BOTOX® for Beginners: What to Expect at Your First Appointment

Aging and sun damage lead to different types of wrinkles and lines on facial skin. There are plenty of creams and serums available to minimize these signs of time’s passage, but even more effective are injectables designed to restore a youthful appearance.

At SLENT, with locations in Mandeville, Slidell, and Hammond, Louisiana, our otolaryngology specialists use BOTOX® to help reduce the appearance of dynamic lines and wrinkles in the upper and lower regions of the face. Here’s what to expect at your first appointment.

Five fast facts about BOTOX

You might have some misconceptions about BOTOX, so here are a few quick facts to make sure you have accurate information:

1. BOTOX is a purified, diluted form of onabotulinumtoxinA, which has many medical uses
2. BOTOX has been approved by the FDA for cosmetic use since 2002
3. BOTOX injections done by a professional shouldn’t cause a “frozen” face
4. BOTOX injections can last around four months before you’ll need to repeat treatment
5. BOTOX is the most popular cosmetic procedure with 4.4 million treatments in 2023 in the US alone

Armed with these facts, let’s look at how exactly BOTOX works.

How BOTOX works

The neurotoxin-derived ingredient in BOTOX causes tiny muscles in your upper face to become paralyzed. These muscles are responsible for pulling on your facial skin during actions like smiling, laughing, frowning, and squinting.  

Over time, these expressions cause permanent wrinkles and lines to appear in your face, notably around your eyes (crow’s feet), vertical forehead lines (worry lines, or “11s”), and horizontal forehead lines. These wrinkles are called dynamic wrinkles. The BOTOX treatment relaxes the muscles without changing your facial expression, relieving the lines and wrinkles. 

BOTOX can also lift areas of the lower face when injected into the depressor muscles between your cheek and chin. This can improve the line of your jaw and even correct unevenness or asymmetry in your face.

What to expect at your first appointment

Before you have your first treatment, a member of our team assesses where BOTOX injections will do the most good and makes faint marks on your face to guide the injections. If you like, we can apply a topical anesthetic so you won’t feel the slight pinch of the ultra-fine needle.

We apply BOTOX in lines along each wrinkle being addressed to relax the underlying muscles and smooth out the lines. We’re careful not to overapply to avoid impacting larger muscles that control your actual expressions.

Treatment only takes about 10-15 minutes, and you can go home immediately afterward. You may have very slight redness and swelling for 24-48 hours, after which you’ll start to see the results. After 30 days your results will be fully visible.

Interested in learning more about BOTOX? Schedule a consultation with the team at SLENT by calling the location closest to you or visiting our contact page for more options.