01 · In the room
Botox
- Starts
- 3–7 days
- Spread
- Precise
- Chosen when
- The default. Longest track record, most predictable in a small area.
Treatments/Injectables
Botox & Xeomin in Westlake.
Fifteen minutes, no anaesthetic, no downtime, placed by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who will use fewer units than you expect the first time.
15 minin the chair
3–7 daysuntil it shows
0days of downtime
What it is
Botox and Xeomin are both botulinum toxin type A: a purified protein that temporarily stops a specific muscle from contracting. Placed in small units into the muscles of the upper face, it stops them folding the skin, and the lines that folding creates soften.
It does not fill, tighten or remove anything. A line visible with your face completely still is etched into the skin, and a neuromodulator alone will improve it slowly if at all. That is the first thing Dr. Stone checks.
What it does for you
Most people describe how they look, not what they want done: tired, cross, older than they feel. In the upper face those three are usually three muscles.
- The horizontal lines across the forehead soften, without dropping the brow.
- The crease between the eyebrows stops making you look annoyed.
- The lines fanning from the corners of the eyes ease when you smile.
- A heavy brow lifts a millimetre or two by relaxing what pulls it down.
Am I a candidate?
Most healthy adults are. The consultation exists to find the people who are not, and to work out how much you actually need — for a first treatment, almost always less than you have in mind.
Not for you if
You are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a neuromuscular condition, have an infection at the site, or your lines are static. In that last case Dr. Stone will talk to you about resurfacing or filler instead, or about nothing at all.
Four products
One molecule, four formulations.
All four are botulinum toxin type A. They differ in how fast they start, how far they spread, and how they behave after years of treatment. Dr. Stone keeps all four so the choice is clinical, not whatever the practice stocks.
02 · In the room
Xeomin
- Starts
- 3–7 days
- Spread
- Precise
- Chosen when
- You have stopped responding to Botox. Xeomin carries no accessory proteins.
03
Dysport
- Starts
- 2–5 days
- Spread
- Wider
- Chosen when
- A broad forehead, where a wider field of effect is an advantage.
04
Jeuveau
- Starts
- 2–5 days
- Spread
- Precise
- Chosen when
- The glabella specifically. The newest of the four.
Why have it done here
The person holding the needle operates on the skeleton.
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon has spent years underneath the muscles she is now treating from above. That changes where the needle goes, and what she tells you when this treatment will not fix what is bothering you.
Before and after your appointment
Nine things, and none of them hard.
The week before
- Stop fish oil, vitamin E and high-dose NSAIDs for about a week if your doctor agrees. They cause bruising.
- No alcohol for 24 hours beforehand, for the same reason.
- Come with a clean face if you can. Makeup comes off before we start.
- Tell us about recent dental work, a vaccination or an illness.
The 24 hours after
- Stay upright for four hours. No lying flat, no face-down naps.
- Do not rub or massage the treated areas. Product moves.
- No strenuous exercise, saunas or hot yoga for a day.
- Small red bumps settle within an hour; a bruise takes a few days.
- Judge the result at two weeks, not three days. We book your review then.
Before & after
The results exist. The consent is being collected.
Publishing a patient's face needs their current written consent for this specific use, per case, and we are asking rather than assuming. Until every image here is covered, none go up. Dr. Stone can show you comparable cases in the room.
Questions
The ones we are asked most.
Does it hurt?
The needle is very fine and each injection takes about a second. Most patients describe a brief sting. No anaesthetic is needed and you can drive yourself home.
How soon will I see it?
Movement softens at three to seven days and reaches full effect at about fourteen. We book your review at two weeks for exactly this reason.
Will I look frozen?
That is a dosing and placement decision, not a property of the drug. A first treatment here is deliberately conservative: easy to add at the review, impossible to remove.
What happens when it wears off?
Your muscles go back to what they did before, and so do your lines. Nothing gets worse than it was. People notice the return because they got used to the softer version.
How many units will I need?
It depends on your muscle mass, which is why nobody can answer it over the phone. You are quoted your number after the assessment, before anything is injected.
Start here
One appointment. A plan for the year.
30 minutesWith Dr. Stone, not a coordinator.
No obligationYou leave with a written plan. Starting that day is your call.
Video or in personA first consultation can be by video. Anything injected happens in Westlake.