Tahoe Medical Spa uses Botox for four main purposes:
1) Botox can reduce or eliminate dynamic facial wrinkles - those that occur when you contract a muscle
2) Botox, used over time, can prevent new wrinkles from forming as a patient ages
3) Botox can be used to make a patient appear happier, better rested and more approachable.
4) Botox can correct asymmetry in facial features and expressions
Most people are familiar with the use of Botox to treat existing facial wrinkles. Botox does this by relaxing muscles, allowing the overlying skin to lie smooth instead of being pulled into wrinkles and lines. This can result in a dramatically younger and refreshed appearance. Most of us don’t have a truly neutral expression while we are awake: some of us raise our eyebrows slightly; some of us frown a bit; and some of squint. By the time we hit our mid- to late 30s, the constant tension caused by these expressions will have begun to form (respectively) horizontal forehead lines, vertical frown lines between the eyebrows, and a combination of crows feet and lines around and across the nose. Carefully placed Botox can relax these movements without sacrificing facial expression. Preventing these repeated movements can reduce stress and muscular fatigue, often decreasing facial tension and headaches by the end of the day.
Botox can be used to prevent more permanent and difficult to treat etched-in lines. Typically by the time wrinkles are obvious, the deeper layers of skin have been deformed by repeated folding to the point that the lines can’t be eliminated completely. If you begin using Botox before the wrinkles become creased into the skin, these permanent lines can be prevented. If your older relatives have characteristic facial wrinkling patterns that you would like to avoid as you age, Botox treatment is an obvious choice.
People don’t just choose to use Botox to look younger. The use of Botox can also make you look happier, better rested and more approachable. The classic use of this is to treat cases of frown lines between the eyes. Usually frown lines just make us look older, but some people have frown lines that really do mimic an unhappy or cross facial expression. Many patients have been happy to find out that after having their frown lines treated with Botox, people quit asking them “What’s wrong? You look upset!” all the time. Botox isn't just for women - many of our male clients have not only felt better and more confident about their appearance after treatment, but both men and women often find relaxing expressions such and frowning and squinting can offer subtle changes that offer them a business advantage as well.
Botox can also be used to make faces more symmetrical, greatly beneficial as lack of symmetry is unconsciously perceived as unattractive by many. It takes very little Botox to make a beautiful smile out of what used to be a crooked grimace, level uneven eyebrows, or a host of other small changes that can make a big difference in how we are perceived. A common misconception is that Botox will make person look fake or “overtreated”. When applied with skill and artistry, the results are very natural and subtle.
The most common reason for Botox treatment to be obvious is when it is used solely to treat a single area and other areas are left untreated, created an obvious difference in skin tone between, for example, smoothed frown lines adjacent to marked forehead wrinkling.
This is the reason Dr. Gelber doesn’t charge by the area like most physicians; instead she does a full examination and recommends a custom treatment plan based on the extent and type of your wrinkling, the strengths of the many individual muscles causing your wrinkling, and your desires (and budget!). She rarely treats just one area in isolation, but prefers to feather the edges of a treatment area to ensure a natural effect.
Call us to schedule a consult and help plan that gets you the results you are looking for. (775) 298-1750 or email
office@tahoeaestheticmedicine.com today!