Botox & Fillers

What is Botox?

BOTOX® Cosmetic is the gold-standard FDA-approved prescription product used to improve the appearance of facial aging lines in adult men and women. A number of factors cause wrinkles, including cellular changes, collagen depletion, and damage caused by the sun and free radicals. Also, the routine contraction of facial muscles when concentrating, frowning, or squinting can cause your skin to fold and furrow.

BOTOX is injected just beneath the skin’s surface, targeting muscle activity that causes the overlying wrinkle. When the muscle relaxes over time, the skin lines consequently soften and fade. The safety and efficacy of BOTOX has been proven over more than fifty years, beginning with children treated for cervical dystonia, or neck spasms.

Now the most popular cosmetic treatment in the United States, BOTOX® Cosmetic helps millions of patients combat wrinkles and facial creases. Whether you are hoping to improve the appearance of frown lines or seeking to prevent them, BOTOX will assist in achieving a more youthful, vibrant appearance. At Joseph Eye & Laser, you can expect safe, personalized care and beautiful, natural results.

Dr. Joseph and our team provide a warm and friendly environment while working to ensure their patients’ utmost satisfaction. To better understand your treatment options, please contact our office and schedule a face-to-face consultation.

What Should I Expect During My Botox Consultation?

Your consultation with Dr. Joseph is an opportunity to review your medical history and discuss your desired outcomes. Once you have communicated your vision, the surgeon will personally help you create a proactive plan. You are encouraged to ask any questions you may have at this point, and some patients even create lists in advance so they don’t forget their questions at the last moment!

Dr. Joseph will explain how BOTOX works, warn of possible side effects, ask whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding, and show you the method he will use to achieve your goals. Following your consultation, you may opt for treatment on the same day if that is most convenient, or schedule for another date.

Is Botox Right For You?

The effects of BOTOX have long been studied and championed by medical specialists ranging from ophthalmologists, plastic surgeons, dermatologists, and neurologists. As with any product or procedure, however, it’s not for everyone. The best candidates for cosmetic treatment are physically healthy, without neuromuscular diseases, not pregnant or nursing, and are at least 18 years of age.

You should inform Dr. Joseph of any medications, vitamins, and herbal supplements you are taking prior to treatment. Make sure to discuss any questions or concerns, as well as your expectations with Dr. Joseph during your consultation to alleviate confusion or dissatisfaction.

Some conditions that might exclude a patient from having BOTOX treatment include:

What I Can Expect After Botox Treatment?

BOTOX is often considered a “lunchtime” procedure because of its minimal fuss and recovery. Most of our patients are able to visit our office during other routine errands without skipping a beat. Results are usually visible within four to six days after treatment, but may take as long as two weeks to be fully evident. The effects typically last three to four months, although some patients report success even six months later or longer! Regularly scheduled follow-up injections are necessary to achieve consistent, long-lasting results.

Following treatment, Dr. Joseph will provide you with complete after-care instructions. Be sure to discuss any concerns you may have with Dr. Joseph regarding changes in your daily skin regimen or the use of other medications in conjunction with your BOTOX treatment. Though recovery does not generally involve any downtime, patients are advised to wait for one hour before strenuous exercise.

What is Juvederm?

Juvederm dermal filler was FDA-approved in June 2006 for the treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds such as nasolabial folds (those lines that extend from your nose to the corners of your mouth). Juvederm is an injectable filler that includes hyaluronic acid, a natural complex sugar that bolsters skin elasticity, providing a smooth and supple appearance.

It is biocompatible, supplementing the body's natural hyaluronic acid, which age has depleted. Juvederm is the umbrella name for this family of products. Juvederm Ultra is the "regular" filler while Juvederm Ultra Plus is used to treat deeper facial folds; the effects of the latter may last longer.

Newly developed Juvederm Voluma helps to restore volume to the cheeks and chin. Treatment areas include the deep nasogenian grooves (the folds between your cheeks and nose) and nasolabial folds (the so-called "marionette lines" that form between the nose and outer corners of the mouth). Juvederm is also useful for enhancing lip volume (often in combination with lip lifts) and for reshaping cheek contours.

Other available hyaluronic acid-based treatments are Belotero injections, Perlane injections, and Restylane injections. Your ophthalmologist can advise you on which of these fillers is best for you.

How Does Juvederm Work?

The transparent Juvederm gel is injected with a syringe into the mid-to-deep dermis of your face. The dermis is the subsurface skin layer that contains connective tissue, nerve endings, sweat and oil glands, and blood vessels. Juvederm improves your appearance by lifting and adding volume to the wrinkles and folds in the treatment area. After six to nine months, the biocompatible compound is naturally absorbed into the body.

One advantage to Juvederm is its pliant gel consistency, which may provide a smoother, more natural-looking appearance than some of its more rigid predecessors. Another advantage is that Juvederm may last longer, maintaining the improved appearance for six to nine months. The benefits may last even longer if you have a follow-up treatment a few weeks after the first treatment.

Juvederm Volbella

Plump, pouty lips are all the rage these days. Our collective obsession with celebrity lips is fueling this desire and advancements in techniques and technologies is making it easier than ever to emulate your favorite celebrity. In fact, someone gets their lips enhanced every 19 minutes in the U.S. according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

For years, we were scared off by images of trout pout or fish face (i.e. overfilled lips) that made certain celebrities stand out (and not in a good way). But now a new designer filler for lips, Juvederm Volbella XC has further fueled the popularity of lip enhancement procedures

What it Does

Volbella is approved to increase lip fullness and soften the appearance of "smoker's lines" or "bar codes" around the lips in adults over the age of 21. Like other members in the Juvederm family (Juvederm and Juvederm Voluma), Juvederm Volbella XC replenishes the natural stores of hyaluronic acid to boost volume.

In one of the studies leading to the fillers U.S. approval, approximately two-thirds of those treated with Volbella showed improvement in lip fullness and lip lines over the course of one year. Like sister product Juvederm Voluma XC, Juvederm Volbella XC is made with Vycross technology, a manufacturing process that results in a smoother gel that flows easily and consistently.

Juvederm Side Effects

Side effects with Juvederm are rare, but may include redness, tenderness, or pain at the injection site. If these occur, they usually subside within three days. Rarely, discoloration may occur, but this is reversible. Firmness, swelling, bumps, and bruises are also rare side effects and should subside within seven days.

Juvederm Voluma

Juvederm Voluma is the only hyaluronic-acid based dermal filler approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for volume loss in the cheeks or midface.

Juvederm Voluma vs. Other Fillers

Do we really need another filler? Yes, we do, experts say. Other hyaluronic-acid fillers are great for fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth, nose, and eyes, but Juvederm Voluma is for larger areas that need more fill. Fat injections are often used to treat the same areas as Voluma. One of the issues with fat injections, however, is that results are not always predictable. The fat must also be grafted or taken from another part of the body where it is more plentiful. This means it is a two-step procedure. Out-of-the-box injectables such as Juvederm Voluma require just one step.

Results of surveys from studies involving Juvederm Voluma suggest that nearly all participants would recommend treatment to a friend, and most would come back for more themselves. Voluma injections contain lidocaine to reduce the pain associated with the shots. Side effects may include redness, swelling, or bruising after treatment. Voluma is less likely to cause nodules and granulomas (bumps and lumps) and or/migrate than other fillers on the market including Sculptra and Radiesse. There is no downtime, and results are immediate and last up to 18 months.

What is Liquid Facelift?

A liquid facelift is a non-surgical procedure where we inject different liquid fillers into the upper cheeks, jowls, or other facial areas. The choice of filler Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane, or Belotero depends on the facial area and each filler requires a separate syringe. You will look younger immediately, rather than weeks after the procedure, because the fillers quickly improve facial volume, smooth out wrinkles, and create the illusion of a lift.

Target Areas Include:

Botox can be especially useful when dermal fillers have been used to fill in expression lines, such as the creases that form when you smile, as repeated over-use of the surrounding muscles will cause the filler to break down more quickly. This breakdown shortens the length of time before more injections are needed to maintain results.

Is Botox Right For You?

The use of Botox in addition to dermal fillers can make for better, longer-lasting results. Botox blocks the nerve impulses that cause muscle contractions. When injected into specific areas, it effectively relaxes the muscles that are responsible for making certain facial expressions; these repeated facial expressions contribute to the breakdown of collagen in certain areas, leading to deep creases and expression lines.