Botulinum toxin: what it can and cannot do

Botulinum toxin is an injection that temporarily relaxes selected muscles. In aesthetic use it softens the lines that form when those muscles contract — frown lines, forehead lines and lines at the outer corners of the eyes. It is a treatment, not an operation, and its effect wears off.

What it can change — and what it cannot

It can soften dynamic lines: the ones that appear when you frown, raise your eyebrows or smile.

It cannot remove static lines — the creases that are visible when your face is at rest, etched in over years. It does not tighten loose skin, restore lost volume, or lift a heavy jawline. Expecting a facelift result from an injection is the most common disappointment we see, and the consultation exists partly to prevent it.

Botulinum toxin is also used in medicine outside aesthetics — for excessive sweating, for example. Whether it is appropriate for you is a clinical decision, not a menu choice.

Before treatment

Tell your doctor about neuromuscular disease, pregnancy or breastfeeding, current antibiotics, blood thinners, and any previous injection and how you responded to it. Treatment is not given during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The injection should be performed by a physician, in a clinical setting, with a licensed product whose box and batch you are entitled to see. This matters: most of the serious problems reported in Türkiye and elsewhere come from unlicensed products and from treatment outside medical premises.

The treatment

Several small injections, usually five to ten minutes in total. No anaesthetic is normally needed. You can go back to your day straight afterwards, avoiding heavy exercise, lying face down and rubbing the treated area for the rest of the day.

What to expect afterwards

• Days 2–4: the effect begins.
• Days 10–14: full effect; this is when the result should be judged and any adjustment made.
• Months 3–4: the effect fades gradually. Muscles return to how they were — they do not become weaker over time, and stopping does not make lines worse than before.

How long it lasts varies between people and with the muscle treated.

Risks

Small bruises and brief headache are common. Less commonly the toxin can spread slightly beyond the intended muscle and cause a temporarily drooping eyelid or eyebrow, or an uneven result; this settles as the effect wears off. Allergic reaction is rare. There is no evidence that correctly performed treatment causes long-term harm — but there is no such thing as a treatment with no risk at all, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling rather than advising.

Questions worth asking

• Which product will be used, and may I see the box and batch number?
• Which muscles will be treated, and what specifically will change?
• Are my lines dynamic or static — and if they are static, what would actually help?
• What happens if the result is uneven, and is the correction included?
• When should I come back for review?

Botulinum toxin treatment at Medinova is carried out within our Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery department by Surgeon Dr. Deniz Güneş.