When folks hear 'Botox' comes from a toxin, some get jittery, thinking it might cause botulism, but let's clear the air with some hard facts—there's no need to worry! Botox injections use a highly purified form of botulinum toxin that's extremely safe when administered by a trained professional. We're talking about doses measured in units, where a typical properly dosed full-face cosmetic treatment involves just 50 to 100 units, depending on muscle strength, condition of skin, severity of lines.

Now, compare that to the doses associated with botulism. To cause botulism, exposure to about 2,500 to 3,000 units of botulinum toxin might be necessary, which is massively higher than what’s used in Botox treatments. For medical applications like treating chronic migraines, severe muscle spasticity, excessive sweating, and certain types of eye disorders, the dosage might be higher—up to several hundred units—but still well below the level associated with botulism. These controlled, tiny doses are just enough to effectively relax target muscles without affecting your overall health. This precision ensures that while you're getting great results smoothing out those wrinkles or managing medical symptoms, you're in the clear from risks like botulism. So, with Botox, you're benefiting from a safe, precise, and effective treatment that's miles away from the conditions that cause botulism.

Your first appointment as a new client will be scheduled to leave ample time for discussing your goals, and answering any questions prior to the treatment.

New client appointment time:
Up to 60 minutes

Existing client appointment:
Up to 30 minutes

Actual treatment time:
5- 10 minutes

Treatment Follow-ups:
15 minutes
30 minutes
(if touch-ups are desired.)

You may feel your Botox start working as early as the next day, however generally speaking, we see patients noticing the effects of Botox within 4-6 days, and achieving the full effect at approx the 2 week mark.

Everyone responds differently. So, I'd advise you to take note of when you notice it starting to work, and when you feel the full effect has been reached. That way, you can plan your next appointment accordingly, if you want to look camera or event-ready! 😉

If you've ever plucked an eyebrow hair, or been bitten by a mosquito.. you'll do just fine. 😉

Just like most any other medical intervention, there are definitely some contraindications. These will be discussed with you prior to treatment, but for now...

You likely won't be getting BOTOX if:

• You've ever had an allergic reaction to BOTOX or any of its componnets.
• You have certain neuromuscular disorders.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. (precautionary, as no studies or adequate data from postmarketing surveillance related to the developmental risk associated with using botulinum toxin in pregnant women exist)
  

Nothing goes without the potential risk of minor complications, so let's cover them:

• mild bruising
• mild swelling
• mild pain
• flu-like symptoms
• headache
• heavy brows
• peaked brows
• dry eyes

Among some of the more rare complications would include:

• infection
• droopy eyelid
• allergic reaction (very rare)

You shouldn't. When it's administered by a trained professional, Botox should not make your face look "frozen" or expressionless. We're diminishing wrinkles, maintaining a natural range of facial expressions, and can even achieve some dynamic facial shaping!

There is absolutely no way of having a solid answer to this question.

In order to achieve the desired result, the unit amount of Botox required will vary from person to person. This requires an assessment of your muscle movement, strength, activity level, prior history with neuromodulators, severity of lines, and the list goes on.

Do note that even when assessed, it may take a couple of treatments (w/ touch-ups) to nail down that desired result. This is why establishing a provider that you can consistently count on for treatment is of paramount importance. When there are too many cooks rotating in the kitchen, you'll never have consistent delivery of service. Having a provider that know's just how to treat your 100% unique presentation, allows for a sense of mutual confidence, consistency, and generally speaking.. it's smooth sailing for the rest of the voyage!

When dosed adequately, Botox is slated to last anywhere between 3 - 4 months.

It may be shorter, it may last longer. Everybody responds differently. It's important to have appropriate dosing in order to achieve desired results, including duration.

While some people do respond more favorably to Botox alternatives, myself and other practitioners have found this to be very rare.

Typically, if you received a Botox treatment and didn't respond well, it's more often due to injector technique, underdosing (inadvertently or, unforunately, intentionally) by way of overdiluted reconsitution, or receiving less units than required to achieve the desired outcome.

A valid concern. As you may have seen in the news, hospital admissions have been on the rise from complications of counterfeit Botox being used in treatments. You should know this just doesn't happen in shady or unprofessional settings. It is a fact that this, and other dangerous practices occur in widely known, "reputable," and seemingly safe clinics, MedSpas, and offices around the country.

Each and every treatment of BOTOX© Cosmetic at TORRÈS Aesthetic is logged into your protected chart with the Lot# and Batch# that's printed on the side of the bottle by Allergan, the makers of BOTOX© Cosmetic. This helps keep track of who is getting what, in the event the manufacturer needs to know for quality assurance.

We reconsitute each and every vial according to protocol established by Allergan. Botox is often reconstituded and drawn up into syringes prior to a patient's appointment, in order to allocate more time towards the actual visit. However, if ever in doubt, feel free to ask to have a vial reconstituted while you're there. That said, the result of a properly-dosed treatment will speak for itself.

Choose a provider you trust. You won't regret it.

Indeed it does.

That's because about 3 units of dysport = 1 unit of Botox.

Be cautious that the word "Botox" is commonly used in lieu of the name of it's alternatives, as most people are more familiar with the term and they basically act the same.

However, that can also be very misleading when someone asks about the price of a unit of Botox, and the response is $5 instead of $15, as something like Dysport may be being used which is about 3 times less potent.

You'll, hopefully, realize when you get the bill...

Nothing! It's great.

But, because of the already foggy and misunderstood world of aesthetic treatments, we feel responsibile to help make sense of some of the more confusing misconceptions. With the amount of products and devices out there to choose from, and as a consumer having little to no idea what's happening behind the scenes, rest assured, at TORRÈS Aesthetics, we're all about transparency.

Allergan, the manufacturers of BOTOX© Cosmetic, were the pioneers in neuromodulators, with the first FDA-approval for the use of Botox.

In the hospital setting, I saw BOTOX© Therapeutic being used. For me, understanding the stringent and rigid rules surrounding production, testing, sterility, etc that are involved in having a product be approved for hospital use- I feel vastly more secure in using BOTOX© Cosmetic. Make sense?

It may cost more for me, but when it comes to what I'm injecting into my patients body, it's worth it.

That said, for those that are diehard Dysport'rs- I'll see what I can do about having that in stock for you 😉