BOTOX® Cosmetic in your 20s?

I was at a plastic surgery conference last year and the host speaker told us how his 18-year-old daughter brought up the subject of BOTOX® Cosmetic. She wanted to know why she couldn’t get BOTOX® Cosmetic to “prevent aging.” So he in turn posed the question to all of us plastic surgeons in the audience.

“Who in the audience would recommend using BOTOX® Cosmetic to those in their 20s?”

It turned out that more than 90% of the audience felt it was safe and would, in fact, recommend using BOTOX® Cosmetic in younger patients to “prevent” facial aging.

This got me thinking about the topic, and it brought to mind my shirt analogy I always tell my younger patients. Just as a shirt becomes creased at the elbow due to continual bending at the arm, in a similar way whenever we frown, squint or smile, our facial lines and wrinkles form and then eventually, over time, ‘set’ into the surface of the skin.

BOTOX® Cosmetic in Your 20s

If someone in their 20s begins BOTOX® Cosmetic treatments, it is then preventative rather then a corrective treatment. When injected correctly in the face by a trained plastic surgeon, BOTOX® Cosmetic temporarily “freezes” the facial muscles that cause frown lines and wrinkles. I normally recommend that patients use BOTOX® Cosmetic every 3 to 6 months to keep wrinkles from coming back and preventing the facial muscles from regaining their strength. Well, that same thought process leads me to believe that with BOTOX® Cosmetic use from an early age, those facial muscles never become strong enough to form those wrinkles which make us look older, more tired, and even angry.

Recently, a patient of mine, in her early 20s, came into my office to get her first BOTOX® Cosmetic treatment. At first glance, you would not think that she would be an ideal candidate for BOTOX® Cosmetic, as she had no visible frown lines or wrinkles. The main reason for her visit, however, was not to get rid of wrinkles but to prevent the aging process. She also brought up a common concern of not wanting to look like a typical Hollywood starlet on the red carpet that appears frozen like a “deer in a headlight” without any facial expression.

I believe in order to get a conservative look, patients need to make sure that they see a surgeon who is well versed in the anatomy of the muscles of facial animation and who uses the right quantity of BOTOX® Cosmetic in just the right areas. The key, in my opinion, is to not look “done” or expressionless, but rather to stay looking young, refreshed, and rejuvenated.

Needless to say, my young patient loved her results! And her friends who had not been supportive of her getting BOTOX® Cosmetic at such a young age, did not even notice that she had anything done, but did comment on how “fresh” she looked recently.

Contact Dr. Firouz for your BOTOX® Cosmetic!

Dr. Jimmy Firouz is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills highly trained in injectables like BOTOX® Cosmetic. Dr. Firouz focuses on delivering beautiful results for his patients’ personal goals. If you’d like to know more about injectables such as BOTOX® Cosmetic, contact Dr. Firouz today to schedule your initial consultation by calling 310.274.4321.