Unsure of when—or if—you should go under the needle?
Botox® is Not For You If: You Have a Heavy Brow
Older patients who have heavy eyelids and a great deal of wrinkling in their forehead should be careful about using Botox®. These older patients often need their brows lifted in order to help assist their eyelid to open properly, so when Botox® is used, their lids get heavy sometimes to the point where their eyelids close involuntarily. Some patients who are treated with Botox® around their eyes will often times get a cheeky smile where their cheeks get too puffy and come up too much giving them an unnatural look to their face. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to be carefully examined by a board certified cosmetic surgeon, such as Dr. Lee, before using Botox® in any form.
Botox® is Not For You If: Your Skin Has Aged Excessively
If you do have deeper-set ‘static’ wrinkles, meaning they’re always there whether or not you’re moving your muscles, neurotoxins won’t be able to completely erase them. Once we hit our 50s, there is natural facial fat and bone resorption and the skin starts to hang in folds. The skin is also thinner at this age, making wrinkles more apparent, and collagen and elastin doesn’t rebuild very efficiently. Botox® is only FDA-approved for adults 65 years of age or younger, so those in their 70s and 80s will find much better luck with fillers and collagen-stimulating and tightening lasers, such as PROFOUND®.
Botox® is Not For You If: Your Expectations Are Not Realistic
Often times patients expect the results of Botox® to last long-term, but that’s not the case, as Botox® generally wears off within three months. Some patients also believe their skin will look perfectly smooth and tight by injecting a bit of Botox®, when they’re actually needing to lift their sagging necks, chin and pull up their cheeks. Botox® works best on the upper face, where the muscles are very close to the overlying skin.
Botox® is Not For You If: You Need Expression for Your Profession
If your job requires you to move your face, either to make expressions or communicate emotions, Botox® may not be right for you. Common cases include actors who need to show a range of expressions for a role, therapists who need to demonstrate empathy to a patient; and even parents who want to be able to let their child know they’re angry with them. On the other hand, however, there have been teachers requesting Botox® to the glabella area (lines between the eyes), because their students think that they’re always mad at them!
Botox® is Not For You If: You Have an Underlying Muscle Disorder
Another example of someone who may want to avoid use of Botox® is a patient with a neuromuscular disorder, as the Botox works at the neuromuscular junction. However, Botox® can also be useful if someone has a nerve injury or disorder such as Bell’s Palsy where part of the face becomes temporarily paralyzed. In these patients, Botox ® can be used to help improve symmetry in the patient’s face while they are healing or to help compensate for their nerve injuries.
Botox® is Not For You If: You’re Pregnant or Breastfeeding
While there’s limited research to prove any harmful effects of receiving Botox® during pregnancy, it’s discouraged in the medical community. Botox is metabolized locally, and does not move to distant parts of the body, so the chance of it affecting a fetus in the womb or the baby through breastfeeding is extraordinarily low. But, Dr. Lee always cautions his patients not to take any chances when pregnant or breastfeeding.
Dr. Raymond Lee is a double board certified facial plastic surgeon with expertise in facial rejuvenation under local anesthesia. He has been practicing in Orange County for the past 12 years, and has performed over 4000 facial rejuvenation procedures under light anesthesia.
Dr. Lee wants you to “Experience Beauty, the most natural way”, and does not believe in the old traditional facelift. Over the course of his career, he has mastered the art and science of facial rejuvenation with natural results, minimal sedation, and easy recovery. His signature “FACEology LIFT” (face and neck lift alternative) is the embodiment of all these elements and is what he is widely sought out for in Orange County.
