If you are considering Botox for expression lines, a bulky jaw from teeth clenching or excessive underarm sweating, start with a consultation with Dr. Nil Yazıcı, an aesthetic physician in Istanbul, who plans every treatment around your own facial anatomy and expressions. Visiting from abroad? Your first consultation can take place online.
Botulinum toxin, widely known by the brand name Botox, is an injectable treatment that temporarily reduces the contraction of the muscle it is placed in. The effect usually begins within 2–3 days, becomes clear at around two weeks and lasts roughly 3–4 months in most people. In Istanbul, Dr. Nil Yazıcı decides which muscles to treat, and with how much, only after assessing your facial expressions and muscle strength.
With botulinum toxin, the result depends on deciding which muscle to relax and by how much. Weakening the forehead too much can lower the brows; the wrong depth around the eyes can change your smile. Drawing on her medical training at Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine and her aesthetic medicine education at the University of Camerino (Italy), Dr. Nil Yazıcı plans every treatment around your face's own muscle balance, puts preserving your expression first, and reviews the result with you at two weeks.
About Dr. Nil YazıcıBotulinum toxin makes sense when muscle movement is the source of the problem. At your consultation, the first step is to tell apart lines caused by expression, by volume loss or by skin quality.
Horizontal forehead lines and the vertical frown lines between the brows are the most commonly treated areas. Because the forehead muscle also holds the brows up, the two areas are dosed together and in balance.
Low-dose treatment for the lines that fan out from the eyes when you smile and, in the right facial anatomy, a subtle lift of the tail of the brow.
The lines that appear on the sides of the nose when you scrunch it; usually assessed together with the frown area.
Very small doses are used for upper-lip lines and for the so-called “lip flip”, which aims to roll the upper lip slightly outwards. A gummy smile can also be addressed in selected patients.
Used for teeth clenching and a prominent chewing muscle; the change to the jawline appears gradually over several weeks.
Muscle activity that causes a dimpled, “orange-peel” chin and prominent vertical bands on the neck can be treated in suitable patients.
For excessive sweating, the sweating area is mapped first, then many superficial injections are placed in the skin.
Dr. Nil Yazıcı goes through your medical history, medications and expectations, then assesses your face both at rest and with different expressions. Brow position, eyelid structure and any asymmetry are noted.
Which muscles are treated, at which points and with what dose is decided individually. The aim is not to erase expression but to soften unwanted muscle movement.
The skin is cleansed, the points are marked and the injections are given with a very fine needle. The procedure itself often takes only a few minutes; a cold pack can be used for comfort if needed.
Once the effect has fully settled, the result is reviewed together. A small adjustment is made if needed, and notes are kept for your next treatment.
Botulinum toxin is a single-session treatment. As the effect wears off over time, people who want to maintain the result usually repeat it every 3–6 months. Treating too frequently or with higher doses than necessary is not recommended. On its own it may not be enough for deep folds caused by volume loss; in that case dermal fillers or skin-quality treatments are discussed as part of the plan.
First few hours
Small bumps and mild redness may appear at the injection points; they usually settle quickly.
Days 2–3
Muscle movement starts to feel reduced. In some people this takes a few days longer.
Days 10–14
The effect is clearly visible; this is when the result and symmetry are assessed.
Months 3–4
Muscle movement gradually returns. With masseter and sweating treatments, the effect may last longer.
Aftercare is short and simple, but a few precautions in the first hours help keep the product where it was placed.
Botulinum toxin is a common, well-understood treatment, but it is not suitable for everyone and it cannot remove every line on its own.
Because the treatment is quick, it fits easily into a short stay in Istanbul. Your first consultation can be held online, and the two-week review, when the effect has settled, can be done remotely by photos and video call once you are home. For interpreter support, airport transfer, accommodation help and appointment coordination, see our international patient services.
See how the international patient process worksYes. Botox is a well-known brand name that has become the everyday word for the treatment; the medical term is botulinum toxin. On this site we use both terms for the same treatment.
The effect usually begins within 2–3 days, is clearly visible at around two weeks and lasts about 3–4 months for most people. For masseter and sweating treatments it can last longer. Read more in our article on how long Botox lasts.
When doses and injection points are chosen carefully, the aim is to soften expressions, not stop them. Discussing how much movement you want to keep at your consultation allows the plan to be tailored to that.
A very fine needle is used, so most people describe only a brief pinprick. Numbing cream is usually unnecessary; a cold pack can be used if you are sensitive.
The treatment itself takes minutes and you can return to normal activities the same day, so a short stay is usually enough. Just follow the first-hours aftercare (no lying down or bending forward for 4 hours), and plan your two-week review as an online follow-up with photos once you are home.
Masseter treatment temporarily reduces the muscle's strength and may ease clenching-related symptoms in suitable patients. It does not remove the cause of clenching, so it should go hand in hand with a dental assessment and measures such as a night guard. If your goal is a more defined jawline, jawline filler can be discussed separately.
In suitable patients, yes, as part of one plan. Botulinum toxin targets muscle movement, while fillers address volume loss; which comes first, or whether both are done together, is decided after examination. For fine lines unrelated to muscle movement, skin-quality treatments may be a better fit.
Share your medications and supplements, past illnesses and previous aesthetic treatments at your consultation. Schedule it at least two weeks before an important event rather than just before, so the effect has time to settle.
Botulinum toxin usually starts working within 2–3 days, fully settles in about two weeks and lasts around 3–4 months for most people. Here is the timeline day by day, plus the factors that affect how long it lasts.
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Tell us what you would like to achieve and share your medical history, and we will assess together whether this treatment is right for you. Travelling from abroad? We can start with an online consultation.
