Botox Tips

The (Would Be) Presidential Treatment

Botox can't give you everything and it certainly can't help you hold up under scrutiny. Just ask former presidential candidate John Kerry, whose Botox injections got lampooned by the multimedia satirists JibJab. A Botox injection can block pressure on the nerve endings--useful when you're losing a presidential debate. The Botox treatment does smooth out fine lines, wrinkles, frown lines and crow's feet. However, it can't help you if you rub your forehead after treatment, which Senator Kerry probably did between debates ("Why did I say that about Dick Cheney's daughter?").

More bad news for Kerry from Ohio: The Mandell-Brown Plastic Surgery Center in Cincinatti, Ohio says that multiple Botox injections don't necessarily make the effects last, since "for one patient the wrinkle smoothing effect may last 3 months and the next injection may last only 1 to 2 months, and a third injection may last 4 months." Particularly if you're under presidential-size stress. However, Botox can be effective for migraines, backache and underarm sweat--useful to know if you're planning your next presidential campaign. It's too late for John Kerry, but not for Hillary.

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Botox Plus Restylane

Not convinced that Botox treatment can give you a softer, more rounded, not to mention more expressive face? What will you do with that new smile once you have it? Well, for one thing, you can stop scaring the guy behind the counter at Starbucks. You might want to consider Restylane in addition to Botox.

Restylane will supplement the muscle relaxation of Botox injections and help you smooth out lines and crows feet around the eyes, lips, and cheeks. Hyaluronic acid isn't a new designer drug--it's a natural chemical in our bodies that gets depleted, and through Restylane injections, gets replenished. Restylane can banish fine wrinkles immediately, so that you see a quick result while you're waiting up to a week for Botox injection facial refreshing.

When ordering a combined Botox treatment with Restylane, you might want to make sure your surgeon or RN specializes in non-surgical procedures, or presents them as an alternative to a face lift that you may not need. There are cosmetic centers that specialize only in non-surgical facial procedures. Bear in mind that Restylane lip fillers are often injected days after the Botox injection so that the facial muscles relax. So smile, baby, because you have a softer face, and all it took was your own natural chemicals plus a clinic trip or two on your lunch hour. Now go get that latte and smile at the counter guy.

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Reducing Botox Costs

You can self-tan on your own, and have cosmetic parties with fellow Desperate Housewives. You can give yourself home hair color treatments. How about Botox parties? You could save hundreds of dollars and trips to the Botox treatment center. Penny-wise, pound foolish. If you want to save money on your Botox cost, we recommend you:

• Increase antioxidant intake to minimize wrinkles
• Stay out of strong sunlight or minimize sun exposure
• Laugh more--the average adult laughs 5 times a week, while the average kid laughs 10,000 times
• Drink more water
• Quit smoking, which ages your face
• Try the Botox-alternative products (they may vary in effectiveness)
• Get microdermabrasion to stimulate collagen growth
• Get a Photo Facial, which can cost $575 and rejuvenates your face

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Botox Accounting

Your cosmetic surgeon does breast implants, microdermabrasion and facelifts. Why does Botox cost $200-$500 and how can he charge so much for your Botox injections? Too low fees are as suspicious as too high fees. If an ad promises dirt cheap Botox treatment, the quack may be using dirt to inject your wrinkles instead of the normal Botulinum Toxin Type A.

Center and treatment fees, doctor's fees and other costs contribute to Botox treatment charges. If you have multiple Botox injection sites, your Botox cost will be higher. Consider, however, that the procedure takes about ten minutes, can be done with no hospital stay, has minimal risk of allergy, and lasts up to six months on average.

By having Botox treatments, a young person wanting to eliminate sun damage wrinkles can stay out of hospitals and avoid inpatient plastic surgery procedures later in life. If you're concerned about high Botox costs, take care of your skin, manage stress, and avoid sunburn. Unless your cosmetic surgeon is driving a new Lamborghini every time you arrive for treatment, you have nothing to worry about.

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Botox Outsourcing

Our jobs are going to India, Mexico, Indonesia...and now our plastic surgery costs may be cut if we hop a charter flight, right? Not so fast. Although more than 1 million people worldwide got Botox in 2002, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, not all Botox injections are created equal. You can spend $300-$500 in Canadian dollars for Botox, and assuming the exchange rate is favorable, you'll probably get a good deal. Some pointers to remember when going abroad:

• You should always check any surgeon's references. A quack is a quack no matter where they practice.
• If your Botox doesn't last, don't blame it on the surgeon. Botox injection effects depend on the individual.
• Don't automatically assume that a foreign country won't have the same health standards as in the United States, and vice versa if you're coming to the US for Botox treatment.
• Don't assume that the clinic is safe either! Do your research!
• Make sure you can contact the surgeon or get treatment from a comparable surgeon if problems should occur.
• Don't assume that Botox is cheaper in another country. Exchange rates and different health systems may actually drive up the price. Outsourcing is a dirty word in many circles, but globalization actually gives the consumer more choice--use it wisely.

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Men and Botox

Presidential candidates. Gay men. Aging executives. Do other men get Botox injections? Apparently, yes. In 2003, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Botox was the most popular non-surgical procedure for guys, mainly middle-aged men and thirty-somethings trying to be competitive. Maybe the frequency of Botox treatments has to do with the male image: downtime isn't manly (ask anyone waiting for a guy to get up off the couch), and Botox injections don't require downtime.

Botox treatment isn't something men are hiding, though women still make up the majority of Botox treatment beneficiaries. Even blue-collar and straight guys have decided to look good and less grumpy for wives and co-workers. A caution: Men need higher doses and more frequent injections to relax those wrinkles. What can you do? It's testosterone and the male makeup. But on the plus side, men with prostate problems have been prescribed Botox injections to reduce enlarged prostates. If you're a man getting Botox, remember not to let them see you sweat, which Botox can help with as well--ask your doctor. You can join the Queer Eye guys, John Kerry, your boss and the plumber all lining up (pun intended) to change the way you look and feel. Hey, it's a guy thing.

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