Can You Exercise After Getting Botox? We Investigate

So you just got a botox treatment, and you’re feeling and looking great. Maybe you’re even thinking, Hey, I’m keeping my face in shape, time to kick my butt into gear...which leads you to sign up for that trendy new Zumba-barre-Pilates class. But hold up: Can you exercise after getting Botox? Short answer: not really. For the first 24 hours after your treatment, you should avoid exercising.

Exercise increases circulation (which, under any other circumstance, is a good thing). However, in this context, it can move the injected proteins from where it was intended to go before it has time to get fully absorbed. This can not only decrease its effects but can also increase the risk that it will act someplace it wasn’t meant to. The same goes for yoga—or even stretching—too. Any motion that requires you to put your head below your heart (a la downward dog) can move the botox from its intended area.

Schedule your appointment for later in the day and get your cardio in that morning instead. Or, you know, use this as the perfect excuse to skip the gym.