Botox® is an extremely popular cosmetic treatment for both women and men. In fact, it’s the most popular minimally invasive cosmetic treatment in the United States, with about 10 million injections performed each year.
Like any cosmetic treatment, Botox results depend in part on timing, and that means knowing the ideal age to begin treatment. Understanding what that age is can be tricky, especially because it depends on multiple factors.
Michele Meinhart, FNP, specializes in custom Botox treatments aimed at helping each patient at Starkey Medical Esthetics look and feel their best at every age. In this post, learn how Botox works and when you should begin treatment to achieve your own unique goals.
Botox is a neuromuscular agent, which means it acts on nerve signals between your muscles and your brain. When injected into specific areas of the face, Botox relaxes the muscles responsible for causing wrinkles and fine lines.
These wrinkles are called dynamic wrinkles because they appear when you make facial expressions, like frowning or smiling. When you make an expression, nerve signals tell specific facial muscles to contract, tugging on the overlying skin and creating lines.
Common dynamic wrinkles include crow’s feet, brow furrows, and forehead wrinkles. Wrinkles caused by collagen depletion or sun exposure typically are not affected by Botox; instead, they respond to dermal filler injections.
Botox is popular for lots of reasons. First, it’s highly effective in reducing the appearance of dynamic wrinkles and has a long history of safe use. Plus, treatments only take a few moments, there’s no downtime afterward, and they can be repeated as needed to maintain a smoother, more youthful complexion.
There’s no single answer for deciding when to begin Botox treatment. Instead, it’s a personal decision made on several factors, including your own goals and how your skin is responding to aging.
Many people choose to begin Botox in their 40s, when dynamic wrinkles become more visible. By this age, collagen production has begun to slow down, and lines and wrinkles tend to persist, even when your face is relaxed. Others may decide to wait until their 50s, 60s, or even older.
Others opt for “preventive” Botox, choosing to begin treatments in their 30s or even 20s to help prevent dynamic wrinkles from forming in the first place. The goal here is to prevent deep lines from forming, avoiding some of the most noticeable signs of aging indefinitely.
Although there’s no real one-size-fits-all answer to the question of when to begin treatment, it’s also important to note that Botox treatments are completely customizable, and precise dosing based on your unique needs can help you achieve great results at any age.
Better still, you can combine Botox injections with filler injections to treat both dynamic and static wrinkles for an all-over result referred to as a “liquid facelift.”
Bottom line: The best age to begin Botox treatment is based primarily on personal factors, including how your face ages and your overall goals of treatment. The first step is having a consultation visit, so we can examine your skin, review your goals, and make a recommendation that’s appropriate for you.
To schedule your consultation and evaluation or to learn more about Botox treatment for facial aging, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Starkey Medical Esthetics in Salem, Virginia, today.
