Camile,
Thanks for your questions regarding Relaxed Expressions and Botox. Regarding longevity, Botox lasts 3-4 months reliably. Relaxed Expressions is harder to quantify. Firstly, Botox completely relaxes the muscles, Relaxed Expressions completely relaxes the muscles initially through ablating the nerves to the muscle, but over time (6-12 months) there is a varying recovery in the nerve. Some patients get just enough recovery to produce some expression without causing a deep furrow when they scowl. This is a perfect result and exactly what the procedure was intended to do. In my opinion patients with this level of recovery at one year will maintain that result forever, although we don’t know that for sure as we haven’t followed any patients forever. The limitation of the procedure is that some patients will get more recovery than desired and will need to be re-treated. As far as choosing Relaxed Expressions over Botox, it is individual. When you come in for a consultation we will examine your lines of expression and determine whether the procedure is appropriate for you. We can then go over the entire procedure and you can decide based upon all the information. There is some down-time from Relaxed Expressions. There is about a week of swelling in the brow area and sometimes some bruising as well. Relaxed expressions is only for treating the frown lines. If a patient already has furrows then a filler will have to be added to complete the result.
I hope this helps. We would be happy to talk with you further if you like.
Ed Buckingham
I have a question about fillers. Juvederm, Perlane and Restylane all sound the same to me (crystal-clear, non-animal, biodegradable gel based on a natural substance called hyaluronic acid). How would you determine which you would use? For example, if I have lines I’d like to minimize, which would you recommend? If I should like to augment my lips, Juvederm, Perlane or Restylane? Is one or another more or less viscous or better suited to different areas of the face? I am 38, have always had good skin, care for it well, but am beginning to see some small changes. Please clarify this for me, because I am quite interested in trying something. (The Juvederm TV commercial does not leave me hopeful, since the woman in it does not look natural, or might that be due to the application?)
Comment by Constance — June 23, 2009 @ 9:19 am