Can I Get Botox® and Fillers at the Same Time?

We never appreciate our strong and supple skin when we’re young. It’s only when the fine lines and wrinkles, hollows, folds, creases, and sags start crisscrossing our faces that we yearn to turn back the clock to our younger days.

While we can only pause the clock temporarily, at LA Skincare Center, with locations in Santa Monica, Venice, and Manhattan Beach, California, founder and nurse practitioner Raisa Howard and her expert team offer both Botox® and dermal fillers to help de-age your face and give you back a sense of your youth. We often get asked if clients can get Botox and fillers at the same time. Sure! And here’s why.

Botox treatment

Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) is an injectable drug that uses botulinum toxin from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. While it’s best known as the toxin that causes food poisoning, in small and purified doses, though, it’s completely safe. The FDA approved its use for cosmetic procedures in April 2002, though it was initially restricted to treating glabellar lines (brow furrows) in adults 65 and younger.

Today, Botox is used as a cosmetic treatment for “dynamic wrinkles,” those caused by muscle contractions and movement. Whenever you make a facial expression, the contracting muscles tug at the skin above them; after a lifetime of smiling, frowning, squinting, and grimacing, the skin doesn’t bounce back as well, causing wrinkles to form around the eyes and mouth, as well as between the eyebrows.

Botox prevents nerves from signaling the muscles to contract, and if the muscles can’t contract, they can’t tug at your skin. Your face relaxes, and the lines and wrinkles disappear in the smoother skin. There’s no downtime from the treatment, and side effects are minimal and usually dissipate quickly.

Results last 3-4 months, at which time you can schedule another treatment.

What Botox can’t do is eliminate wrinkles caused by the breakdown of collagen and the hollows in your cheeks and hands created by lost volume. Those are the domain of dermal fillers.

Dermal filler treatment

Dermal fillers treat what are known as “static wrinkles,” those that come from age-related loss of collagen, a structural protein, as well as loss of fat deposits. Affected areas include the lips, cheeks, and hands.

Fillers were introduced in the 1970s, but they were nothing like today’s products. One of the first was made using bovine collagen. However, since it’s a foreign substance to the human body, it triggers several side effects, as well as allergic reactions. Other problems included swelling and short-lived results.

The next big jump came in the early 2000s. The FDA approved using dermal fillers made from synthetic hyaluronic acid (HA), a substance found naturally in our bodies, especially in the skin where it binds moisture. The HA products were safer, and a single treatment lasted about 6-12 months, so they quickly became the go-to choices. The first HA filler produced was Restylane®, followed shortly by Juvéderm®.

Newer fillers include Revanesse®, a line of HA fillers made with cutting-edge technology, high-quality ingredients, and rigorous quality control to provide remarkable results. Revanesse Versa® fillers add volume to your face for a more youthful appearance, while shaping and sculpting your features at the same time to help meet your aesthetic goals.

Revanesse is one of the fastest-growing fillers in the US because of its unique formulation, rigorous quality control, and versatility to produce the results you want. It’s designed to cause minimal pain, swelling, and downtime.

Also growing in popularity is the RHA® Collection, a group of resilient hyaluronic acid fillers. The line includes RHA Redensity™, RHA® 2, RHA® 3, and RHA® 4, all of which can address dynamic wrinkles as well as those caused by loss of volume, making them very versatile.

RHA Redensity injections target moderate-to-severe dynamic perioral folds. RHA 2 and RHA 4 correct moderate-to-severe dynamic facial wrinkles and folds in adults 22 or older. RHA 3 is also used for moderate-to-severe dynamic facial wrinkles and folds, as well as to augment lip fullness in adults 22 or older.

Can I get both?

As you age, you lose your plentiful stores of collagen and elastin and develop both dynamic and static wrinkles. Since Botox treats the former, and most fillers treat the latter, it makes sense to combine the two treatment options to give yourself a totally rejuvenated appearance. And since they don’t interact with each other, you can get both Botox and fillers at the same office visit, saving you time.

To learn more about Botox and fillers, or to schedule an appointment, call LA Skincare Center at 310-414-9730, or book online with us today.