Botox Aftercare: What to Do and Avoid After Your Treatment

After Botox, keep your head upright for 4 hours, keep your fingers off the treated spots, and skip hard workouts for 24 hours. You can go straight back to work, errands and makeup. A little redness, swelling or a small bruise is common and fades on its own. Trouble swallowing, speaking or breathing is rare, but it needs medical help right away. These are the rules our Nurse Practitioners give every patient at our Cherry Creek studio, and the sources behind them are linked below.

What Should You Do Right After Botox?

By the time you stand up from the chair, most of the work is done. What's left for you is simple: help the product stay where it was placed. The American Academy of Dermatology lists three steps for after treatment.

• • Don't rub or massage the areas that were injected.
• • If you put on makeup, don't press or rub it in.
• • Wait at least two hours before hard exercise, heavy lifting or anything else that gets your heart rate up.

We ask for a bit more than that. Stay upright, with no lying flat, for at least 4 hours. Then skip the gym for the rest of the day, a full 24 hours. Both give the product time to settle where your Nurse Practitioner put it, instead of drifting toward a muscle you didn't want relaxed.

Botox Aftercare Checklist: The First 24 Hours

• • Right away: go back to work, errands or school pickup. Makeup is fine if you pat it on.
• • First 4 hours: stay upright. Save the nap or the couch for later.
• • First 24 hours: no gym, spin class, long run or heavy lifting.
• • All day: hands off. That means no face massage, no facial roller and no pressing on a bruise to check it.
• • Before you drive: if your vision blurs or an eyelid droops, let someone else take the wheel.

Is It Normal to Have Redness, Swelling or a Bruise?

Yes. The AAD says most mild side effects come from the needle, not from the Botox itself, and they tend to be short-lived. Here is what people commonly notice:

• • Swelling where the needle went in
• • Redness
• • Soreness
• • A small bruise, which lasts about a week
• • A mild headache, which is less common

Headaches have numbers behind them. In the FDA studies of forehead lines treated together with frown lines, 9% of Botox Cosmetic patients had a headache, against 5% of patients given a placebo. That comes from the FDA label for Botox Cosmetic.

What If an Eyelid or Eyebrow Droops?

It's uncommon. In the studies behind the label, a drooping eyelid showed up in 3% of patients treated for frown lines and 2% of patients treated for the forehead and frown lines together. A lower brow showed up in 2%. The AAD calls a droopy brow or eyelid rare. It happens when the product relaxes a muscle next to the one we treated, which is the whole reason for the hands-off rule.

If you notice a droop, call us so your Nurse Practitioner can take a look. Tell us too if your eyes feel dry, gritty or sensitive to light after a crow's feet treatment. The label lists dry eye as a possible effect when Botox is placed near the eye.

When Should You Get Medical Help After Botox?

The FDA Medication Guide for Botox names a short list of problems that need medical help right away. They are rare at cosmetic doses. They can show up hours, days or even weeks after a visit, so keep the list in mind for a while, not just the first evening.

• • Trouble swallowing, speaking or breathing
• • Loss of strength or muscle weakness all over the body
• • Double vision, blurred vision or drooping eyelids
• • A hoarse or changed voice, or trouble saying words clearly
• • Wheezing, itching, a rash or red welts, or feeling dizzy or faint, which can be signs of an allergic reaction

If it is hard to breathe or swallow, call 911. For anything else that worries you after a visit, call or text our studio at (720) 717-0688.

When Will You See Botox Results?

Most people see results within 3 to 7 days, according to the AAD. Full results settle in by about two and a half weeks. Dysport often starts a little sooner, which our Botox vs. Dysport guide covers. Give it the full two weeks before you judge the result. If one side still moves more than the other at that point, let us know.

How Long Does Botox Last, and When Can You Come Back?

Results last about 3 to 4 months, and sometimes longer. Daxxify can last up to about 6 months. Most of our patients rebook every 3 to 4 months as movement comes back.

Don't book your next round any sooner than that. The Botox Cosmetic Medication Guide says it is not known if the product is safe and effective when used more than once every 3 months.

What Should You Tell Us Before Your Next Visit?

Bring your current medicine list every time. The Medication Guide asks patients to say so if they:

• • got any other botulinum toxin, such as Dysport, Xeomin or Daxxify, in the last four months
• • had a side effect from Botox or a similar product before
• • take blood thinners or aspirin-like products
• • take muscle relaxants, allergy or cold medicine, or a sleep medicine
• • recently had an antibiotic given by injection
• • are pregnant, plan to become pregnant or are breastfeeding

Botox Aftercare Questions We Hear Most

Can I lie down after Botox?

Wait 4 hours. For a lunchtime appointment, that mostly means skipping the afternoon nap. By bedtime the 4 hours are long past, so you can sleep on your back, side or stomach like any other night.

Can I work out after Botox?

Not the same day. The AAD says to wait at least two hours before hard exercise. At Nurture we ask you to skip the gym for 24 hours to be safe.

Can I get a facial or a face massage after Botox?

Ask your Nurse Practitioner first. Rubbing and pressure on the injected spots is exactly what the aftercare rules are trying to avoid, so a facial or face massage should wait.

What does Botox cost at Nurture Wellness?

Botox is $14 a unit, or $13 for members. Our Botox cost guide prices out each area, and our pricing page lists every treatment. For what each area treats, see our Botox and Dysport page.