Injectable Wrinkle Reducers

How Often Can You Get Injectable Wrinkle Reducer? Dr. Karen Horton Weighs In


“Do you think I can go in for a few more injections this month?” my best friend recently asked me. She had only been treated with injectable wrinkle reducer a few weeks prior, and was so satisfied with her results that she was already eager for her next appointment. I wasn’t sure how long she should wait before her next treatment, so I recommended that she ask her provider. But like a parent turning down a child asking for candy before dinner, they told her to push pause on booking that next injection session.


Naturally, her question had me curious as to whether or not most people actually know when to schedule their next injectable appointment. After all, both of us had been clueless as to how often we could get injected. So, did others feel the same? 

It turns out, this is a common question that many injectables patients have. And while it may be tempting to book monthly appointments for injectable wrinkle reducer, it’s inadvisable (and contrary to prescribing information). Below, we tapped Karen Horton, MD, internationally board-certified plastic surgeon in San Francisco, CA, for a full rundown of our most pressing questions regarding injectable wrinkle reducers.  

First, what exactly is an injectable wrinkle reducer?

For the newbies out there, injectable wrinkle reducers are an injectable medical aesthetic treatment that temporarily reduce activity in the muscles that cause lines and wrinkles in the upper face. “It is usually injected strategically into specific muscles to [reduce] their contraction, effectively lessening the pull on the overlying skin, which creates wrinkles,” explains Dr. Horton. Since repeated contraction of certain muscles in the face are one of the main causes of wrinkles, this reduced muscle activity can make lines look smoother. 

What are injectable wrinkle reducers used to treat?

While wrinkles can develop anywhere on your body, injectable wrinkle reducers are only FDA-approved to be used on three areas. “Injectable wrinkle reducers are used to treat the scowl lines between the brows, the horizontal forehead lines, and the crow's feet or smile lines that appear around the eyes,” explains Dr. Horton. “The goal is to soften the pull of the muscle on the skin to lessen active wrinkles and create [the appearance of] smoother skin.” 

Dr. Karen Horton
Amelia Plumb

Dr. Karen Horton

Finally, how often can you get injectable wrinkle reducers?

If you’ve had a good experience with injectable wrinkle reducers in the past, it’s common to want to jump under the needle before you actually should. However, you should book an appointment no sooner than every three months. “We tell people to think of it as a quarterly treatment,” Dr. Horton explains. She also recommends scheduling your treatments at regular intervals — which, for those of us eager to get back in the chair, is something we’re willing to mark in the calendar. 

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