Preparing for a botulinum toxin (Botox) injection

Botulinum toxin temporarily relaxes a targeted muscle. The effect is neither immediate nor permanent: it settles over a few days and fades over a few months. It is a medical procedure, not a comfort treatment, and it starts with an examination.

What to expect

The session lasts around twenty minutes, half of it examination. The injections themselves are brief, done with a fine needle, and most patients describe them as a series of small pricks.

The result is not visible when you leave. It appears between day three and day seven, and settles around day fifteen. A follow-up is offered at that point.

Preparing, 72 hours before

Avoid aspirin, ibuprofen and supplements containing omega-3, garlic or ginkgo for the three days before: they thin the blood and increase the risk of bruising. If you have been prescribed an anticoagulant, never stop it on your own — simply tell us.

No alcohol the night before. Come without make-up if you can, or allow a few extra minutes at the practice.

What to tell us

A current or planned pregnancy, breastfeeding, a known neuromuscular disease, an allergy to a previous injection, an ongoing course of aminoglycoside antibiotics: each of these may rule the procedure out, and none can be guessed.

Also mention any injection received elsewhere in the past three months, even if you do not know the product used.

How the session goes

The skin is disinfected and the injection points mapped muscle by muscle, asking you to contract then relax. The doses are recorded in your file: they are the reference for next time.

Afterwards, and what to do

Stay upright for four hours, and do not massage the treated areas: the product must stay where it was placed. No intense exercise, hammam, sauna or prolonged sun exposure for twenty-four hours.

Small red marks at the puncture points are normal and fade within the hour. A bruise may appear; it can be covered with make-up from the next day.

When to call us back

Call the practice if an eyelid drops, a smile becomes asymmetric, swallowing feels uncomfortable, or redness spreads with a fever. These situations are rare, they can be corrected, and the sooner they are reported the better.

None of the above replaces the prior consultation: it alone says whether this procedure is right for you, and on what terms.