If you’ve had Botox injections or are thinking about smoothing out wrinkles and regaining a smoother, more youthful look, you know they’re not a permanent cure. Botox benefits typically last between three and six months, and we appreciate your desire to maintain your youthful look for as long as feasible. Dr. Roel Galope, our renowned Fair Lawn plastic surgeon, is offering advice to assist you.
Why Is Botox Temporary?
First, let’s define Botox and how it works so you may better understand how to maximize your results. Botox is a protein that the bacterium Clostridium botulinum produces. Injecting it into a muscle inhibits nerve impulses that cause the muscle to contract. When forces cannot contract, dynamic wrinkles generated by facial movements relax and soften, making your face seem smoother.
The body breaks down the protein over time, although the pace depends on several parameters, including metabolic rate and exposure to environmental contaminants.
6 Tips for Prolonging Your Botox Injections
While certain variables are beyond your control, following these six recommendations can help you maintain a youthful appearance and optimize your Botox effects.
Avoid Sun Damage
Sun damage is known for causing accelerated aging by breaking down collagen and destroying skin cells deep inside the dermal layers. First, Botox is useless since muscular movements do not cause wrinkles and lines induced by UV damage. Furthermore, UV exposure triggers an inflammatory reaction inside the cells, which may degrade your Botox, diminishing its efficacy and shortening its duration.
Consider Low-Intensity Workouts
High-intensity exercises are intended to increase your metabolism to burn calories and develop muscle faster. Raising your metabolic rate may cause your body to digest the Botox more quickly, causing it to break down sooner than planned.
This is not to say you shouldn’t exercise or undertake intense exercises; include lower to moderate training in your routines.
Reduce Your Stress Levels
Stress might lead you to unwittingly scowl, frown, and tighten your muscles, putting pressure on the forces injected with Botox to relax. This may allow the benefits to wear off faster, but stress can cause cellular damage.
Cortisol, the “stress hormone,” is released under stress and causes an inflammatory reaction. Consistently high-stress levels might lead the body to break down Botox faster, hastening aging. Meditation, yoga, and other stress-relieving exercises may help you extend the life of your Botox while decreasing any stress-related aging.
Moisturize Your Skin
Using a high-quality face moisturizer is critical for maintaining smooth skin. Moisturizers containing collagen and hyaluronic acid may be especially effective since they keep your skin looking lush and healthy while slowing Botox breakdown inside your face muscles.
Don’t Use Nicotine
Smoking, vaping, and other nicotine-containing products induce collagen breakdown, damage skin cells, and impair the efficacy of Botox injections. Not only will the original dynamic wrinkles emerge faster, but smoking and vaping generate small lines around the lips and eyes that future injections will not be able to correct.
Take a Zinc Supplement
Researchers identified in a study published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology that participants who had Botox and subsequently took a 50-milligram zinc supplement saw their benefits last substantially longer. Over 90% of individuals who got the supplement instead of the placebo reported a 30% increase in the duration of the first injections.
Are Continued Botox Injections Right for You?
Botox injections might be a fantastic technique to obtain a smoother-looking appearance if you’re worried about wrinkles and fine lines. However, they provide transient improvements for dynamic or muscle-related wrinkles but need continuous maintenance and sessions. A facelift or brow lift may deliver the long-term benefits you want for smoothing wrinkles, reducing sagging, and minimizing the appearance of fine lines.
Schedule a Consultation with Dr. Roel Galope Today
Dr. Roel Galope can assist you whether you want Botox injections to soften crow’s feet and frown lines or a brow or facelift for a more extensive rejuvenation. He will meet with you to discuss your objectives and assist you in determining the best actions to help you look and feel your best. Call us at (973) 314-2770 or email us the form below to schedule a consultation now.
