Botox has taken over the beauty world, and here's what people are injecting in Toronto.
Have you ever wondered how celebrities and influencers seem to age like immortals with glassy skin and little to no wrinkles in sight?
Botox is an injectable treatment that reduces and softens fine lines and wrinkles that naturally appear on your face over time as you talk, smile and live.
While some people don't mind their hard-earned crow's feet and forehead lines, if you aren't a fan of these side effects of aging, botox can help diminish their appearance.
"Treatment with botox works by temporarily relaxing select muscles of facial expression in a natural way," Toronto plastic surgeon Dr. Jacqueline Rose Makerewich told Narcity.
"This produces an overall soft and relaxed appearance of the face and inhibits movements that can cause deeper wrinkles over time while maintaining natural movement and facial expression."
Botox isn't just a beauty treatment. The injectable can also help people with excessive sweating, issues related to increased muscle tone, spasticity and pain and even help treat migraines, according to Makerewich.
Makerewich works at the Toronto Cosmetic Surgery Institute, and she broke down the six most common areas treated with botox in Toronto and how much each procedure will cost you at $11 per unit.
Forehead & frown lines
Price: Frown lines range from $110 to $275. Forehead lines range from $110 dollars to $220.
The Procedure: The most common procedure botox is used for is to help treat forehead wrinkles, according to Makerewich.
The two most prominent lines on the forehead are frown lines which are vertical lines between a person's eyebrows, and horizontal forehead lines, which are more visible on the upper portion of a person's forehead.
Makerewich says botox can help smooth these lines for a "contoured" look, giving a patient a natural and refreshed appearance.
Frown lines take about 10 to 25 units of botox to fix ($11 per unit), and forehead lines take about 10 to 20 units.
Crow's feet
A doctor holding a box of botox and a syringe.
Courtesy of Toronto Cosmetic Surgery Institute
Price: $55 to $165 per eye.
The Procedure: If you love squinting in the sun, laughing and smiling wide, you may get crow's feet as time progresses. Crow's feet are small fine lines near the outer corner of your eyes that can cause an aged appearance.
Botox in this area can fill in these lines, and it usually takes around five to 15 units to achieve someone's desired look, according to Makerewich.
Makerewich says a skilled botox injector can inject botox into the muscles surrounding the eye "to elevate the lateral brow and create a more open-eyed, youthful appearance."
So if you're looking for that fresh-faced, wide eye look, botox might be able to help you get it.
Bunny lines
A doctor getting ready to inject botox into a patients face.
Courtesy of Toronto Cosmetic Surgery Institute
Price: $55 to $110 per side
The Procedure: Bunny lines (which sound very cute) are creases at the top of a person's nose that are noticeable when they scrunch their nose or sniff, and according to Makerewich, these lines can be more noticeable if you've already gotten botox in your forehead.
But botox can minimize the activity of these muscles with just five to ten units on each side of the area.
Dimpled chin
Price: $44 to $132
The Procedure: If you don't have strong enough bone structure, your chin may appear dimpled from your mentalis muscle, working overtime to compensate.
Makerewich says Botox can help even out a chin's dimpled appearance.
"Botox in this muscle, often in combination with a filler product to enhance chin projection, can create a smoother and more relaxed chin appearance."
This procedure requires about four to 12 units of Botox to achieve this desired look, according to Makerewich.
Masseter
Price: $220 to $330 per side
The Procedure: Masseter botox can give you a slimmer jaw and face and help alleviate issues like tension and teeth grinding.
"Botox can be used to decrease the bulk of the masseter muscle creating a more delicate lower facial profile," Makerewich explained.
The procedure takes about 20 to 30 units of Botox on each side to achieve this slimming outcome.
Gummy smile
Price: $44 to $66
The Procedure: This procedure helps patients with "gummy smiles" reduce the amount of gum shown when they smile with their teeth with just four to six units of botox, according to Makerewich.
"Carefully placed botox into the muscles of the upper lip can help reduce the appearance of gummy show, creating a more balanced and beautiful smile."
How long should you rest after botox?
Botox recovery isn't that intense, and little to no downtime is needed, according to Makerewich.
"Botox injections are an effective, minimally invasive treatment option for patients who wish to address and even prevent some of the signs of aging without expensive surgeries that require long recovery periods."
A patient may get a bruise at the injection site along with some mild tenderness, but Makerewich says these symptoms should go away within a week.
Although Makerewich says some patients can suffer headaches or eye irritation along with rarer symptoms, that should be chatted about with your practitioner.
Who should avoid getting botox?
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, botox isn't for you. So if you have a baby on the way or if you're still weaning your baby off milk, you'll have to wait to get any work done.
Makerewich says people with neurologic diseases or neuromuscular disorders should also avoid getting botox. Along with people who have any known cow milk protein allergies, active infections, or have recently had facial surgery.
What should you avoid after botox?
After you get botox, you won't want to do anything that might move or shift the product in your face.
Makerewich recommends avoiding rubbing your face or eyes and refraining from any heavy exercise after your treatment.
You'll also want to avoid "blood thinning medications like ibuprofen and blood thinning consumables like alcohol."
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
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