When you make the decision to do something about the signs of aging on your face, you have plenty of options. Laser treatments, microneedling, photodynamic therapy, and dermal fillers can all improve the appearance of your skin. But Botox® remains one of the most popular choices.
If you’re trying to decide between Botox and a facelift, you probably have lots of questions. So, Dr. Robert Topham and our team here at Holladay Dermatology and Aesthetics have put together a brief guide to help you compare the two options so you can make an informed decision.
The sun’s ultraviolet rays penetrate your skin and leave a trail of damage in their wake. The UVA rays wreak havoc in all three skin layers and destroy the proteins collagen and elastin that give your skin its resilience and elasticity. The UVB rays dive deeper and damage your DNA, which is what potentially leads to skin cancer.
Age adds to the sun’s handiwork and robs your skin of the essential nutrients and structure it needs to resist gravity. Over the years, you lose the fat layer under the surface of your skin, so your cheeks look sunken, and you begin to see a crepey texture known as static wrinkles. These are the shrively little lines that resemble a deflated latex balloon — dermal fillers work well for these.
As you get older, your body slows down its production of collagen and elastin, so your skin can no longer bounce back from that big smile or that day of squinting in the sun. The expression lines, called dynamic wrinkles, tend to stay there even when you’re relaxed.
There isn’t a single treatment that addresses all these issues at once, but most of them can be used together to correct a multitude of skin complaints without resorting to surgery.
Botox is one of the best tools in the skin care tool box, and it’s often a better choice than a surgical facelift. Here’s why.
Surgical facelifts are highly effective at shoring up severely sagging skin and delivering a dramatic difference. But most people don’t need or aren’t willing to undergo that extreme measure. Botox, on the other hand, has several advantages over a surgical facelift, and we highlight five of them here.
Wrinkles are inevitable and predictable, so it makes sense to take measures that will stop them before they become a problem. At the first sign of laugh lines, frown creases, or a furrowed brow, Botox can stop them in their tracks.
Many of our patients begin using preventive Botox in their mid-to-late 20s, when collagen production begins to wane.
If you have mild wrinkles, you don’t need a facelift; you just need a helping hand to smooth them out. If you have more advanced wrinkles but don’t want to undergo a drastic change that screams you’ve had work done, then Botox is the answer.
Botox changes your appearance just enough so that those who know you well will think you look rested and alert, not transformed.
Let’s face it, for all its benefits, a facelift is still surgery, and it still carries all the risks of any surgical procedure, including infection, nerve damage, hematomas, and scarring.
But Botox, in the hands of a skilled and experienced specialist like Dr. Topham, carries none of those risks, and just gives you smoother, younger-looking skin.
Botox injection needles are incredibly thin, and the treatment is painless. We numb your skin beforehand, so you don’t feel a thing. Some patients use an ice pack to ease any minor swelling immediately after the treatment, but most just go straight back to their daily routine.
You can expect to start seeing your results within a few days, and they last, on average, about 3-6 months. At that point, you can simply schedule another treatment and keep the effects going.
Your appearance and self-confidence are invaluable, but that doesn’t mean money doesn’t matter. While cost should never be the only factor when deciding on a treatment or procedure, it does come into play, and Botox is a fraction of the expense of a surgical facelift.
And money isn’t the only investment involved. A facelift also requires your time, as it takes up to two weeks before you can go back to work, and up to a month before you can resume normal activities. There’s no downtime necessary with Botox, so the only time you need to carve out is about 15 minutes of treatment time.
If you’re ready try Botox for a smoother, younger look, schedule an appointment by calling our friendly office staff in Holladay, Utah, today.
