For the most part, you can resume your normal daily routine immediately after a BOTOX treatment session, but there are a few things to be careful about — especially in the first few days. When it comes to your skincare regimen after BOTOX, we do ask our Orlando patients to pay extra attention to a few simple things.
On Day 1, Stay Out of the Sun
Direct sun exposure is the enemy when you leave our office. The newly injected areas need to be left alone to heal, and sunburn makes for a painful nuisance that irritates your injection sites.
Common sense applies here. Don’t lay out in the sun after a treatment session. If you’re a hat person, bring one along to wear after treatment. Seek out the shade when you’re walking.
It’s fine to go about your normal daily activities; just make sure to apply a sunscreen that’s at least SPF 30.
Be Gentle When Applying Products
Again, remember that your face is healing. In the first few days after BOTOX, it’s important to tread lightly around your injection sites, whether you’re just rinsing your face or applying creams or other products.
A good rule of thumb: Whenever you’re touching your face, stick to a gentle dabbing motion. Avoid vigorously massaging or rubbing creams when you apply them, because that can affect the distribution of the botulinum toxin.
Read Your Labels
Take a quick inventory of your skincare products, and if you see anything that uses alpha hydroxy acid (also sometimes labeled glycolic acid), set it aside for a week or so. Creams or peels that use alpha hydroxy acids can often irritate your injection sites, which in turn has a chance of prolonging any redness or swelling you may experience after a treatment session.
Generally speaking, most other products are fine to use, but it’s always a good idea to bring a list of the products you use and ask us about them.
Vitamin K & Arnica Are Your Friends
It’s not uncommon for patients to develop some light bruising after BOTOX. It’s typically minor and easily covered up by a little concealer, but it’s still something to be aware of. If you do have some bruising around your injection sites, it’s good to have some topical vitamin K gel on hand, or an arnica salve. Both of these can expedite healing, and arnica also provides mild pain relief. Of course, the same rule applies as with your other skincare products: Just a dab will do.
Many of our patients like the one shown below have seen smoother skin after their BOTOX treatment, and using the right skin care products after a treatment can enhance results even further.
Now you know what to do during those post-BOTOX days. Have any other questions about the treatment? Leave them for us in a comment.
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