When we talk about Botox, it is more correctly called botulinum toxin or the myomodulatory protein, it is often the case to encounter very polarized opinions. It is undoubtedly the treatment of aesthetic medicine more criticized, but also the most effective for expression wrinkles and the safest.
On the one hand, it is described as a treatment capable of erasing the marks of time; on the other hand, it is still associated with immobile, artificial faces devoid of expressiveness. In truth, the result should never be a “frozen” face, but a more relaxed, fresh, and rested face.
Botox, In fact, if used with competence, measure and aesthetic sensitivity, it is a Extremely sophisticated medical treatment, It is useful for selectively relaxing certain mimic muscles responsible for expression wrinkles, which are divided into ‘Dynamic’ or ’Static’ types.
What is the difference between dynamic and static wrinkles?
The fundamental difference between dynamic and static wrinkles lies in the moment when they appear on the face and in their Cause of origin.
1. Dynamic Wrinkles (or “expressive”)
These are the wrinkles related to muscle movement. They only appear when you use facial expressions (smile, frown, squint your eyes) and disappear as soon as your face returns to its normal state.
- The cause: The continuous and repeated contraction of the facial muscles that “folds” the overlying skin.
- Classic examples:
- The “chicken legs” on the sides of the eyes (when you smile).
- The horizontal lines on the forehead (when you lift your eyebrows).
- The glabellar wrinkles, called the “thinker’s lines”, between the eyebrows (when you concentrate or get angry).
- Typical approach: The treatment of choice in aesthetic medicine is botulinum toxin (botox), which temporarily relaxes the underlying muscle by reducing its contraction.
2. Static Wrinkles
They are the visible wrinkles on the face even when the muscles are completely relaxed and you're not making any expression.
- The cause: Natural skin aging. Over time, the skin loses collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid, reducing its ability to bounce back and stretch. Often, neglected dynamic wrinkles, driven by the skin’s bending in the same spot, over time turn into static wrinkles. Gravity and sun damage (UV rays) also play a key role.
- Classic examples:
- The nasolabial folds (the lines that go from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth).
- The wrinkles of the “puppet” (that descend from the corners of the mouth towards the chin).
- Wrinkles on the cheeks or on the neck.
- Typical approach: Because there is a loss of volume and structure of the skin, intervention is usually performed with filler based on hyaluronic acid (to fill the gap), chemical peels, lasers or treatments that stimulate collagen.
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What is Botox and how does it work?
The term Botox commonly refers to a treatment based on Botulinum toxin type A. In aesthetic medicine it is used to temporarily reduce the activity of certain facial muscles, limiting the contraction that causes the formation or intensification of dynamic wrinkles.
Botox relaxes the muscle in a controlled manner and allows the leather surpassing appearance more smooth and stretched. It does not fill, swell or change the volume of the face. This is why it is different from a filler, which is used to hydrate, redefine, support or restore certain facial proportions.
What aesthetic benefits can we obtain with Botox?
The most well-known benefit of Botox is reduction of expression wrinkles, Especially in the upper part of the face: forehead, glabellar area between the eyebrows and the lateral eye contour, where the so-called “chicken legs” form.
However, the most interesting result is not simply the wrinkle that fades. It is the overall expression that changes in a delicate way: botulinum toxin can help to relieve those micro-stress which make the face look tougher or tired.
Well-executed treatment should not make people say “you had Botox,” but rather “I see you looking good,” “you have a more open gaze.” This, for me, is the true measure of a good doctor. elegant result.
Botox Full Face: natural lifting effect
The Botox Full Face represents an evolution in the use of this muscle relaxant medication. Compared to the traditional approach, which focuses only on individual areas of the upper third of the face (such as the forehead or the chicken legs), the treatment Full Face consider the face in its entirety.
This approach acts synergistically on antagonistic muscles (elevators and depressors) to restore harmony, freshness, and a natural lifting effect to the entire face.
Benefits of Full Face Botox
- Overall result and extremely natural (NO ‘blocked effect’): Treating only the forehead or only the eyes can sometimes create expressive imbalances, making the retouching obvious. The Full Face distributes micro-doses of botulinum toxin across the entire face. By balancing the muscle forces upwards and downwards, a relaxed and rested appearance is achieved, while maintaining the natural facial mimicry intact.
- Non-surgical lifting effect of the lower third and the mandibular contour: the treatment is not limited to the wrinkles on the forehead. By injecting the toxin at strategic points on the lower third of the face, it disables the muscles that tend to “pull down” the tissues.
- Definition of the jaw (Nefertiti Lift): By relaxing the bands of the platysmal muscle (in the neck), the jawline appears immediately more sculpted and lifted.
- Raising the corners of the mouth: Relaxing the muscle Depressive angle orifice (DAO), correcting the sad or sullen expression, raising the corners of the lips.
- Prevention of aging (Rejuvenation): Full Face Botox works before dynamic wrinkles (caused by movement) turn into static wrinkles (permanent lines visible at rest). By training the muscles to contract with less force, the overlying skin experiences less stress and remains relaxed and youthful for longer.
- Improvement in the quality of the skin ( ‘Microbotox’/ ’Mesobotox’Often the Full Face protocol integrates the technique of Microbotox. By injecting the very diluted toxin at the surface level (in the dermis and not in the muscle), extraordinary skin benefits are obtained:
- Visible reduction in dilated pores.
- Decrease in sebum production (less shiny skin).
- Smooth skin effect, More compact and brighter.
- Correction of asymmetries and muscle tensionIt allows to rebalance small facial symmetry defects and to relax hyperactive muscles, such as the masseter (also useful for those suffering from bruxism, with the additional aesthetic benefit of slimming down a too-square face) or the jaw muscle (eliminating the “square jaw” effect).“orange peel“).
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But does Botox make the face look fake?
No. Botox does not make the face look fake. It can, on the contrary, make it look more natural. Incorrect use of the treatmentExcessive dosages, inappropriate points, failure to assess individual anatomy, or a desire to follow a standardized aesthetic model.
A natural face It is not a completely wrinkle-free face. It is a coherent, expressive, harmonious face. A completely immobile face or an altered gaze do not represent a good aesthetic result, but rather an unbalanced treatment.
In my approach, Botulinum toxin should not cancel the mimicry, but modulate it. Some movements should be toned down because they mark too much or weigh down the expression; others should be preserved, because they are part of a person’s identity. The difference between an artificial result and a refined result lies entirely in the degree.
Botox: how long does the result last?
The results of Botox are not immediate. The first effects appear after a few days and gradually become more pronounced. The duration varies from person to person, but in general the effect is temporary and It tends to decrease over the course of 5-6 months. My advice is to repeat it consistently, especially during the first three sessions, to ensure an increasingly beautiful and natural result.
This temporary nature should not be seen as a limitation. On the contrary, it allows us to observe how the face responds, modulate the treatment over time and build a personalized treatment plan. The face changes, the skin changes, the mimicry habits change: that’s why I always prefer to reassess the patient at each session, without any automatisms. The most beautiful aesthetic medicine is the one that accompanies, not the one that imposes.
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City Life Institute: Botox treatment in Milan
At City Life Institute, Botox treatment is always integrated into a comprehensive treatment plan. personalized medical evaluation. I never start from a single request, but from the analysis of the face as a whole: facial expressions, skin quality, proportions, expressiveness, the patient’s desire, and the naturalness of the result.
My goal is to propose a Sober aesthetic medicine, Precise, elegant. Not an aesthetic of excess, but a path of care that helps each person feel more in harmony with their own face. Because a beautiful face is not a face without wrinkles. It is a face that retains light, proportion, expressiveness, and naturalness.
👩⚕️ My promise of medical transparency
When you decide to undergo cosmetic medicine treatment, your first form of protection is to verify the qualifications and background of the practitioner you entrust yourself to. At the City Life Institute, the doctors who specialize in facial aesthetics have completed multi-year training programs and dedicated, exclusive Master’s degrees, and are regularly registered with the Register of Aesthetic Physicians of the Medical and Surgical Order of Milan. This guarantees that the person caring for you possesses the full anatomical knowledge and experience necessary to inject with complete safety, minimizing any vascular risk.
How much does the treatment cost?
Value of a session three zones (forehead, glabella, eye contour) 350€ + VAT, With inspection visit and retouch included.
*We guarantee the use of medication from a leading pharmaceutical company internationally.
Dentist and Aesthetic Doctor, Postgraduate in Implantology, Oral Rehabilitation NYU, Master in Oral Surgery and Implantology UNIBO, European Master in Aesthetic Medicine ICAMP – Milan, Order of Physicians Milan Dental Practitioners Register 5921, Register of Medicine with an Aesthetic focus