinner. It works by temporarily freezing the masseter muscle, so it eventually shrinks down in size.
Botox Weakens the Muscles
The same thing can happen to the muscles in your face: "If used regularly, over a prolonged period, without interruption, eventually the muscle will atrophy from lack of use," says the legendary dermatological surgeon Patricia Wexler, MD.
As top dermatologist David Colbert, M.D. is quick to note, however, too much Botox and filler distorts the face and as a result will make you appear older.
After the age of 35, it may be too late to benefit from the preventive capacity of Botox®, especially if you have a very expressive face or fair skin, are genetically predisposed, or have unhealthy lifestyle habits such as using tan beds, overexposing yourself in the sun, or smoking.
Having heavy Botox from a young age is likely to make you look older over time. An early start and heavy-handed approach can leave a face looking frozen and over-treated.
Patients must be 18 years or older to be able to get Botox. However, most experts agree that in most cases, patients at a good age for preventative Botox treatment are those in their mid-late 20s and early 30s who are prone to wrinkles.
People of any age can get treatment with Botox, and it is regularly used on people between the ages of 25 and 50 particularly. No matter how old or young you are, however, this treatment can relax the look of wrinkles and even stop them from forming in the first place.
Possible side effects and unwanted results include: Pain, swelling or bruising at the injection site. Headache or flu-like symptoms. Droopy eyelids or crooked eyebrows.