Is everyone suitable for Botox injections?

Botox is an extremely popular non-surgical cosmetic procedure and is generally used to treat people’s cosmetic imperfections including smile lines (crow’s feet), wrinkles and frown lines. Botox does also have non cosmetic benefits including treating excessive sweating and chronic migraines but 99% of all Botox injections are used for cosmetic reasons.

Botox is in fact a toxin and consequently must only be administered by a trained practitioner. Botox is produced in the lab by a bacterium called Clostridium Botulinum and once sterilised is ready to be injected. The way Botox works is by blocking the electric signal that passes through nerves. The reason we have frown lines and wrinkles is partly due to the over action of muscles within our face. By injecting Botox into the nerves that supply these muscles, a skilled practitioner can temporarily relax these muscles and improve your appearance.

Botox is generally considered to be a very safe treatment and Botox side effects are considered rare. Very occasionally people have an allergic reaction to the toxin but it is impossible to know this until you have had your first treatment. Practitioners will generally only administer a small amount of Botox if it is your first treatment to make sure you do not have an allergy to it. Botox does not however work as well on some people compared to others and the most common reasons are as follows:

Bad batch: Occasionally you will not respond as well to your Botox injection as your practitioner would expect and this may just be down to the Botox product being a bad batch. This is likely to be as a result of some storage issues with the product. A new batch of Botox should give you the expected results.

Botox resistance: Very occasionally people show total immunity to Botox meaning you will experience no effects whatsoever following the injections. This is extremely rare and something you will only know once you have had your first injection.

Limitations of Botox: Botox is not a miracle cure and it is important that your practitioner manages your expectations. Botox cannot completely eradicate wrinkles nor can it treat very deeply ingrained frown lines. Your practitioner will explain what you can expect to achieve during a consultation.

Individual differences: Some people will not respond as well to Botox and may also find the results wear off quicker when compared to other people. It is thought that this is related to how quickly the body metabolises the toxin and there is variation in people’s ability to do this.  On average Botox will last around 4 months although this may be more or less depending on your Botox metabolising rate. When calculating Botox prices you need to factor this in to the equation, as in order to maintain the same results you will need to keep repeating the procedure once the effects have worn off.

In summary about 99% of people will be suitable for Botox and the chances of an allergic reaction is extremely rare. For most people the worst that can happen is that the effects do not last as long as you would hope and this is related to your individual metabolism. Should you be unlucky and get undesirable effects from your treatment, most skilful practitioners will be able to address the problem to ensure the results look natural. Remember no matter what happens the effects of Botox are likely to wear off after about 4 months and that includes the good and the bad effects!

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