Do botox and facial exercise counteract each other?
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skincare Tools & Do-It-Yourself Skincare

Tue Jun 18, 2019 2:48 am

Hi,

I am new here so apologies if this is not the right place to post. I've seen a lot of threads on EDS when googling and decided it's finally time to join to ask this question as it's been confusing me for a while. If this has been asked before please let me know, I haven't found a thread exactly on this question yet.

My question is related to facial exercise and botox. It seems like many people report good results with facial exercise, strengthening relevant muscles. And at the same time we can see proven results with botox/relaxing relevant muscles. I recently got a Rio 60 second Face Lift Plus device, which uses faradic current to induce muscle contractions, so I guess a similar kind of mechanism as facial execise. At the same time I've had botox on my glabella region to relax and prevent number 11 lines and was planning on getting even more (eg to get a small brow lifting effect in addition to the glabella region, which I've seen done with botox). I am 30 years old currently and am told I look young for my age, so while I'm seeing some signs of aging/drooping in the eye area this is largely preventative as well.

My question is - do facial exercise and botox in the same muscle region counteract each other? Do I need to pick just one or the other, and if so which is the way to go for long term prevention of drooping/deep lines and wrinkles? Specifically let's say in the eye area which is my main concern at the moment. If I get botox and then ALSO use faradic current with the rio face lift am I just minimizing the effect of the botox? With these two *seemingly* acting as opposites (one strengthening muscles, the other relaxing/weakening them) I'm not quite sure how to use these two anti-aging methods.

Thank you!

free skin care · Tue Jun 18, 2019 9:30 am

Well it’s a tricky question to answer, because not all “facial exericses” are alike and identical (although some are). Now in relation to your question, I think microcurrent and botox do different things and so it really depends on you and where your at. If you are, for example, a frowner and constantly frowning your brows together and have deep 11’s then botox may be a good solution to go for in that it doesn’t relax the muscles just prevents them engaging and moving. However, its also important to note that you will need to have them done throughout your life, every 6-8 months at least. The botox doesn’t last forever, and like anything its really depends on how much you frown.

Now I don’t use the Rio Face Lift device, but I do do facial exercises. However, I do know that a few folk openly shared they had botox and did facial exercises and that they found that the botox didn’t last as long. I also recall a few people had fillers in the NLs and they found that the exercises seemed to cause the filler to dissipate faster.

I would guess that if you do both in the same region, then it will counteract each other to some degree, in that it will help the botox wear off faster. However if you are a frowner, then I would probably say stick with the botox for now and learn how to not frown so much. The place where I wouldn’t go for botox is probably in the cheeks and nls. I know people are a fan of doing it there, but from what I can see those that have it done talk kind of funny and look like they have had obvious work done which is usually the opposite of what most people want to achieve.

Botox doesn’t relax the muscles, but it causes them to not move and become paralysed for a short space of time. With the eye area, you can probably still use the current there, but I wouldn’t advocate using it in the 11’s area.

Tessie

Wed Jun 19, 2019 1:14 am

Thank you very much for the detailed reply and advice, TeresaMary. I think I'll do mostly as you suggest and stick with botox at and above the brow area for now for number 11 lines and whatever brow-lifting applications I might try in the next appointment. And in the meantime use the faradic current device from the lower eye area and down to the neck. I have trained myself quite well to not frown during the day since I stated noticing the number 11 lines, but I have a feeling I still frown at night as the line has been getting more noticeable over the last couple of years anyway (I've also tried frownies, but those don't seem as effective and are also less convenient if I'm with my partner at night and have a patch of cardboard on my face Very Happy

)

free skin care · Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:03 am

Well to be honest, your partner is probably like my dear hubby, who has seen me do all manners of strange things to my face. If it makes you happy - then he will be happy!

Frownies don't work for everyone, but there are some alternatives out there. If you search the frownies thread, quite a few alternatives will come up. I remember someone had a reaction to the glue but found several alternatives. Some even make their own using surgical tape - so there is always a way.

Automatic Message

If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.

Click Here to join our community.

If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site.