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Botox & Fillers Q&A

What is Botox?

Botox is an FDA-approved treatment for wrinkles. It’s an injectable form of botulinum toxin, a natural substance that undergoes laboratory processing to produce safe products such as Botox, Xeomin®, and Jeuveau®.

Botox reduces moderate to severe frown lines, forehead lines, and crow’s feet around the eyes. These areas tend to develop dynamic wrinkles after repeated muscle movements when you’re frowning or squinting. Injections of Botox, Xeomin, or Jeuveau block nerve signals to the muscles responsible for frowns and squints, so the muscles can’t contract.

A Botox session lasts about 15 minutes. The injection’s effects last three to four months. Botox, Xeomin, and Jeuveau injections are a safe way to take years off your appearance.

What are fillers?

Dermal fillers are also injectable cosmetic treatments. In this case, the injection contains a substance that plumps the tissues under your skin, reducing hollows, nasolabial folds on either side of your nose, deep lines, and wrinkles. Missouri Dermatology Laser and Vein Center offers a comprehensive range of leading dermal fillers, including:

  • Juvéderm® Vollure™ XC 
  • Radiesse® and Radiesse® (+)
  • Sculptra® Aesthetic 
  • Restylane® Lyft
  • Restylane® Silk for lips
  • Juvéderm® Voluma™ XC
  • Juvéderm® Volbella™ XC for lips
  • Sculptra® Aesthetic
  • Belotero® Balance

Fillers contain substances like hyaluronic acid that restore smoothness to areas of skin affected by aging. One of the main causes of wrinkles, lines, and hollows is a loss of collagen, the protein that keeps your skin and tissues plump and youthful.

Hyaluronic acid and other filler substances replace lost collagen. Some also promote the natural production of new collagen. Filler injections take a similar amount of time as Botox treatments and typically last longer, often as much as two years.

What does having Botox or fillers involve?

Before you have Botox or fillers, your Missouri Dermatology Laser & Vein Center provider assesses your skin and ensures the treatment is suitable for you. They describe the results you can expect from Botox and fillers, so you have a realistic expectation of the outcome.

When your Botox or filler treatment begins, your provider marks the injection sites on your skin. They use tiny needles to inject Botox or fillers, which can cause slight discomfort. Applying numbing cream before your treatment keeps you comfortable, and some products contain lidocaine, a local anesthetic.

Fillers require smoothing out after the injections to ensure the product spreads out evenly and achieves the desired effect. 

You can combine Botox and fillers, which is known as a liquid facelift. Medical grade skin care products and a revitalizing HydraFacial® are also available for optimal skin health.

To find out more about improving your appearance with Botox and fillers, call Missouri Dermatology Laser and Vein Center today or book an appointment online.