The Mandy Project: Botox

There are not many before and after photos of Botox on the internet, unless you are looking at a doctors website. So here are the real before and after pictures from a normal 34 year old female.

I know there are a lot of people shaking their heads at me right now, but this is The Mandy Project. This is what I want for myself. I am not doing this for anyone else except me. So either read on, or shut it down.

To view the complete Mandy Project click here.

First of all, there is a lot of confusion over Botox. This does NOT plump up your face/lips/cheeks or anything else. This just freezes your muscles so you can't make wrinkles. That's all. It reduces wrinkles in some areas and can eliminate them in others. There are lots of areas you can't use Botox, like in your laugh lines, or under your eyes. You will not get Meg Ryan lips or look like you have had a facelift. The plumping of the face is dermal fillers. Totally different.

This is NOT Botox. This is dermal filler.

 

To be honest, I don't know what this is...

So now you know what it's not. See what it did for me...

I was doing my best surprised look.
At day 5 my eyebrows were too pointy.
At 2 weeks my eyebrows are no long pointy and everything is pretty smooth.
Don't pay any attention to my after-workout hair.

 

My scowl with an "11" between my brows.
Day 5 I could still see tiny lines.
2 weeks after, no lines at all.
Downside: My toddler thinks I never get mad any more.

Wrinkles around my eyes.
At day 5 there was only slightly less wrinkles.
At 2 weeks the area is nearly wrinkle free.

I wish I could show you a good before/after full face shot, but there isn't one. I either doctored up the photos I had, to limit the wrinkles, or the light diminished them. I guess it doesn't really matter. Here you can see that even after the Botox I can still make normal facial expressions.

Angry is the only one I really can't nail
down any more. My kids love it!

If you are considering Botox yourself, here are a few more details you might want.

Does it hurt? Not really. It was a series of about 14 shots to my face. The needle is incredibly thin so mostly it doesn't hurt at all. There were a few times Dan stuck the needle in too deep and it hurt for a second but otherwise, it was totally worth it.

Usually you pay by the unit. The average total cost of a unit is about $10-$15 and the total is usually between $375-$550 depending on if you use "Botox" or "Dysport" which is cheaper. Also depends on how many sights you have done and how much they need to use on you in each sight.

Who gives it? Some dentists, some doctors, all dermatologists, some nurses. You will know. They will advertise it. You may seem skeptical about going to a dentist for Botox, but how many other doctors do you know that give shots to people all day long?

It takes about a week to see results and it lasts about 3-4 months. Over time you might only need it every 6 months.

If you do it once you are going to want to do it again, and again. So beware.