Botulinum toxin: what to know before a consultation

This is an information page rather than an advertisement. Botulinum toxin type A is a prescription-only medicine in the United Kingdom, and UK law does not allow prescription-only medicines to be advertised to the public. That is the reason this website leads with the consultation rather than the treatment, and why treatment only ever follows a face-to-face consultation with the prescriber. What follows is background reading, so that the appointment itself can be spent on your face rather than on definitions.

What the medicine is

Botulinum toxin type A is a purified protein. When it is injected into a muscle it temporarily reduces that muscle's activity. The effect is not permanent. It wears off over a period of months, after which the muscle returns to acting as it did before. Nothing about the medicine is a fixed state, and any plan that involves it is a plan you revisit rather than a decision you make once.

Botox is one brand name for botulinum toxin type A; several licensed brands exist and the prescriber chooses which is appropriate.

Why a consultation comes first

A prescription-only medicine can only be prescribed by a qualified prescriber, and only after a face-to-face consultation. That is the law. It is also, quite separately, good practice. A face does not present the same way in a photograph as it does across a table, and an assessment that matters has to be made in person.

A consultation at the clinic covers the following.

• A full medical history, including your current medication, any allergies, and any previous treatment.
• An assessment of how your face moves, and of how the skin sits at rest.
• A frank discussion of suitability, including the reasons treatment may be advised against.
• Written information to take away.
• A cooling-off period before anything is agreed.

The cooling-off period is deliberate. There is no version of this appointment in which a decision has to be made on the day, and nothing about the way we run the clinic depends on you deciding quickly. If you leave with the written information and nothing else, the consultation has done its job.

Who it is not suitable for

It is not suitable for everyone. That includes during pregnancy and breastfeeding, people with certain neuromuscular conditions, and people taking some medicines. This is not a complete list, and it is not a list you should work through on your own. It is the reason the medical history is taken carefully and the reason the history comes before anything else in the appointment.

Possible side effects

Possible side effects include bruising at the injection site, headache, and, less commonly, temporary drooping of a nearby muscle. These should be discussed at consultation rather than read about and assumed. The point of discussing them in person is that their likelihood and their significance are different for different people, and a written list cannot make that distinction for you.

Age

The clinic does not provide injectable treatments to anyone under 18.

What to bring

Bring a list of your current medication, including anything bought without a prescription, and any details you have of previous treatment: what was used, roughly when, and how you responded. If you have had a reaction to anything in the past, say so early in the appointment rather than late. It changes the assessment rather than colours it.

Nothing on this page is a recommendation that you have treatment. Suitability is decided in person, by a prescriber, after an assessment.

Booking

If you would like to be assessed, the appointment to book is the anti-wrinkle consultation. The link is below.