Ten Questions You Should Ask
Before You are Treated with Botox

Q1. How many patients have you treated?
This is an important indicator of the experience of the practice. If you desire a nuanced and artistic result, it is important that the person treating you has considerable experience with proper diagnosis and treatment. There is a distinct learning curve, so the more patients that have been treated the better. Therefore, it’s best to go to a practice that has experience with at least several hundred treatments.

Q2. How did you learn about the anatomy of the muscles in this area?
Do not settle for a vague answer to this question. A precise understanding of the anatomy of the muscles in this region is essential if one is to obtain an appropriate response to the injection. Botox® therapy should be highly specific and precise. Injections without this knowledge can lead to over treatment or a bad result.

Q3. Do you have Botox parties?
This question will give you a good idea as to whether the practice is serious about Botox® therapy. Herding a group of unknown people into a hotel room and injecting them under poor lighting conditions guarantees a mediocre result or worse. Add wine to the mix and there can be some serious complications.

Q4. What is the exact setting where Botox® will be administered to me?
Overall, it is unwise to settle for anything less than a physician’s office. Unfortunately, there are situations where Botox® is administered in many inappropriate settings, from hotel conference rooms to beauty salons. Botox®, although very safe, can occasionally produce reactions that must be treated appropriately. Further, if proper lighting and equipment are not available, a minor problem could turn into something quite serious.

Q5. How will you balance my brow?

If they don't understand this question, it probably means you are not speaking to someone who is serious in their understanding of Botox® therapy. A common mistake is to inject into forehead frown lines without understanding the competing muscle groups. This can cause an undesirable settling of the brow. The forehead creases may be softened but the downward position of the brow can give the patient an angry or downright strange expression.

Q6. Will all of my wrinkles be gone?

Admittedly this is a bit of a trick question, but it provides a good indication of the level of experience and truthfulness of the person you are speaking to. In general, it is impossible (and perhaps not even desirable), to remove every trace of an expression crease. This should be forthrightly communicated to the patient.

Q7. What other treatments do you offer for this area?

Botox® is indeed a wonderful treatment for patterns of overactive muscles, especially in the region between the brows and in the crow’s feet area. It is not, however, the only solution. Often the best results come from combined therapy. For example, if there has been a very strong pattern of habitual expression, there may be significant memory creases that persist even when the muscles don’t

 contract. These can be treated with other techniques. Sometimes the result that Botox® would provide would be disappointing, and a surgical procedure would be better. We believe strongly that patients’ interests are best served if they are evaluated by individuals who have an understanding of the complete range of options available. Otherwise, a very useful tool, such as Botox®, may be forced into a situation where it really won’t work very well. Under these circumstances, it is really not the fault of the Botox®, but the fault of the individual who misused it.

Q8. What is your goal in treating this area?

In almost every field of human activity, the person who can clearly articulate his or her goals will get a better result than someone who cannot. I would suggest that if someone is not able to explain what they are trying to accomplish with the Botox®, then perhaps you might seek someone with a greater level of knowledge and finesse.

Q9. What do you think looks good? What is your artistic concept?

This is perhaps the key question that should be asked by anyone considering either skin care treatment or plastic surgery of any sort. The concept of beauty is very subjective for each individual. Perhaps the person who is about to treat you has a concept of beauty that is very different from your own. It is better to define these issues in advance, so that you can avoid the disappointment that comes from miscommunication.

Q10. Are you truly interested in me as a patient or merely as a source of revenue?

This is, of course, a question that you should not ask directly. The answer to this question will be revealed to you by the manner in which you are treated. I would strongly suggest that if you find yourself in a facility where these individuals do not pay attention to your medical history and general health, that you do not seek treatment. If you are not asked questions about medications, medical allergies, your general level of health, and your goals for the treatment, then you are subjecting yourself to the care of individuals who do not care much about your well being.