McKeown Medical
167 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4SQ
Date posted — 21.10.24
Aftercare instructions following anti-wrinkle injections can be confusing because everyone says something a little bit different about what you should do following your treatment. I want to explain to you why there is so much variation, and how I personally approach aftercare instructions for our patients.
When the cosmetic effects of anti-wrinkle injections were first discovered, doctors worried about the drug spreading to nearby tissues and having unwanted side effects. We knew pretty early on that the spread of anti-wrinkle injections into the levator muscle of the eye caused eyelid ptosis (or drooping) and so people came up with a whole range of well intentioned, but perhaps overly cautious, rules on how to minimise the risk of that happening. The consequence of this is that we now have all sorts of wildly cautious ‘rules’ published all over the internet that makes anti-wrinkle aftercare instructions somewhat confusing! “You must not fly for two weeks following treatment”; “You mustn’t lie down for twelve hours”; “don’t go to the gym for a week”.
The good news is that anti-wrinkle injections have been used for cosmetic purposes for over three decades now and we have a much better understanding of how it works and many of the original precautions doctors came up with have turned out to be somewhat unnecessary. So, you can relax a little when it comes to aftercare. To all intents and purposes, you can get back to normal life activities immediately following treatment.
Anti-wrinkle treatments are a neurotoxic protein used in aesthetic medicine to reduce wrinkles and fine lines and it’s especially effective in the upper part of the face.
It works by blocking nerve signals in the muscles where it is injected, causing a temporary reduction in muscle activity. This leads to a smoother and more youthful appearance. anti-wrinkle injections are commonly used to treat forehead lines, crow’s feet, and frown lines, but it also has therapeutic applications such as treating excessive sweating and migraines. Understanding the function and applications of anti-wrinkle injections is the first step towards effective aftercare.
The first few hours following an anti-wrinkle treatment are the most important for ensuring optimal results. During this period, the anti-wrinkle substance is being absorbed into the muscles. After the drug is absorbed into the muscles, there is very little you can do to change it – even if you wanted to!
During the first few hours you want to avoid unnecessary touching, massaging, or applying pressure to the treated areas. This helps prevent the anti-wrinkle treatment from spreading to unintended areas, which could lead to undesired effects. Likewise, avoiding activities that raise your blood pressure is also sensible for a few hours – so don’t leave your anti-wrinkle appointment and go directly to the gym or sauna / steam room. Most people have their treatment performed during office hours and if you want to go to the gym later that evening, so long as it’s been a few hours since your treatment, that should be safe. If your appointment is later in the day, then you should probably skip that evenings exercise class – but you will be fine to get back to it the following morning.
A lot of doctors talk about avoiding alcohol consumption following anti-wrinkle treatment. I agree that avoiding alcohol before treatment is important because you cannot give consent to treatment if you are under the influence of alcohol. Having alcohol in your system at the time of injection may also increase your risk of bruising. But after the injection is over and any bleeding has stopped, it is not going to start bleeding again and bruise more if you drink alcohol so I’m happy for my patients to have a glass of wine with dinner that night!
The first night after anti-wrinkle treatment often gets special attention. It’s recommended to sleep on your back to avoid putting pressure on the treated areas. Whilst this may sound sensible, in reality its very difficult for a lot of people to sleep on their back and so long as it’s been a few hours or more since your treatment then the drug should be absorbed and the position of your head should not, at this stage, impact the effectiveness or results – so you can relax and enjoy a good nights sleep, even on your side.
Masseter anti-wrinkle, a treatment targeting the jaw muscles to treat tooth grinding as well as to slim the fact, may require specific aftercare instructions. The masseter muscle plays a crucial role in chewing and speaking, so it’s essential to be mindful of these activities post-treatment.
Avoid excessive jaw movements, such as chewing gum or grinding teeth, for a few hours after the procedure. This helps the anti-wrinkle treatment settle into the masseter muscle without disruption. Remember, each patient’s aftercare may vary based on individual factors. Always follow the specific instructions provided by your aesthetic medicine practitioner for optimal results.
Post-anti-wrinkle treatment, some very mild discomfort, swelling, or bruising may occur. Ice packs can be a simple and effective tool to reduce these symptoms – although most people do not feel they are required.
Around 1 in 10 patients get a temporary headache following treatment. This is common and you can relax knowing that it will likely resolve on its own pretty quickly. If you want, you can take simple over the counter pain medication like paracetamol (or Tylenol if you are in the US!) – although most patients do not find it severe enough to do this.
You can resume your normal skincare routine later that night, so long as its been a few hours since treatment.
In the first few hours post-anti-wrinkle treatment, certain activities should be avoided. These include strenuous exercise, which can increase blood flow to the face and potentially spread the anti-wrinkle to unintended areas.
You should also avoid touching, massaging, or applying pressure to the treated areas. This can disrupt the placement of the anti-wrinkle and affect the results. However, after a few hours when the drug has been absorbed you can get back to most normal activities.
Heat exposure, including hot showers, saunas, and hot tubs, should be avoided in the first few hours post-anti-wrinkle treatment. Heat can increase blood flow and potentially spread the anti-wrinkle to unintended areas. If you want to use the sauna or steam room the day after treatment, that should not cause any problems.
Sun exposure is generally harmful to your skin and should be avoided. However, sun exposure should not pose additional risks following anti-wrinkle treatment.
Maintaining a healthy diet and staying hydrated will improve your overall health and well being. Consuming a balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals can aid in skin health and recovery. However, there is no correlation between a bad diet and bad anti-wrinkle results and so if you want to go ahead and visit McDonalds after treatment, it will not harm your results!
After anti-wrinkle injections, it’s crucial to understand what side effects are normal and when to seek medical attention. Typical side effects include minor swelling, bruising, or redness at the injection site. These typically resolve very quickly. Within 20 minutes or so the initial swelling and redness has usually gone and you can get back to normal activities without anyone being able to tell you just had treatment.
As the treatment begins to take effect it is quite common for one side to react faster than another, resulting in mild asymmetry. This usually resolves itself as the treatment takes full effect, which is why it is best to wait for a full two weeks to asses the outcome before deciding if any touch ups or adjustments are required.
If you experience severe pain, difficulty swallowing, or muscle weakness, you should contact your healthcare provider immediately. These could be signs of complications – although it would be exceptionally rare for these side effects to be caused by cosmetic use of anti-wrinkle injections.
Maintaining the results of your anti-wrinkle treatment requires a consistent skincare routine. Sun protection is crucial. Regular use of sunscreen can preserve your skin health and anti-wrinkle results.
Remember, anti-wrinkle injections are not a one-time solution. Follow-up treatments are necessary to maintain the desired results effect over time. Most patients find they need a repeat treatment every 3-4 months, although it does vary from person to person.
anti-wrinkle treatment aftercare is a critical part of the journey to facial rejuvenation. By adhering to the aftercare plan provided by your aesthetic medicine practitioner, you can optimize your results. The good news is that the aftercare does not need to be as onerous as doctors once thought!
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Thank you so much to our wonderful patient for allowing us to share her before and after pictures. She’s around 6 weeks after full field resurfacing.
One of the great things about this treatment is that, in addition to wiping wrinkles away, it also gives some pretty impressive skin tightening too. If you look at her forehead, upper and lower eyelids you can really see how much tighter the skin is.
The stubborn forehead lines and lines through the eyebrows have gone and, of course, the lines around the mouth are significantly reduced. These will continue to improve for up to six months as the skin continues to heal. She’s still a little pink, which will fade over the next few months, but with a little tinted moisturiser you’d never know. The patient is over the moon.
What do you think?
We can now offer full laser resurfacing with sedation and you can see more about the procedure in the link in our profile.
Yesterday we announced that we’re the first clinic in Scotland to have the CoolSculpting® Elite so today I wanted to show you an example of the kind of results we can achieve with this treatment.
We’re so grateful to this patient for allowing us to share her results before and after CoolSculpting®. As you can see here, she had a stubborn area of fat around her belly which she was finding difficult to shift with diet and exercise alone.
She’s absolutely delighted with the result - what do you think?
For more information on CoolSculpting® and to get booked in to be ready for summer, check out the link in our bio.
Introducing CoolSculpting® Elite!
We’re delighted to announce that we now have the CoolSculpting® Elite, modelled here by our lovely nurse Niki! We’re excited to be the first clinic in Scotland to take delivery of the latest technology from CoolSculpting®, which has new and improved applicators to improve the contact between the machine and the skin, for even better results than before.
Now is the perfect time to have this treatment in time for the summer. To find out more about CoolSculpting® check the link in our bio.
We announced our hair transplant clinic with Dr Mani last week and we`ve been overwhelmed with bookings! We have one space left for this month`s consultation day on the 4th April so if you, or someone you know, would like to book in drop us a message or email [email protected].
Dr Mani is based in London and has a reputation for outstanding hairline restoration and will be joining us once a month to bring his expertise to our clinic.
If you`d like to know more about the procedure, you can read more at the link in our bio.
As everyone knows, the lack of protections in Scotland for patients having cosmetic procedures is something I have campaigned on for years.
It’s an issue that I feel very passionately about and will not stop campaigning on until we have meaningful change from our government. I have written to the government many times over the years and during the recent consultation I wrote to the minister for public health, Jenni Minto, on behalf of 20 of the most experienced doctors in aesthetic practice from all across Scotland explaining why - in very clear scientific terms - she has got it wrong with her current proposals to allow beauty therapists to continue injecting medicines and administering medical devices.
We have asked Jenni Minto to meet with us, to hear our perspective, but she continues to refuse to sit down and talk to us. In tonight’s STV news Donna has been exceptionally brave to speak on camera about the harm she has suffered as a result of a beautician, and the NHS care she has required, but sadly she is not alone.
There are so many Donnas who have been harmed in Scotland and we hear about it every day in our clinics across the country although the majority are too scared or embarrassed to speak out publicly and the government don’t want to listen to the professionals.
Whilst people like Donna continue to be harmed by the diabolical lack of regulation in Scotland, I will not stop campaigning. The government needs to act now to make injectable toxins and dermal fillers medic-only, bringing us in line with every other country in Europe, every state in America and every state in Australia.
Why don’t our government believe people in Scotland deserve the same protections as all of these other countries?
We have another exciting new launch in the clinic - and this one is for the men, or husbands, brothers AND sons!
We are bringing back hair transplant to the practice, performed by Dr Manish Mittal. Dr Mani is based in London - where he has a reputation for outstanding hairline restoration - and will be bringing his expertise to Glasgow every month in our clinic.
These are some examples of Dr Mani’s work. As you can see, he is not only great at creating natural looking hairlines - but also achieving full looking density, which is a rare skill in hair transplant and one of the key reasons we selected him to be our hair transplant partner.
If you (or someone you know!) would like to come in for a consultation and meet Dr Mani, send us a message, email us at [email protected] or call the clinic on 0141 370 0509.
In case you missed it, here’s Dr Rhona & Dr Iain’s live Q&A on all things perimenopause, menopause and HRT. Thanks to everyone who joined and asked questions. We’ll be doing more of these so keep an eye out for the next one!
And if you’d like to know more about our menopause services, check out the link in our bio!
We`re going live tonight at 7pm! Join Dr Rhona and Dr Iain (@driainmartin) this evening on Instagram live, where they`ll be discussing everything about perimenopause & menopause, including: �
Symptoms & early signs
Treatment options, including HRT
Myths vs facts - getting the right information
They`ll also be answering your questions live, so if there`s anything you`d like to ask, leave a comment, send us a message or head to our stories.
We hope you can join us!
Crepey skin under the eyes is one of the most common complaints we hear of in the clinic.
The best way to treat it is using laser resurfacing. This is one of our patients just one week out from treatment. He healed exceptionally fast (most people still have a bit of redness at this stage) and is already looking great.
What do you think?