What Happens When You Stop Getting Botox?

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Botox is a cosmetic injection procedure that has steadily gained popularity since its inception. It’s been used because of its ability to treat medical conditions and skin wrinkles. When used properly, Botox can keep the user’s face relaxed, as its toxins are used to ease the facial muscles. 

However, the effectiveness of Botox injections may vary once you stop using them. Since Botox is safe, you won’t experience any major discomfort. 

This article answers the question, “What Happens When You Stop Getting Botox?”.  We’ll explain how it affects the user’s facial muscles and how users are impacted if they choose to stop getting future procedures. 

After reading this article, the reader will have a clear understanding of how Botox is safe to use months after a period of no treatment. 


Contents

What Happens When You Stop Getting Botox? – Short Answer

First-time Botox users worry that their faces will become severely damaged if they stop treatments. When taking Botox injections, the signals between your facial muscles and nerves are disrupted.

Your facial muscles won’t fold to your skin, which reduces the chances of dynamic wrinkles occurring. 

So What Happens When You Stop Getting Botox? 

If you stop getting Botox, your facial muscles will begin to work normally and the wrinkles will slowly start to come back. For a while, the Botox treatments will keep the skin looking younger because it delays the aging process.

The length of how long you’ll have that young appearance depends on how long you’ve been doing treatments, and what your status was when you started the Botox treatments.

The wrinkles and fine lines will (re)-emerge, but they won’t be worse than if you hadn’t had any Botox at all.


What Happens When You Stop Getting Botox? – The Explanation

Chemically speaking, Botox is derived from Botulinum toxin. It is a protein used for skincare and facial rearrangement surgery. When used correctly and in small doses, Botox can be used to relax the jawbones of your face. 

Botox is composed of C. botulinum bacteria, which can be found in a natural settings such as forests, soil, and inside the intestinal regions of fish and mammals. 

When created, manufacturers add a small dosage of the Botulinum toxin. They keep it at a low amount because too much of the toxin can cause death. For instance, 1g of crystalline from the toxin can kill up to 1 million people. Due to its low amounts, Botox is safe to use on your face.

If you stop taking Botox injections for a few years, chances are your wrinkles will return to your skin. However, the wrinkles will appear more slowly than if you had gone without the Botox injection. 

As a result, you’ll still appear younger due to the Botox treatment than if you hadn’t had Botox.

If you have to take a break from Botox injections, you can do so safely and decide to go back to it later without any side effects. 


When Should You Use Botox?

It doesn’t matter how old you are when using Botox. Instead, think about the current skin issues you’re facing.

Once you start noticing those fine lines on your face, that’s when you should start considering Botox injections.

Botox is a good preventative solution. It stops the fine lines in your skin from growing into full facial wrinkles. 

Botox is safe for patients 18 and older. However, most experts say that having patients in their late 20s mid-thirties are suitable candidates for Botox injections.

It’s rare that you’ll experience lines in your late 20s. So getting a Botox injection earlier than that would likely not accomplish much. 


Long Term Effects of Botox

Most patients use Botox in order to appear younger in their facial expressions. As we age, the more likely we’ll see wrinkles on our faces. 

Even after getting Botox injections for the first time, their long-term effects persist. Here are the most common long-term effects of using Botox. 

Reduces Nerves

Botox inhibits nerve transformation by acting as a neuromodulator. Once injected, it binds the muscles through the injection site. 

On average, it takes 1-3 days to block the use of acetylcholine. As a result, Botox keeps the facial muscles weakened, which helps keep the wrinkles from appearing. 

Reduces Muscle Intensity

How do wrinkles appear on our faces? Dynamic wrinkles appear due to an overuse of the facial muscles. You can find dynamic wrinkles around the mouth, crow’s feet, or the forehead. 

To prevent the muscle from being overused, Botox works underneath the skin surface, reducing the facial muscle’s need to contract. Because of this, the muscle’s skin becomes smooth, giving you that wrinkle-free, young appearance. 

Smooth Skin

Since Botox effectively removes wrinkles, it helps keep your skin in good condition. A few days after the injection, you’ll find it easier to raise your eyebrows without causing wrinkles to appear.

When using Botox, you’ll have smoother skin for 3-6 months. Your first treatment will last about 3 months, and the more you get Botox, the longer the treatments will last.


How Does Botox Affect The Forehead?

Many people use Botox to remove wrinkles from their forehead. The main benefit of Botox is that it slows down the aging process.

Even if you don’t use Botox for a few years, your forehead muscles won’t have to work as hard as someone who hasn’t used Botox. As a result, the wrinkles won’t work excessively to reappear, so you’ll still appear younger. 


How Does Botox Affect The Face?

Applying Botox on the face, would deliver the same effects as if you were getting it for your crow’s feet. Through the use of Botox, your face will have weaker muscles.

But you’ll still look younger than people who choose not to opt for the Botox injection. 

However, it’s important to remember that Botox won’t cure all wrinkles.

For example, if your face is wrinkled due to an unhealthy lifestyle, Botox won’t help you. To protect yourself from wrinkles, you have to do your part by eating healthy, preventing sun damage, and taking care of your skin. 


How Does Botox Treat Migraines?

Doctors think Botox is effective at fighting migraine headaches because it blocks neurotransmitters that deliver pain signals to the brain.

On average, it takes patients over 2 treatments before deciding if Botox is effective.

Usually, a good response to Botox treatments is a 30-50% reduction in the total headaches you have. 

Written by Kayla Young

Kayla is the founder of LuxeLuminous. She has worked professionally in the tanning industry for years. She has been interested in esthetics since childhood, and has tried every hair, skin, and makeup product ever produced (more or less).