Active Recovery: The Post Love Guide to Botox Aftercare

Looking your best and feeling your best should go together like asanas and sunrise but, without the right aftercare, a Botox treatment can leave you feeling less than perfect.  

Luckily, that feeling doesn’t last. In fact, downtime from Botox is very short – much shorter than it would be for a more invasive option like surgery – but that doesn’t mean we have to put up with feeling sore, bruised, and swollen when all we want is to feel like the very best version of ourselves. 

An aesthetic treatment is the ultimate form of self-care, but that doesn’t end the minute you walk out of the clinic. Aftercare is self-care, too. 

First, Why Do You Need Botox Aftercare at all? 
Botox is minimally invasive. Your injector doesn’t need to make any incisions or skin breaks in order to achieve excellent, lasting results, and that’s one of the reasons it represents such a popular treatment option. It’s about working with your body by avoiding major recovery periods and physical trauma.

But non-invasive doesn't mean that Botox is totally free from side effects. Injectables in general impact very small, contained areas of the skin- but even a little swelling and bruising in those areas can cause a lot of discomfort afterwards.

This discomfort can be caused by two (usually both) different factors at play: the injection itself and the substance being injected.

If you’ve ever had bloodwork done, then you’ll know that even a small, quick injection can cause a localized response in the skin. That tiny puncture triggers the body to create an immune response, releasing cells like lymphocytes and macrophages into the area that trigger blood flow and, in turn, cause swelling.

This is known as microtrauma – a localized reaction to a minor ‘puncture’ to the skin and subdermal tissue. As with any microtrauma like a cut or skin prick, the effects are short-lived – particularly if you follow the right aftercare. 

Even the best injector can’t avoid the body’s natural response to an injection.

Botox is so effective at smoothing skin texture and rebalancing facial symmetry because of its ability to block muscle nerve endings from releasing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and, as a result, relax muscles around the site of the injection. This is how Botox interacts with our bodies, but what is the short-term reaction from our bodies? 

Remember that Botox is a foreign substance – in other words, it’s not naturally produced by the body. The body reacts to virtually any foreign substance with an immune response, which also causes inflammation and bruising around the site of the injection. 

Good, effective aftercare should target the key complaints of a Botox injection: 

• Swelling
• Bruising
• Redness
• Pain (as a result of that swelling and bruising) 
• Of course, good aftercare should also focus on keeping the injection site(s) clean and dry, and free from any additional trauma like knocks, rubbing, scrapes, and bumps. 

While it may sound minor, a lot of patients can wind up feeling demoralised, tired, and downbeat about their treatment because of these side effects. We get excited about the change we’re going to feel after an aesthetic treatment, only to find that, immediately after, everything feels worse. 

True, we can ‘push through’ – and that’s what so many of us have been told to do in the past – but why do that when you can glide, soar, fly, run…whatever gets you through your recovery faster and easier? 

To keep your skin and soft tissues happy, calm, and healthy in the days and weeks following your Botox treatment, you’ll want to focus on…

• Self-Care
  Number one on any list of aftercare. It can be tempting to jump straight back into exercise and life as normal, but remember that ‘post-treatment’ is just another way of saying ‘recovery’. You are recovering, even if you don’t need to spend a week in bed, eating ice cream…although would we say no?
  The bottom line is this: follow the advice. It really is the best thing you can do for your body and your results. 
• Organic products
  ‘Organic’ isn’t just a buzzword – it’s the very essence of living a healthy, nature-driven life away from the toxins and pollutants that just don’t serve us. At Post Love, every ingredient that we can make organic, we do – and we’re always transparent about any ingredient that needs to be sourced elsewhere.
  Choosing organic ingredients means that we can create a range of products with…
• No harsh chemicals
  It’s never a good idea to expose your skin or body to chemicals that could trigger a strong reaction, and we love finding a simpler route. Why douse a plant in harsh pesticides when you can tend to it with water and sunlight? Your skin is just as delicate, and it’s just as important that we use skincare and facial treatments that work with it – not against it. 
• Natural anti-inflammatories
  Why try to get one-up on nature when nature does it best? There are so many botanicals and compounds out there that naturally reduce inflammation – whether they’re used as a targeted treatment or to benefit the entire body. This is what we mean when we talk about nature’s healing power, and these ingredients are exactly what we need when our bodies are crying out for a little extra R&R. 
• No Cruelty  You can’t look your best without feeling your best, and you definitely can’t feel your best if you’re relying on products tested on animals. 

So, what should you avoid doing? Your injector will give you a more complete, personalized post-treatment plan that you should follow to the letter, but here are some basics to get you in the right mindset for healing, restoring, and feeling yourself again…

• No rubbing your face – keep those hands busy if you have to.
• No facial massages – let the Botox settle where it needs to and save this sort of self-care for another time.
• No exercise – give yourself some full-body downtime. It won’t hurt – it’ll help!
• No booze – hydrate with water and electrolytes and treat that body like the temple it is. 
• Stick to the shade – no high temperatures and direct sunlight (and definitely no tanning beds) while you’re healing.
• Clean hands – you may not realise how often you touch your face throughout the day!
• Keep your skincare routine light and simple – more on that below…

Skincare as Self-Care

At Post Love, we’re all about active recovery. It’s not just about sitting and waiting for those bruises to fade and for the pain to go away – it’s about using one or two great products that really support your body’s natural ability to heal. No more waiting and hoping you’ll wake up feeling better.

FADED is our flagship product, designed to facilitate an active recovery from a variety of non-invasive treatments like Botox, dermal fillers, and lasers. Our years of experience in the industry have taught us exactly which ingredients proactively aid in the body’s recovery from injectables and other cosmetic treatments, which is why FADED contains:

• Hemp Extract 

• Arnica

• Liposomal base  

• DMSO  

Makeup for a Proactive Recovery

Bruising takes time to fade, even after the pain has gone away – and some of us naturally bruise more than others. We tend to bruise more as we get older, and our ability to recover quickly from bruising also takes a hit, so you may find that you don’t bounce back as fast as you did before. 

Before you think about going full glam just to conceal your bruising, why not try a more natural, healing-oriented approach? With the right ingredients, even a simple concealer can camouflage bruising and keep the body supported in its healing journey – and that’s exactly what we formulated at Post Love. 

FILTERED is the result of our desire not just to heal, but to restore that sense of feeling yourself. You don’t have to push through feeling bruised and swollen just to reach the light at the other end of the tunnel; FILTERED contains so many inflammation-fighting, feel-good ingredients like chamomile, aloe vera, and hemp to support your skin’s healing process, along with disguising the appearance of bruising. 

Post Love is all about continuing self-care beyond your treatment appointment, loving your skin from within, and giving it those extra doses of the good stuff to get you feeling good now, rather than later. We’re here to help with all aspects of aftercare – but, most of all, getting you feeling yourself even when you’re still recovering.