Botox®

Neurotoxin injections are the most popular non-surgical cosmetic treatments to smooth out lines, with more than 6-7 million treatments administered each year. Botox® Cosmetic is a specific brand of neurotoxin protein derived from Clostridium botulinum, an organism found in the natural environment where it is largely inactive and non-toxic. Botox® is FDA-approved, is widely used in 98 countries and is a safe and effective treatment with more than 16 years of testing and studies behind it.

Botox® Cosmetic helps smooth out and treat fine lines and wrinkles in the forehead, around the eyes (crow’s feet), and the area in between your brows or frown area by temporarily paralyzing the underlying muscles in the area that it is injected.

We wish we could say yes, but Botox® does not help reduce the appearance of wrinkles or lines due to sun damage or gravity.

It’s a simple procedure performed with our certified Nurse Practitioners and takes under 15 minutes. Botox® is a natural neurotoxin that is injected in small doses into the skin. It blocks the nerve signal to the muscle causing the underlying muscles to relax. The results are a smoother, more youthful look.

Side effects are typically minor and can include discomfort, swelling or bruising at the injection site, and/or a mild headache. Our highly trained team of certified Nurse Practitioners at Shobha® will go over all the potential side effects with you before your procedure, so you’ll know exactly what to expect.

You will feel a small amount of discomfort when the needle pierces the skin and when the toxin is injected. This will last for only a few seconds.

Botox® is a safe treatment, approved for use in 98 countries and by the FDA. It has more than 16 years of testing and studies behind it.

While there is no studies or evidence to indicate that the neurotoxin is passed from mother to baby, Shobha® does not give Botox® injections to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

This is probably the question that we get the most from everyone. Our whole approach at Shobha is that our Nurse Practitioners goal is to help you achieve as natural of a look as possible. We don’t want you to have frozen face. Our approach at your first visit is that we want to be conservative with the number of units we use and make sure you like the result. If you want a bit more, it is easy for us inject additional units at your follow up visit 10-14 days later. We want you to have a natural, refreshed look, not look like Barbie!

Whenever you want to! Most people start using Botox® when they start seeing lines appear on their faces in their 30s or 40s. Some people also get preventative Botox® in their 20s or 30 to prevent lines on their faces from developing or to keep existing lines from deepening. Some folks call this pre-juvenation (see question below).

Lines and wrinkles on the upper face form over time due to repetitive folding of the skin that occurs with everyday use of the muscles of facial expression. It is not uncommon to see patients even in their early 20’s with deep and prominent forehead wrinkles and frown lines. Botox® will relax the muscles that form the horizontal lines of the forehead as well as the vertical frown lines that often make people look upset or angry. Additionally, Botox®can be used around the eyes and eyebrows to help shape the brows as well, open and brighten up the eyes and diminish “crow’s feet”. Early use of Botox® not only helps treat current wrinkles, but unquestionably prevents progression to deeper, more fixed and less treatable lines over time. Neuromodulators like Botox® have been a key step in “pre-juvenation”. If you are interested in this, Dermatologists recommend that a good time to start is often in the late 20’s to early 30’s.

For those of you getting Botox® for the first time, there is not a standard amount of Botox® neurotoxin protein that is injected in everyone. It depends on how deep the lines are and on the desired outcome. You will work with Shobha’s Nurse Practitioners to determine the right number of units for each area.