My experience of The Botox for the first time, and results

My experience of The Botox for the first time, and results

Hello everybody, today we will be covering A to Z of my recent Botox journey. So, I recently got Botox. It has been almost a month, not exactly a month, about three weeks, and I just felt like one, I’m gonna be transparent about this and tell you guys the entire process, what I think about the results, the before and after, all of that stuff.

After we take some regular questions, I have to ask you. That is a journey that you should decide on your own, regardless of what others may say in the space, which obviously is easier said than done. But just because I get it for these reasons doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to get it for that reason as well, I guess is what I’m trying to say.

 

 

1. Why did you decide to get Botox?

I got it for two reasons.

1. I felt that I had two very deep-set lines on my forehead because I was such an expressive person. I am an expressive person, and as I was getting older (not that I am old), I just felt like I wanted to try and prevent those from turning into long-term wrinkles.
2. The second part is that I had a facial at the place where I got Botox. It was also partially an experiment to see how my skin would change with Botox and if it would produce less oil, less grease, and less sweat. Therefore, less acne. So, those were the two main reasons that I wanted to try it.

2. When should I start getting that?

There are a lot of opinions on baby Botox, preventative Botox, what age you should get it, but I think it’s up to you to talk to the nurse practitioner or go to a medical spa and talk to someone face to face because they can tell you what they see and what they would recommend. If you’re interested, I am not licensed in any of this. I’m not going to tell you when to start. I’m just going to share my experience.

3. How do you decide where to go/who to be your injector?

Wherever you’re going or thinking about going, get a smaller thing done first, like a facial or hydra facial or something, so you can get a lay of the land to decide if there’s someone you really jive with who could help you in kind of understanding the process at that specific place. Make sure that it’s a reputable place. If you can find a place that has either a doctor or nurse practitioner available to do your injections, who has done it for quite some time and you can see before and afters of their work, then I would recommend it 100%. I felt really comfortable.

4. How much did it cost?

The Botox is injected by unit. I don’t really know why; it’s just the way it is. But when you go in for the consult, they can tell you based on what level of movement you want in your face how many units they would recommend for your face. So, then you would multiply how many units that is by $13, in my case, and that would be your total. I would say if you are brand new to Botox, you should expect to pay anywhere from $250 to $500, depending on how much movement you want or no movement. If you want to go in and say, “I want to be frozen,” it’s going to be probably closer to $500 to $600, but if you want baby Botox like me, it’s going to be closer to $250 to $300.

5. What was the intended purpose or desired outcome for your Botox?

Going into it, I really wanted to focus on the upper forehead area because I was able to make four distinct rolls with my forehead, and that is where I always had the most movement and where I was seeing those wrinkles start to set in. I wasn’t even thinking about my “11s,” which is the space between your two eyebrows. But if I was to just get the Botox up here, these muscles would start to work overtime, and you would notice the movement here, while no movement would be up here, and it would just look strange. So we sat down together on the morning of my appointment. I did a ton of facial movement, and she pointed out the different areas where she felt an injection should be made. I told her that I still wanted movement; I still wanted to be able to look surprised and to raise my eyebrows and to look mad. I didn’t want to have distinct lines. So having that conversation with her, she recommended that I start with the forehead and 12 units between my brows. When I first heard this, I was like, “Wait a second, 12 between my brows.” But luckily and hopefully hearing this from me will help you as well because you have more muscles pulling in different directions to get that scrunch, whereas on your forehead, it’s one sheet of muscles that paper forehead. That made sense to me. I was excited about it, felt good with 20 units.

I also decided to go with Dysport instead of the Botox brand. So if you’ve ever heard of Botox’s procedure, at least that’s what I thought, like, “Oh, you’re getting Botox.” But just like Kleenex brand or Tupperware, those are actually brand names that have kind of taken on what the thing is.

6. How did she help relieve your anxiety you had the night before?

Now we will talk about some of my fears going into it because I want you to know that if you are someone with anxiety or sensitive skin, you are not alone in the fears that you have had about Botox. My fear was that I was going to have droopy eyes. I was afraid of being allergic to it and dying on the spot, which I know a lot of other people have said, but like no one really talks about it.

I was nervous about the pain level, I was worried about the results, I was scared that my forehead was going to make me feel claustrophobic because I had heard all these horror stories. And let me tell you right now, none of those things have happened. I was terrified going into it. I laid all of that out to my nurse practitioner. I said, “This is all the things I’m afraid of,” and she was able to talk me through that and say, “Here is this, here is that. Nobody is really allergic to Botox, and if they are, we’re all nurse practitioners.” She was able to help quell my fears. And also, I got to the point where I realized I am here, I am sitting in the chair, we’re gonna do the damn thing, and I am gonna get through it. I did. So, the actual procedure of getting Botox, let’s talk about that.

7. Did it hurt?

When I sat down in the chair, I will say there is no numbing to the process, but the pain was pretty minimal. I do want to mention that it is more pain than I think people say. It’s uncomfortable; it doesn’t feel good. It kind of feels like you’re being stung on your forehead. It lasts about three seconds for each one, and the injection sites are all kind of mapped out on your face. You’re not seeing this happen. I kept my eyes closed for most of them. But guys, the needle is so small, and when it’s done being injected, the pain is completely gone. It’s not something that lingers; it’s not something that continues to hurt. It’s like one, two, three, done. Because I got such a small amount, I was done in like 2 minutes, maybe.

Again, I do want to say it does hurt; there is pain associated with it. I am going to put it out there. I have had people and friends pass out from Botox, and that is simply because they were not prepared. They hadn’t drunk any water that day; they had just worked out; they hadn’t eaten. So just be smart, just like you would if you were going to the doctor and getting your blood drawn. Have a snack with you, have some water beforehand, try and relax that morning, and lay low just because you are getting something done. It is not extreme, but you just want to have your body be prepared for a new experience. So I had no issues; I did not pass out once it was done. I felt completely fine.

I didn’t even have bleeding or bruising at all. Within 30 minutes, it looked like nothing had happened to me, which was amazing. But bruising and bleeding can come along with Botox sometimes; it’s completely normal. You can also experience headaches for up to five days afterward. Just make sure that you talk to your nurse practitioner about all of it because obviously, that’s not what I’m here to do. But one thing that I will say is you cannot lay down within four to six hours after getting your Botox. So I got mine at two; I stayed upright until I went to bed because it takes about four hours for it to set in. So if you’re laying down, it can migrate before it’s fully set. So keep in mind, no working out, no hats because that can also move it. Just be normal the rest of the afternoon, and you will be fine. I was nervous about sleeping that night because I thought, “Okay, what if I am on my side and gonna wake up with it droopy on one side?” Don’t worry about it. After 4 hours, you’re completely fine. But if you feel like you want to sleep on your back that night, go for it. That’s what I did for peace of mind. So I had no side effects, negative side effects whatsoever. I didn’t have any irritation; I didn’t get headaches at all. I started noticing the effects of my Dysport within literally like one or two days.

8. What does it feel like when you have Botox on your face?

People have said a lot of different things, and it’s really hard to explain because if you’ve never had it, how can you describe that feeling? How can you relate to that feeling? So the best way that I’ve been able to describe the feeling of having Botox is two things.

You know when it’s really cold outside, and you try and go like this with your nose, and it feels like it’s frozen, it’s moving but it doesn’t kind of feel it kind like that? Or when your skin is really dry, and it feels like it’s being tugged a little bit? It kind of feels like that but without the fact that it is actually dry. Does that make sense? Like, I still feel like I’m moving my forehead, but it’s just not happening. So there’s no pain associated; there’s no numbness; it’s not uncomfortable whatsoever. I could see if you got too much how it could be uncomfortable, but with the amount that I got, I barely noticed it. And it just makes your forehead look so smooth, so beautiful. On the acne side of things, I’m still dealing with forehead acne. I don’t know that it’s done so much for me in that way, but I’m only on week 3 of this, and Botox tends to last, and Dysport tends to last for up to 3 months. So leading into the next question would be how often do you have to re-up your Botox? If you want to keep those results year-round, you probably need to go two or three times a year, depending on how many units you get and how your body and your skin react to it. So this is the first time I’ve ever had it. I don’t know how fast my body’s gonna metabolize the Dysport.

Finally, I’m happy to share this information where I feel like a lot of times people are hiding it, which I don’t understand. So, I hope this was helpful to you in some way and helped demystify the idea of Botox and Dysport. We’ll see you in the next post.