How Long Will My Botox® Results Last?

It’s no secret that wrinkles develop as you get older, but to understand why, you need to know how skin changes with age. 

Your skin retains firmness and flexibility through proteins such as elastin and collagen. Over time, sun damage, repeated facial expressions, and hormonal changes affect the amount of proteins in the skin, causing wrinkles.

Botox® injections have become a standard method for managing wrinkles, with nearly 3 million treatments performed annually. 

Drs. Michael and Alister Meshkin, along with our Meshkin Medical staff, offer a range of hair restoration options in Los Angeles and Orange counties and can help you look younger with Botox treatments.

If you’ve never had Botox, you may wonder how long the results last. Let’s explore what Botox is, how it treats wrinkles, and examine the timeline of its effectiveness.

Facts about Botox

Used for both cosmetic and medical applications, the neurotoxic properties of Botox help manage problems in both areas. An injection of onabotulinumtoxin A, a form of the botulinum toxin, blocks the signals responsible for muscle contractions. This acts as a muscle relaxer that smooths out the wrinkles, helping you look younger.  

It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1989 for medical use and in 2002 for cosmetic application due to these unique properties. 

Types of wrinkles it treats

You may be surprised to know that wrinkles develop in different ways, not just from the factors that cause them, but by the movements on your body where they form. 

Dynamic wrinkles, for example, form through repeated specific facial movements over time, such as smiling and frowning. Static wrinkles form from the loss of elasticity and include jowls.

Botox works effectively on dynamic wrinkles, targeting the muscles responsible for creating them and reducing their appearance on your face, including glabellar lines (between the eyebrows), crow’s feet (at the corner of your eyes), and forehead lines.

Timeline for more treatments

After we administer the injections, it takes three to four days before you see the effects of Botox on your wrinkles, with full results typically taking up to two weeks to appear. The amount of time you enjoy smoother skin varies, but expect the effects of the injections to wear off in about three months, although the look can last up to six months.

Right after the injections, expect some redness, swelling, or bruising, although these issues typically subside within a couple of days.

Botox can achieve excellent results in treating wrinkles, but the effects don’t last forever. To find out what it can do for your skin, schedule an appointment with us today. We serve the Los Angeles area from our Glendale clinic, and Orange County, California, from our Newport Beach clinic.