I was always that girl — the one that said she would never do something to her face that wasn’t natural. Botox? Absolutely not. Only high maintenance women who have no concerns about injecting Lord knows what into their face for several hundreds of dollars a pop, do that, but not me. That was…until the deep [we’re talking “how low can you go type of wrinkles“] forehead wrinkles set in and the slight temptation started creeping into my brain of “I wonder what Botox would do to those things..” One spontaneous phone call to a local aestician later to schedule a “consultation” [consultation being in quotes because we all knew said consultation was going to turn into an appointment within 3 seconds of me walking through those doors] and I was hooked.

Over the last several months I have received so many questions about my experience with it that I thought I’d compile all of the questions into one easy spot for me to answer! Let’s jump in…

“How Old Were You When You Got Botox For The First Time?”

Answer: I was freshly 35 when I decided to take the plunge. For years I had considered it, but always told myself I would “never be that girl who gets it” — partially because I was afraid of being injected personally, but also mostly because I was afraid of what other people would think about me if I did. Guess what: nobody cares and if they do, you still win [look in the mirror for a reminder ;)]

“How many units do you get and where?”

There are many types of “Botox” [Botox is an actual brand name, similar to how we all call tissues we use on our nose Kleenex, despite buying the off-brand] and I use the brand Dysport. Why might you ask? Great question and my only answer is: because that’s what my aesthetician recommended I try. The first time I got it, I stuck only with my forehead and my 11’s [those fun vertical lines that like to show up in between your eyebrows which can give you the look of being angry all of the time, except you’re only actually angry 20% of the time ;)]. This is my before / after from my first ever time getting it [before on the left, after on the right]:

I have since started getting it also on my crow’s feet so now, here are the true totals of what I get:

Forehead: 5-10 units

11’s: 20 units

Crows Feet: 10 on each side

Total: 50 units

Since getting it on my crow’s feet, here is a before / after of that:

“What is the average cost?”

At my aesthetician, the average cost is $13 per unit, however, they do run specials periodically where you can buy your units in advance and then use them when you have your appointment. I have been able to purchase my units for $11 when specials happen! That being said – $11 per unit x 50 units = $550. Beauty isn’t cheap my friends.

“How long does it take to settle and show a difference?”

It does take 4-14 days to fully settle. This was the thing that surprised me the most when I got it for the first time, I expected to walk in and walk out a whole new woman. It did take me nearly every bit of that two weeks to see the full difference! But I promise – you will see the difference! While I don’t experience “the freeze” that I’ve heard so many talk about after they get it [aka the moment where you feel it all tighten], I do notice day after day after treatment of my forehead feeling less and less able to move [don’t worry, it doesn’t feel as odd as it sounds].

“How long will it last?”

The average length of time for it to last is 3 months. Some people can go as long as 6 months, it honestly just depends on how you react to it personally. I can get away with 3-4 months before my forehead starts to wiggle and the wrinkles start to show themselves again!

“How painful is it?!”

In total, for me to receive the 50 units it takes approximately 3 minutes total. I was so nervous about the pain that I thought I would feel at my first appointment, but honestly, it is like little pinches that are very short-lived. It is definitely tolerable and better than I expected.

“Where do you get yours done?”

I go locally to Elite Aesthetics in Elkhart, IN with Dr. Emily Mitchell! I had heard great things about their office from other friends and trust them fully to know what they are doing! I love that Dr. Mitchell took a very “less is more” approach with me at first and respected the fact that I didn’t want my face to look drastically different! Additionally, she is a surgeon who is working on much larger scale items than injecting a little Botox into humans so I know that if she can handle surgeries in the hospital, she can work on me! I have used Nurse Jessica as well and she did an amazing job as well! The entire staff is so friendly and welcoming there, it’s a very comfortable environment!

“What are some other things I should know about it?”

Here’s a quick list of some other things I’d note and pass along –

• Bruising is very minimal [if any] after injections! You may feel a little sore at the injection sites, but nothing too noticeable. If you wanted to take precautions, you could take 2 ibuprofen ahead of your appointment!
• After injection, you don’t want to rub the area for 8 hours! You also want to avoid working out for 24 hours, and avoiding laying down for 6 hours after your treatment! Basically, be gentle with your face immediately following your treatment to avoid causing any areas to settle differently than they should!
• The biggest thing that happened that I didn’t know would was how it makes your overall face more radiant! My Dr. told me that the most common question women receive after getting Botox is “are you using new makeup?!” because it really does add a natural looking glow that didn’t exist before. Whatever the magic is, I’ll take it.
• Other reasons people get Botox is to help with headaches [it can be a great tool for alleviating migraines], helping with TMJ, and a lot of people also get it in their armpits to help prevent sweating! There are many “non-beauty” reasons people get Botox!

To recap — where it started vs how it’s going now. Hate the fact that I do it or not, but this girl is happy with it and well, I feel like it’s the girl with the face who it actually impacts that should care the most 😉 If you have any unanswered questions feel free to ask! Cheers to embracing and loving ourselves, no matter what that looks like for you — with or without wrinkles!