Sarah had been getting Botox for 5 years when her daughter hit her with the most piercing and insightful question about cosmetic surgery that Sarah had ever heard: “Do you think you look younger or just different?” Sarah says she was forced to take a step back and look at how she looked, and why she was spending so much time and money on cosmetic surgery.
Immediate results versus sustained benefits
Non-surgical anti-aging treatments such as Botox and dermal fillers offer instant gratification, working swiftly to deliver instant, immediate results in a matter of days to weeks. The fillers offer quick results in terms of plumping up lines and wrinkles, and Botox offers instant results for wrinkle lines and a range of other ageing symptoms.
We’ve already looked at the short-term, instant effects of some treatments, but what about the long-term? At some point we all need our skin to repair itself over time to prevent further damage and leave the skin looking smooth with fine lines and wrinkles. Many treatments are working towards this end. Botox works by temporarily stopping muscle movement so the skin isn’t pushed into wrinkles all day long.
Understanding the science of skin aging
There are two types of skin aging: intrinsic aging and extrinsic aging. Both factors can cause skin aging. There are various non-surgical skin treatments for visible aging symptoms, but not all aging problems are solved with these methods.
Now the leather jacket is yours, it can be preserved, stretched or even repaired if needed and of course worn, but remember that the fabric will eventually decay.
We can’t go back in time, but our current understanding of aging allows for remarkable improvement of visible signs of aging through thoughtful and well executed treatments with long lasting results.
What the research reveals about longevity
Interim results from long-term studies on patients treated for several years with non-surgical solutions are coming in with a mixed but encouraging picture. Clinical results from patients who have been using Botox for the forehead lines for five years or more show only moderate lines that would have been very deep had they not used Botox. Furthermore, the skin gets used to the muscle relaxing effect of Botox and forms less deep wrinkles than it would have without treatment.
The results from using dermal fillers for breast enhancement can be dramatic and long lasting. There is however some variation between different types of fillers, and between different practitioners. Fillers can induce a condition known as filler fatigue where the body’s tissues become less responsive to injection of fillers with time. There is also a degree of risk to the filler migrating through the tissues, or being absorbed at an uneven rate, which can produce some subtle distortion and change over time.
Although Laser treatments and Chemical peels have only been shown in the literature to have the best supportive long-term clinical data, with some treatments providing ongoing and actual skin improvement for years with regular sessions, they MUST be done with solid sun protection in between sessions.
Provider expertise matters
Long-term results depend upon the skills of the provider performing the injections and experience has shown that inexperienced providers tend to over-inject resulting in poor, unnatural looking results that can worsen over time.
While great results for a moment in time may feel amazing, true good results last long-term. As a face changes shape as a person ages from 40 to 50, the best Botox injectors in Jacksonville have to learn how to use Botox differently.
The maintenance reality
Even though non-surgical treatments do not involve a needle, there is some commitment involved. Botox generally lasts about 3-4 months and fillers can last anywhere from 6 months to 2 years depending on the filler type.
After you stop using the treatments, your body will return to its natural aging process. You will perceive that you have aged a lot in a short period of time. Patients with aggressive treatment protocols can easily spend $1,500 to $3,000 per year on maintenance treatments. Over a decade this can equal the cost of a surgical solution.
With enough budget and realistic expectations, the rewards can be enormous. After years of costly, aggressive, and time consuming treatments- patients can look 5 to 10 years younger.
Making the long-term calculation
This is a miseducated debate, and I mean that kindly. The real question wasn’t whether the two options could be effective in the long-run, because they can.
But the more important question is: Are the results worth the technology and the application to YOU and your situation and goals? To me the answer is yes. As you can see Sarah looks amazing. More importantly she feels amazing and has the confidence that comes from having a healthy, younger looking body after just 5 years. She would be halfway to old to try these treatments without them. So for her it was worth it. And I think it will be worth it for you too, even if your results are different.
