What You Need to Know About PREVENTATIVE BOTOX

Let’s talk BOTOX.

First off— what exactly is botox?

Basically, botox is a chemical injection that blocks signals from nerves to muscles, which means the injected muscle cannot contract. AKA: botox paralyzes the muscle its injected into.

The uses for botox range from cosmetic ( wrinkle prevention ) to medical ( calming excessive sweating or treating migraines, for example ).

Note: BOTOX is different from FILLERS. Botox simply paralyzes the face. Fillers add volume to your face ( or lips, cheek bones, under-eyes, etc ). I haven’t experimented with fillers up to this point, because I haven’t had reason to.

I just wanted to clarify that up-front, because SO MANY people have asked me if I get my lips done ( i.e. plumped with filler ). That being said, a number of my friends get their lips filled, & they look bomb! No judgement here. Do you, boo. I just don’t find it necessary for myself.

My Mom, the real MVP, suggested I start seeing her dermatologist for preventative botox when I was about 20 years old. Obviously, if she was willing to fund my forever youth, I was down. Ah, Lauren, she keeps me young ( literally ).

Preventative botox is about keeping wrinkles at bay for as long as possible. Since I was 20, I’ve gotten minimal amounts of botox in my forehead to prevent fine lines from forming, because, with time, those fine lines will turn into wrinkles.

If your forehead is essentially paralyzed, those muscles don’t contract, & the fine lines don’t deepen. Botox stops fine lines in their tracks. I’m just out here paralyzing my face in the name of beauty, ok????

You don’t need to go all crazy with botox injections in your 20s. It’s about doing a small amount early-on to get ahead of the aging process. Obviously, everyone develops wrinkles at some point ( & I’ll embrace mine when they come ), but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with delaying that process a bit.

Whenever I talk about botox, people are SO intrigued. I figured I’d answer a few of the questions I normally get regarding botox as a preventative measure for y’all today.

When I started at 20, I got 2 units of botox in my forehead, one right above either brow, because that’s that area of my face that tends to move the most. Now, at 24, I get 4-6 units across my forehead. Number of units & placement is something I trust my dermatologist to decide. She knows what she’s doing, & she knows that less is more.

Keep in mind, that is a TINY amount of botox. For reference, many med spas in LA have policies that require patients to get a minimum of 20 units per appointment.

Because I still want some natural movement in my forehead ( let’s be honest, I don’t make THAT many facial expressions anyways, LOL ), I keep it light.

 

Most dermatologists I’ve gone to recommend going in for a botox touch-up every 6-8 weeks. Because I’m not super serious about it, I usually find my way into my dermatologist’s office every 3-4 months or so.

 

I get botox on my forehead, &, if I’m feelin’ saucy, under my nose, right between my nose & my lips.

For my girls who have full lips, let me introduce you to an anti-aging trick that DOESN’T involve fucking with filler: the Lip Flip.

As we age, even those of us with fuller lips tend to lose that plump-ness, ya know? From what I understand, aging causes your lips to almost turn under ( at least, that’s the easiest way to describe that for visual purposes ). Paralyzing the muscles over your mouth opens your lips back up, lifting your top lip a bit to get a fuller look.

The effect isn’t SUPER noticeable, but I see a baby lift whenever I do decide to splurge on the 2 extra units the lip flip entails.

I believe you can do the lip flip trick on the bottom lip too, but I’ve never tried it, so I can’t speak to those results.

From what I’ve heard, this trick only works if you have fuller lips to begin with! If you’re wanting a true lip-plumping effect, filler is probably going to be the best route.

Other popular places to inject botox are between the brows ( if you get that 11 wrinkle ) & on the sides of the eyes ( bye, crow’s feet! ). Up to this point, I only get my forehead done + have the occasional lip flip moment.

 

Prices for botox injections vary depending on where you live & the spa/derm’s office you go to. I pay about $15/unit at my dermatologist’s office, which seems to be a pretty average price per unit.

It’s definitely not a necessary expense, but my botox regimen involves so few units that it doesn’t break the bank. If I’m running low on cash, I’ll push it off for month or two. No big.

 

It is definitely uncomfortable. The pain lasts only a few seconds, but I’m not going to tell you that its a full-on walk in the freakin’ park. You’re getting a chemical injection that’s paralyzing your face… it doesn’t t feel good.

 

Like I said, I choose to do my botox injections at my dermatologist’s office, because that’s easiest for me. There are a number of med spas that offer botox as a service as well ( I would just OBVIOUSLY check reviews before you go anywhere to get anything like that done ).

For those of you who have been looking to give it a try, I hope this post answered some of your questions about preventative botox! If you have any more Q’s, comment below & I’ll answer them!

Talk soon, babes. xx