Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Articles

There’s one question that inevitably comes up at every initial botox consultation: How much is this going to hurt?

It seems as though discomfort and beauty are always linked, whether we’re pursuing flatter abs or a firmer jawline. Knowing just how much pain we’re in for isn’t necessarily going to make it any easier to endure, but it is an essential part of beginning to process what’s about to happen.

To that end, here’s a deeper dive into a few popular anti-aging treatments, including Botox, focusing on how you can expect to feel during and after the procedure.

Botox: An injectable neurotoxin that’s used to temporarily paralyze facial muscles and smooth wrinkles.

Many plastic surgeons will numb the area first with ice, which can feel like a brain freeze. The injections themselves are quick. You shouldn’t feel a thing. The area just underneath the eyebrows tends to be more sensitive. Injections there can feel like a bee sting, but the pain should go away immediately.

Some bruising may appear during the first few days after the treatment, though it shouldn’t be anything that can’t be covered up with concealer. It’ll take about five days for the Botox to kick in. At which point, the muscles in the treated areas will start to feel kind of stiff or heavy. It’s an odd sensation at first, but you’ll get used to it after a few days.

Restylane and Juvéderm: Hyaluronic acid-based gels that restore contours and fullness to the face and lips.

Your plastic surgeon may give you the option of applying numbing cream beforehand, but it shouldn’t be necessary unless you have a very low tolerance for pain. The injection can feel like a splinter, and the pain comes and goes just that quickly.

The lips, however, are one of the most sensitive areas on the body, so an injectable anesthetic may be in order. Icing is often enough, though, because many of the most popular fillers, including Restylane and Juvéderm, have lidocaine mixed in.

A little swelling after the injections is to be expected. It’ll take about a week to dissipate, but your lips should feel like normal within a few hours.

Kybella: Deoxycholic acid that reduces a double chin.

Typically, numbing cream is first applied, followed by lidocaine injections. Without them, the injection can throb a bit and burn for about 15 minutes. It’s bearable, but it’s enough to make your eyes water. Once the lidocaine wears off, the area can be achy for a few hours, and there may be some slight bruising.

Everyone experiences some mild swelling following the treatment. It can last anywhere from a week to two weeks, but you’re likely the only one who will ever notice.

If you’ve ever consulted a plastic surgeon about smoothing your fine lines with injectables, you were probably presented with one or two options—three, at most—because that was the number of FDA-approved neurotoxins on the market.

That changed this year with the approval of Jeuveau for the treatment of moderate to severe glabellar lines, or “frown lines,” as they’re more widely known. You may be thinking, What’s the big deal?

Well, Jeuveau, which is structurally similar to Botox, is the first new brand of neurotoxin to come to the US market in almost 10 years, and that’s pretty remarkable when you consider the demand for neurotoxin injections. In 2018, nearly 7.5 million Botox, Dysport, Xeomin injections were administered in the United States, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), making it the most popular minimally-invasive procedure at a time when interest in every kind of facial filler is exploding.

So, any new option is bound to generate lots of buzz.

Even more, the demographic that’s growing the fastest is the under-30 age bracket. Neurotoxin injectable procedures have increased 28% among 20- to 29-year-olds since 2010, according to the ASPS.

Evolus, the California-based company that manufactures Jeuveau, is responding to that budding demand by positioning itself as a self-described “performance beauty” company, rather than a traditional drug maker.

As a quick refresher on how injectable neurotoxins work, they smooth wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing the underlying facial muscles, which sounds much scarier than it actually is. The technical name for these formulas—which you may recognize from the endless stream of online, TV, and magazine ads—is botulinum toxin type A.

While Jeuveau is only approved, for the time being, to treat the appearance of frown lines in adults, it had a higher satisfaction rate than Botox in a recent head-to-head, blind trial.

Curious about what Jeuveau could do for you? Davis Cosmetic Surgery is the exclusive Jeuveau provider for the Delaware Valley, including South Jersey and Philadelphia. Schedule a consultation with board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Davis to find out whether you’re a candidate for the treatment.