Botox Vienna – Wrinkle treatment with Botox by Dr. Vjara Ilieva

Botox is a medication that inhibits muscle movement. Thus, Botox is used to treat expression lines, such as frown lines or forehead wrinkles. Fillers, on the other hand, are substances used to give volume to the face. Hyaluronic acid fillers are used, for example, to restore lost volume in the midface or to plump up the lips.

Of course, the perception of pain is always individual for each patient, but overall, while a Botox treatment is slightly uncomfortable, it is not particularly painful. Most people only feel a slight stinging sensation. Extremely thin needles are used. Additionally, the affected area can be made less sensitive through cooling or small devices that send vibration pulses. Furthermore, the treatment really does not take very long.

First, a detailed consultation takes place in my practice. Then, photos of the areas to be treated are taken. Afterwards, the skin is cleaned and the Botox is injected under the skin with thin needles. Finally, the skin is cooled. A follow-up appointment after 14 days, during which small adjustments can be made if necessary, is included in the price.

By relaxing the facial muscles, the treated wrinkle can no longer be made. Unfortunately, deep wrinkles that are already heavily etched into the skin do not disappear completely as a result. However, they are softened through regular treatments.

How early expression lines form is very individual and depends on genetics, lifestyle, and the intensity of facial expressions. There is no general answer to this question. However, the best time, if you want to prevent the development of deep wrinkles, is when a wrinkle is just beginning to show as a fine line even when the face is relaxed.

Of course, men can also be treated with botulinum toxin. Since certain facial features are generally perceived as more masculine or more feminine, slightly different dosages of the toxin and slightly modified injection points are often chosen for men. Experienced doctors can achieve the optimal result here, taking the patient’s wishes into account, without it being immediately obvious that a treatment has been performed.

No, wrinkles do not get worse if you stop using Botox. When the effect has worn off after 4 to 6 months, the muscles simply return to their original level of activity, and you look as you did before the treatment. However, it does happen that patients get used to the effect and it seems to them as if the wrinkles are worse afterward than they were.

The term ‘Botox effect’ is used when Botox is applied repeatedly in the same facial region. The muscles in question can become weaker through repeated immobilization, which can make the result last longer.

Botox is inherently a neurotoxin, and that naturally sounds quite scary at first. However, many long-term studies have shown that Botox does not cause long-term consequences and does not affect your health. The effect completely regresses after six months. However, muscles that are inactive for a long time lose their strength, similar to the muscles in arms and legs when we wear a cast for a long time. It is no different with facial muscles; these can also become weaker through long-term immobilization.

In Austria, several preparations from different manufacturers are approved. Which one is used is usually the doctor’s personal preference. However, you should definitely not order botulinum toxin yourself on dubious sites on the Internet, as there is no guarantee what you will actually get.

How many units you need for wrinkle treatment varies individually. On the one hand, it depends on how strong your muscles are, and on the other hand, on how much residual movement you would still like to have. While it is common in the Anglo-American region to actually sell the toxin by units, in Germany and Austria it is common to state the costs for a region, even if there is a certain range in the required units. Furthermore, there are several different providers of botulinum toxin preparations in Austria, between which conversion factors exist: one unit of toxin from one company does not correspond to one unit of toxin from another manufacturer.

Prices for Botox treatment vary depending on how many regions are treated and how many units are required. When treating one region (for example, frown lines or crow’s feet), costs from €200 can be expected. The combined treatment of frown lines and forehead wrinkles costs €360. The costs will be discussed with you in detail beforehand.

Of course, you can also combine Botox treatment with other treatments, such as fillers, PRP, skin boosters, Profhilo, chemical peels or microneedling. This can even produce particularly beautiful results. However, it is advisable to spread these treatments over two separate appointments if the same area of the face is being treated, for example crow’s feet or upper lip lines.

In rare cases, patients develop antibodies against Botox, and the preparation therefore no longer works or only works weakly. This occurs more frequently when Botox is used in neurology because much larger quantities of the substance are used there than in aesthetic medicine. To avoid this nonetheless, there should always be at least three to four months between individual treatments. This means it is better to treat all regions you want to address at once, rather than the frown lines one month, the crow’s feet the next, etc. Should there still be a suspicion that Botox is no longer working for you, you can take a longer break so that the body can break down the antibodies again, or switch to a different botulinum toxin preparation.