What Types of Complications Could Happen?

Neurotoxins work by paralyzing muscles to help prevent wrinkles and lines from forming or becoming worse. This is great, but what happens when things don’t go as expected?

Luckily, the complications associated with neurotoxin mishaps are generally mild, not life-threatening, and go away with time. They may just cramp your style for a little bit! Following the instructions for your pre-care and post-care can help alleviate or prevent many of these complications. Also, always be patient over the first two weeks. There are a lot of changes and we just have to wait and see how things look at the end. Never re-treat before two weeks. Believe me!

Bruising/Pain:

For optimal results, and to minimize the chance of bleeding or bruising at the injection site, please avoid all blood-thinning medications and supplements for three days after your appointment. This includes over-the-counter medication such as aspirin, ibuprofen, Motrin, and Aleve. Also avoid herbal supplements such as garlic, vitamin E, ginko biloba, St. John's Wort and omega-3 capsules. Let your injector know about any over the counter supplements you may be taking. If you have a cardiovascular history, please check with your provider prior to stopping use of aspirin. Do not drink alcohol within 24 hours of receiving treatment.

Things like arnica tablets and cream can help if you know you are likely to bruise. Take them starting a few days before your treatment and keep taking them after for 3-5 days. We provide a small tube of arnica cream to help with bruising or pain post treatment.

Brow Ptosis, Spock Brow:

Usually, an injector is able to assess your muscles and how they move and meet to plan the best treatment areas for you. Sometimes complications happen though (even if you’ve been seeing the same person for years)!

One common complication is brow ptosis or “dropped brows”, heavy brows, etc. Sometimes this is related to where a muscle was treated or how much the dose was, sometimes our eyelids are heavy or hooded and can settle more, making it feel that our lids are worse than they were. This can sometimes be fixed by changing the dosage or placement. A slightly dropped brow can sometimes be corrected with a brow lift depending on what was initially treated. This includes putting small amount of toxin under the eyebrows to relax the muscles and allow the eyebrow to rise a bit. This is not always an option depending on previous treatment. A medication called Upneeq can sometimes be utilized to help correct a heavy/hooded eyelid. Sometimes a person may need an upper or lower blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) before neurotoxin treatment can be reconsidered. The back of a vibrating toothbrush can be used in the area to help work out toxin quicker. Often this complication can improve on its own after a few weeks

A spock brow occurs when the lateral (outside) parts of the eyebrow still have a lot of activity. This can give you tell-tale look, or make you look surprised. This is easily fixed with a unit or two of toxin above the offending area in the correct place.

Uneven Smile, Weak Muscles, Heavy Sensation in Muscles:

Headache, Sleepiness:

Flu-like Symptoms: