Botox is a protein that binds to a muscle receptor and blocks it from “hearing” the signals of the nerves signalling it to contract.  The Botox molecule is slowly broken down by the body’s natural clearing and clean up cells.  Eventually the receptor is freed up allowing for muscle contraction to return. 

Yes!  Botox is a brand name of Onabotulinum type A, much like Kleenex is tissue paper.  There are Dysport, Juveau Xeomin, and now Daxxify which is available in the US.  All of these have been tested to be as good as Botox in delivering anti – wrinkle effects. 

When Botox binds and stops the muscles from creasing the skin, the skin has time to repair itself and fix the cracks that are developing.  The healthier the skin, the better the results. That’s why at Sona MD in Kamloops, we focus on educating you on skin health as well as the other treatments we do.  We rely on the effective formulations of ZO SkinHealth Products to deliver visible improvements in the skin.

Botox binds to the muscle and shows maximum effect at about 2 weeks.  After that the effect of Botox slowly winds down until the muscle can move again at about 3-6 months.  Every body, face and skin is different but most people using botox for wrinkle prevention get botox every 3 months

Muscle movement will return to normal and the skin overlying the muscles will begin creasing again.  If you want to get the best results, you should consider having Botox every 3-4 months.  This will allow your skin to repair itself and get rid of wrinkles in the forehead, furrows, crow’s feet as well as in the lower face as in the chin and muscles that pull the corners of the lips down creating a frown.

Most people think that surgery like a facelift might be the only way to lift sagging skin, but there are nonsurgical facelift methods to tighten skin like Morpheus8 along with Dermal fillers.  In Kamloops we use fillers like Restylane and Radiesse along with other Hyaluronic Acid fillers to replace volume.

Botox can be used to decrease the downward pull of some muscles allowing us to create a brow lift effect and also stop the downward pull of the corners of the mouth to “lift” the corners of the mouth.  Along the jawline we can create a “lifted” look of the jowls by stopping the downward pull of the platysma as well!  

Dr. Lotay has brought her expertise in advance techniques of using Botox to achieve impactful results! 

Botox can be used for reduction of wrinkles caused by movement.  So on the face that means forehead, frown, crow’s feet, wrinkles on the chin, and those caused by frowning.

In addition, Botox, can be used to slim the face by injecting the masseters. This also helps with TMJ.  We use Botox for migraine reduction, excessive sweating as well as muscle spasms.  Within medicine there are even more uses such as overactive bladder, cerebral palsy spasms, gastric sphincter spasms and more!

The molecule of Botox takes 4-8 hours to bind.  You should not exercise or do hot yoga, or a sauna in that time period.  Do not wear a tight hat, or massage the treated areas.  Exercising and bringing blood flow to the area will decrease the effectiveness as will too much sun.  You should wear sunscreen daily to maintain skin health anyhow!  Some clinicians suggest moving the muscles around that have been treated, or making the expressions you are trying to block. Even if you don’t, your botox will still work!  In our Kamloops clinic, we provide you with detailed instructions so you know exactly what to do to get the best results!

Doses of Botox depend on how strong an individual’s facial muscles are and the muscles treated.  For example, masseter or jaw clenching muscles take about 50 units per side.  So most folks should budget around $1000 for this treatment.  

Typical doses of forehead and frown botox are 20-40 units while crow’s feet take between 16-24 units.  Lip flips only take between 2 and 4 units.  

Generally speaking, depending on your needs, upper face Botox in Kamloops starts at around $300. 

Botox is injected using fine insulin needles and most people describe a fine pricking sensation.  In our Kamloops  clinic we use ice, vibration and in some cases numbing to help with discomfort.  The best method is really technique and our doctors are efficient and gentle making the treatment quick and as comfortable as possible!