BOTOX® / Dysport® In Encino, CA

Botox/Dysport injections are administered with a gentle hand. A tiny needle is being used for inserting the product just beneath the skin, where it absorbs into the muscle over the course of a few days. Patients tolerate this treatment very well without the use of anesthetic. However, if you are concerned about discomfort, talk to your provider. You can use a numbing cream which your health care provider will prescribe it for you, or a small ice pack may be applied right before or right after injections to maintain full comfort.

Botox/Dysport injections are administered with a gentle hand. A tiny needle is being used for inserting the product just beneath the skin, where it absorbs into the muscle over the course of a few days. Patients tolerate this treatment very well without the use of anesthetic. However, if you are concerned about discomfort, talk to your provider. You can use a numbing cream which your health care provider will prescribe it for you, or a small ice pack may be applied right before or right after injections to maintain full comfort.

Botox and Dysport are neuromodulators, and they only work on dynamic wrinkles caused by muscle contractions under the skin. These muscle contractions are involved when we form expressions such as frowning or showing surprise. Go ahead and make a frown. You can feel the muscles around your eyes, between your eyebrows, and on your forehead contract when you do so. These are the areas where neuromodulators are used.

At New Look, we use Botox and Dysport to erase or dramatically lessen the appearance of crow’s feet at the outside of the eyes, frown lines (colloquially known as the 11s) between the eyebrows, and on forehead lines.

Some people have a slight bit of swelling at the injection sites. This is typically true when they have any sort of injection. If this occurs, it usually only lasts a few hours. It can be controlled with the application of a cold compress.

With these neuromodulators, there is some variation in the duration of your results based on a patient’s individual metabolism. On average, patients can expect Botox and Dysport to erase their crow’s feet, frown lines, and forehead lines for about four months.

These are the original “lunchtime treatments,” because they take just 10-15 minutes, and the patient can return to work immediately after their session.

There isn’t anything you need to do to prepare for your injection session at New Look.

As mentioned above, Botox and Dysport work their magic by simply blocking the nerve messages from getting to the muscle. This keeps the injected muscle from contracting. Wrinkles that form above these muscle contractions when we form expressions are called dynamic wrinkles. That is where Botox and Dysport are king.

But there is another kind of wrinkle called a “static” wrinkle. Static wrinkles form from sun damage, declining collagen production, personal habits such as smoking, environmental factors, stress, and thinning skin with age. Static wrinkles have nothing to do with muscle contractions; they show themselves at all times once the skin is damaged.

That’s where dermal fillers, such as Juvéderm, come in. When injected beneath a wrinkle or an area of volume loss, such as the cheeks, dermal fillers are true to their name — they simply fill in the space and push the wrinkled skin back upwards. The most popular dermal fillers, Juvéderm and Restylane, are called “natural” fillers because they are made predominantly from hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid naturally occurs in our bodies and is responsible for hydrating, plumping, and firming the skin. When a filler like Juvéderm is injected beneath a wrinkle, the hyaluronic acid binds with nearby water molecules and this instantly plumps the skin, erasing the wrinkle.

Bottom line? Botox works on dynamic wrinkles only. These occur on the upper third of the face. Dermal fillers only work on static wrinkles that occur mainly on the lower two thirds of the face.