My Experience with Botox

We all age...some gracefully (like my mom) and others not so much. I feel like I have taken pretty good care of my skin over the years, but having children while in my 30s has definitely taken its toll on my face. I have bags under my eyes from lack of sleep and more wrinkles around my eyes, on my forehead and in my 11's area (area between your eyebrows).

I get regular facials and chemical peels, but I still want to look more youthful. After talking to so many of my friends (blogging friends especially), I decided to try Botox. I have researched it, talked to my esthetician about it and got my friends accounts of it.

I wanted to have a more youthful look for my sisters wedding, so I thought this was the perfect time to try it out. First time results usually last around 3 months and my sister's wedding is 2 months away. Perfect timing. Plus, it can take up to a couple weeks (usually only a week) to fully see your results.

When you go in for the first time, you have a consultation with your doctor about your wants, fears and expectations. My doctor went over everything in great detail. He told me the differences between Botox and Dysport...how long each of them last, when they take effect, the cost, etc. He also went into what goes into what part of your face. From your eyes up, you get Botox or one of its competitors. From the eyes down, you get fillers. He showed me which muscles are affected and how the process works.

Then he had me do some facial expressions to get a better idea of what I would need. For me, he recommended I get my 11's taken care of (what I had gone in there for) and then recommended a Botox brow lift. What this means, is he injects Botox in certain areas of my forehead so that it pulls my eyebrows upwards to get rid of the drooping eyelids which make me look more tired. When I told my mom this part, she said she has the same thing. But back to the Botox brow lift. He said if my eyebrows raise too much, he can correct that by putting Botox in my upper forehead which will draw them back down a bit. But this doesn't happen to many people.

He said I would come back in after 2 to 3 weeks to see my results and if I needed any adjustments. Then he asked if I wanted to wait and think it over and get it done today. I opted to get mine done that day.

Here is my experience with Botox/Dysport.

I chose to get Dysport because you see the results quicker and it was a favorite in the office and from my friend who recommended that I go to this place.

Here are my lovely before pictures. Please don't pay attention to my awful selfie skills. I was just trying to capture my lines.

I got 20 units of Dysport injected into my 11's area. This is the area that needed the most help in my opinion. I got the total freeze in this area. This means that the muscle will be completely "frozen". It won't move much. Then I got 5 units (each side) near the ends of my eyebrows/temple area to give me a slight Dysport Brow Lift. This will get rid of the hooded, droopy eyelids.

Does it hurt? Not really. The doctor uses a very fine needle. I barely felt the needle enter my skin. What I did feel was the liquid going in my skin. It didn't necessarily hurt, but felt weird and stung just a bit.

How does the doctor determine where to inject? They have you frown and relax, frown and relax, so they can see the muscle movement. Then to do the outer brows, he had me close my eyes shut really tight and relax, tight and relax.

Did I bleed? I did bleed a bit on the upper dots. He applied a bit of pressure using a gauze and it was fine.

Did I bruise? I had one little bruise on the top right eye (left looking at the photo). It was just a small dot bruise and it went away two days later.

When will I see results? With Dysport, you can start to see results in 3 to 4 days, with full effects in a week. My doctor also told me to not freak out if one side of my face starts changing before the other. The other will catch up.

Can I wear make-up to my appointment? Yes you can, but he will remove make up from the area that is being injected. You don't want the bacteria from my make-up entering the small wound holes. They will also use alcohol to sterilize the area.

After care? You can not touch your face for an hour. You don't want to let any bacteria enter the wound. You can not work out or lay down for 4 hours after the injections. Basically, don't sweat or get anything near your injection sites. Once the 4 hours are over, you can clean your face and go about your day as usual.

The areas with the black dots are to show you approximately where I got injected. This photo was taken that evening.

3 days after Dysport injections. Again, please forgive the funny faces.

Way less 11 lines. This is me trying to frown and squint as much as I can.

My left eyebrow starting to raise up a bit.

On day 4, Rory noticed my eyebrows lifted a lot more and said the hooded/drooping look was going away!

 Day 5 (eyebrows more lifted)

Trying to squint and frown so you can see that the lines are practically gone.