Medical aesthetics
Botulinum toxin injections
Widely known by the brand name Botox, though several products exist. The effect is real, reversible, and lasts three to four months.
What this treatment involves
Botulinum toxin is a purified protein that temporarily blocks the signal from a nerve to a muscle. Injected in very small, targeted quantities, it reduces the movement of specific facial muscles — and because the lines across the forehead, between the brows and beside the eyes are created by that movement, softening the movement softens the lines.
It works on **dynamic** lines: those that appear when you move. Lines that are visible on a completely still face are creases in the skin itself, and injections will soften them only partially or not at all. That distinction is the single most common cause of disappointment with this treatment, and an honest assessment will tell you which of yours are which before anything is injected.
Botox is one brand. Others are used, and they are not interchangeable dose for dose. What matters far more than the brand is who is holding the needle: the difference between a natural result and a frozen or asymmetric one is anatomical knowledge, not product choice.
Who may be suitable
Considered for adults bothered by lines created by facial movement, most often across the forehead, between the eyebrows, and at the outer corners of the eyes.
It is not given during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Neuromuscular conditions such as myasthenia gravis, and some antibiotics, are contraindications. Any previous allergic reaction to a botulinum product must be disclosed.
An assessment looks at how your face actually moves, not only at photographs of it still. Heavy brows that are being held up by the forehead muscle are a specific case: relaxing that muscle without accounting for it will lower the brow and make the eyes look heavier — which is a planning failure, not an unlucky outcome.
Why patients choose it
The effect is predictable, and — unusually among aesthetic treatments — it wears off. If you dislike the result you have not committed to it permanently; you have committed to three or four months.
There is no surgery, no general anaesthetic, and effectively no downtime beyond possible small marks or bruises. Treatment takes ten to fifteen minutes.
Botulinum toxin also has established medical uses beyond appearance, including chronic migraine and excessive sweating, which are assessed separately.
How treatment works
Assessment
15 minutes
Your face is assessed in movement as well as at rest, to identify which lines are dynamic and will respond, and which are not. Medical history and medications are reviewed.
Planning
Same visit
Injection points and dose are planned around your anatomy — including whether the forehead muscle is supporting your brow position.
Treatment
10–15 minutes
A series of small injections with a fine needle. Numbing cream is available but often unnecessary.
Onset
2 weeks
The effect begins at three to five days and is complete at around two weeks.
Review
Week 2
A two-week check allows small asymmetries to be balanced. Remote review if you have already travelled home.
What happens in Istanbul
These are outpatient appointments — no hospital stay and no anaesthetic beyond numbing cream or a local injection. Most are completed in a single visit of under an hour.
Two scheduling points matter. Bruising and swelling are common after injectables and peak in the first day or two, so leave several days before any event you care about rather than treating on the way to it. And where a treatment needs a course of sessions, only the first can be done here; your coordinator will say so before you travel rather than after, so you can decide whether the trip is worth making.
Recovery
You can return to normal activity straight away. Avoid rubbing or massaging the treated areas, lying flat, and strenuous exercise for the rest of the day — all of which can move the product away from where it was placed.
The effect is not immediate. It begins at three to five days and is fully established at around two weeks. Judging the result on day two is judging something that has not started yet.
A review at two weeks is normal practice, since small asymmetries are easily corrected with a few extra units once the effect has settled. The result then fades gradually over three to four months.
Risks and considerations
Small bruises and pinpoint marks at the injection sites are common and settle within days. Headache in the first day or two occurs in some people.
The complication that matters is the product affecting a muscle it was not intended for. Drooping of an eyelid or an eyebrow, or an uneven smile, happens when the toxin spreads beyond the target — more likely with injection technique that ignores individual anatomy. It is distressing but **temporary**, resolving as the effect wears off over weeks to months. There is no permanent version of this.
An overly heavy dose produces the frozen, expressionless look that gives this treatment its poor reputation. That is a dosing and planning decision, not an inherent property of the drug.
Allergic reaction is rare. Repeated treatment can, uncommonly, lead to reduced response over time as antibodies develop.
This is a prescription medicine and a medical procedure. It should be given by a qualified medical professional in a clinical setting — not in a salon, a hotel room, or at a party.
This information is general and educational. Whether a procedure is appropriate for you can only be determined by a qualified medical professional after an individual assessment, including your medical history and an examination.
Common questions
Will my face look frozen?
That is a dosing decision, not an inevitable result. A frozen look comes from too much product placed without regard to how your face moves. Tell the clinician how much movement you want to keep — it is a legitimate treatment goal, and a good injector will plan for it. If you are unsure, start conservatively: adding a few more units at the two-week review is easy, and removing them is not possible.
Do I have to keep having it forever?
No. If you stop, the muscle movement returns and the lines return to how they would have been. Nothing gets worse than it was — the common claim that stopping makes lines deeper is not how the treatment works. What is true is that if you want the effect maintained, it needs repeating roughly three or four times a year, and that is worth factoring in before travelling for a first session.
Can I have it just before an event?
No, and this is the most common scheduling mistake. The effect does not start for three to five days and is not complete for two weeks, so treatment days before an event gives you the bruising without the benefit. Plan at least three weeks ahead — which also leaves room for the two-week review if anything needs balancing.
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