As we get older the elasticity of our skin decreases and does not spring back like it used to causing lines and wrinkles to become ingrained.

Botox® relaxes the muscles that cause these wrinkles that causes these wrinkles and lines and thus gives us a softer, less tired and more relaxed appearance.Botox® was first used in 1980 as a treatment for eye ticks, twitching, uncontrolled blinking and the lazy eye, and has subsequently been safely used cosmetically for over 20 years.

Botox® is a purified protein derived from a bacteria which when used in a very specific, controlled manner causes the facial muscles to relax. It is administered in very minute amounts, carefully and delicately injected into specific muscles in the face using a micro needle.

This causes the muscles that produce deep lines and wrinkles to relax, but allows the other non-targeted muscles to continue to move, thus maintaining all your facial expressions and achieving a natural, fresher look. Therefore, it does not ‘freeze’ or ‘paralyze’ the face, it merely temporarily prevents nerve impulses from causing excessive movements.

The procedure itself is very brief lasting no more than 20-30 minutes and is not generally considered painful.

Botox® takes about 2 weeks to activate and completely relax the muscles but you will start to notice changes within 5-10 days. It will last for approximately 3-4 months after which it will start to wear off as new nerve endings begin to grow. However this re-growth starts to slow down in time, so the more treatments one has the more time it will take for the effects to fully wear off, e.g. 6 months.

Possible side effects include very mild bruising around the injection site (which settles in a few hours) and occasionally slight headaches. In very rare instances patients may experience temporary droopy eye lids or brow (no longer than 1-2 weeks) which can be reversed with medications.

As the old adage goes “prevention is better than cure", and Botox® has performed very well in supporting such an assertion. For younger clients the prevention of wrinkles is always better and less intensive than treating them when they are established.

You may be thinking what about addiction? And to be asking yourself such a question demonstrates a healthy, mature open-minded approach to your decision to consider any treatment. Like anything in life there will always be a subset of people who will get addicted to any form of cosmetic treatments. Just like with alcohol the majority of us will consume and enjoy it but only a small minority will become addicted. At Valentis we are very careful to guard against this and will always treat every client individually and discourage over treatments.