Why is it called “MesoBotox” or “MicroBotox”?
Ideally, an individual continues to perform Botox every 3 months. However, based on cost or time constraints, it is not as critical to come in that often after the wrinkles begin to fade. If one has more moderate to significant wrinkles,
Dr. Lam typically recommends at least a year of consistent Botox every 3 months before beginning to come in less often. One can always add additional treatments for short-term benefits before major events like birthdays, weddings, holiday parties, etc.
MicroBotox, as the name implies, means a small amount because the treatment involves dilute Botox with very small droplets placed very close together over very wide areas, unlike regular Botox, which involves more concentrated Botox placed in fewer areas more deeply into the underlying muscle.
How is this different from regular Botox in the upper face?
Very different. Regular Botox of the face is a high concentration treatment that is placed more deeply into the muscle meant to soften the muscle movement to improve major wrinkles with a derivative benefit of improving skin texture and tone over time. MesoBotox is a highly dilute, larger volume treatment placed very close together and more superficially to improve texture, tone, and quality of skin but that does not freeze the movement or at least temporarily can partially reduce some movement but that is an unwanted temporary side effect rather than the goal of treatment.
What results am I trying to get with each treatment?
The key is that a single treatment does not eliminate all the skin problems but moves you in the right direction of improvement in terms of skin pores, texture, tone, discolorations, etc. Oftentimes there is a noticeable difference even after one treatment, especially in the face, with the neck maybe requiring two to three sessions to get close to what the face can demonstrate in a single session. That is not always the case and sometimes the neck can show remarkable results after a single treatment.
What should I expect with the treatment?
The face typically can show results faster than the neck and chest area. What one round of treatment in the face may take a couple of rounds in the neck to show comparable results. The reason is that the face has more sebaceous (oil) glands and may show a faster outcome. The goal is to think with the right brain meaning that you should see favorable results overall in the quality of skin but that it is not perfect and over time there should be ongoing improvement in the quality of your skin in terms of pores, texture, tone, wrinkles, discoloration with the pores and texture oftentimes showing a faster result and wrinkles and discoloration taking longer to see the difference.
What is the recovery?
The face typically does not bruise much in most cases because the injection is very superficial meaning that there usually is not much downtime. However, the face does in some patients show a more restricted smile where the smile is not as full as desirable for usually 4 to 6 weeks but in some patients may last a bit longer like 2 months or so. This temporary restriction in Dr. Lam’s opinion is truly worth it because long term the results will hold up and improve with multiple sessions.
How long will this result last? How often should I do it?
Surprisingly, the results can last months to years with the result lasting years after a series of treatments. Obviously, there can be no guarantee of this outcome but Dr. Lam has seen ongoing improvements with lengthening of longevity the more times you do this procedure. In patients with an ability to do so and with the severity of the skin problem, he recommends doing this procedure every 3 to 4 months to start if possible for maybe 3 to 5 rounds and then progressively less often. However, even performing this procedure once, especially in the face, can provide some good results that are oftentimes lasting. The mantra, the more you do it, the better it gets, and the less you need should be recalled.
Will it fix the wrinkles that go all the way down my face when I smile?
In the past, Dr. Lam believed that this treatment would do so but he now believes that his “dynamic filler” technique in which he fills a wrinkle when you are smiling is far better and faster in terms of results. He would recommend for you to consider this treatment done simultaneously if this is your end goal. He can perform both procedures at the same time but he cannot easily perform a dynamic filler if he has just done the MesoBotox or regular Botox because the wrinkles will not be as apparent. Like MesoBotox, dynamic fillers follow the same mantra: the more you do, the longer it lasts, and the better it looks.
How about the wrinkles around my mouth? Does the MesoBotox work on that area?
Not usually, as MesoBotox is usually geared to improve the texture and tone of the cheeks down to the jawline and sometimes the nose. Dr. Lam can treat closer to the mouth but sometimes that can cause too much movement dysfunction for a month or so. If it is important to be treated, you can have this discussion with him. In general, for wrinkles around the mouth, he prefers the dynamic filler technique he uses, which he does with a dental block so there is really little to no discomfort. He also uses radiofrequency microneedle to help with deeper lines around the mouth and to supplement treatments of MesoBotox and dynamic fillers, which he will discuss with you as to how appropriate those treatments may be in your situation.
Will this type of Botox lift my face?
In short, no. Even though MesoBotox really offers a very powerful intervention to heal the skin and to make the face look oftentimes substantially more youthful, Botox really does not lift the face. Dr. Lam likes to distinguish between surgeries that lift the face like a
facelift from skin therapies even though many dermatologists claim that fillers and other minimally invasive procedures lift the face. Dr. Lam does not agree.
