Tips from Chelsea Vacca, APRN located in Sarasota, Florida

While aging is inevitable, using Botox Cosmetic to keep you looking fresh and feeling great is a wonderful long-term option. Below are some of my recommendations for keeping your Botox last the full 12-13 weeks. *note* all neurotoxins (Botox, Dysport, Jeuveau) cannot last longer than 3-4 months due to the the mechanism of action.

1. Consistency— consistent Botox treatments will naturally train your muscles to not make wrinkle-forming expressions. The longer you wait between treatments, the more we are chasing those wrinkles and muscles. 
2. Use a medical grade SPF. This is a big one, as it protects this epidermis from damage. With a sunburn, or prolonged exposure to the sun, it causes trauma to the skin, which in turn causes an immune response, which can make your Botox wear off more quickly.
3. Smoking, nicotine, or vape use—please avoid if possible! Smoking, vaping, and anything with nicotine causes your collagen to break down, damages your skin cells, and reduces the effectiveness of your Botox injections. Not only will the original dynamic wrinkles appear more quickly, but smoking and vaping cause fine lines around the mouth and eyes that can be more difficult to treat.
4. Stress reduction— and I personally know this is a difficult one— but the more stressed we are, the more we metabolize our Botox and raise our cortisol levels
5. Saved the best for last- DOSE. The correct dose for each patient is determined by the practitioner. Dose – DURATION. If you feel like you only want 10 units for your whole face, it will not last more than a few weeks. On average, each patient that gets Botox/Dysport to the forehead, glabella and/or crow’s feet can expect anywhere from 35-60 units. Sure, there are exceptions, but this is a good rule of thumb.

Hope this was helpful and for all things aesthetic, follow me on IG at @lotus.aesthetics.srq

xo, Chelsea