Who knew that years and years of smiling, frowning and squinting would cause wrinkles? Facial muscles pulling on the skin in the same direction constantly causing glabellar lines, where there was once smooth skin is now the beginnings of new wrinkles. The skin has sketched the lines of the frown on the everyday face. You could accept your new look that coincides with your age or you could turn back the clock like many others are doing. And it doesn’t even involve cosmetic surgery to do it. No, all it takes is a little poison injected into those unrelenting lines. Botox has become the cosmetic wonder of the new millennium. It brings new life to old faces by erasing the lines of age.
A poisonous toxin seems to be the main ingredient of Botox. “Botulinum toxin is a neuromuscular blocking agent produced by clostridium botulinum, an anaerobic bacterium. This poison grows on contaminated food and when ingested can cause serious paralysis of the muscles. An injectable form of the sterile, purified Botulinum toxin is administered in small doses to block the release of a chemical called acetylcholine from the nerve cells that contract the muscles.” (Mendez-Eastman) In small quantities it can be quite beneficial for cosmetic purposes.
Glabellar lines are the main focus for cosmetic botox points out Susan Mendez-Eastman. Glabellar lines are those unmistakable frown lines, particularly the lines in the forehead and the skin between the eyes. The muscles in these features have stretched the skin, loosening it causing those unwanted wrinkles and lines. Unfortunately botox cannot help with laugh lines since those muscles are needed for eating and talking.
The procedure is relatively easy, much easier that getting a face-lift. A certified doctor should perform the procedure. He will examine the face and mark the areas for injection. You are wake during the whole ordeal and either sitting or lying down. The appointment only lasts for about ten minutes, which allows people to go right back to work after it’s done. It can take months to recover from plastic surgery. A small needle is used so to prevent any scarring of the face from the needle. Each injection can cost anywhere from two hundred dollars to four hundred dollars, a much cheaper alternative than cosmetic surgery which can cost thousands of dollars. The needle is injected into the main muscle causing the lines; it paralyzes that muscle forcing it to relax.
Of course you will most likely need more that one injection, since only a little of the toxin is used. “Multiple sites are injected to cause chemodenervation in one muscle group.” (Mendez-Eastman) It can take up to a week to see results of the injections and hence the results are only temporary. They can last anywhere for three to six months, making this type of age defying mechanism a “quick fix”. Susan Mendez-Eastman also acknowledges that “subsequent Botox injections will be required to maintain the relaxation of the muscles that provide the desired cosmetic effect.” (2003). The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery “maintains that botox injections for cosmetic purposes are safe and effect.”
The use of botox for cosmetic treatment is becoming used more often than any other non-surgical procedure. It was listed by The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery as the top five non-surgical cosmetic procedures. In 2003 alone there were 2,272,080 people who used botox, up 37% from 2002. (http:// www.surgery.org) Local dermatologists offer coupons for botox through home mailers and newspaper advertisements. Being that getting botox is cheaper than getting cosmetic surgery it is becoming widely popular among women and men for erasing the effects of aging. It has only been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since April of 2002 for cosmetic treatment.
There seems to be only mild side effects to Botox, as long as it is administered properly. The most common are mild bruising at injection site, headaches and dry eye syndrome. Cosmetic surgery has a long list of many complications associated with it. And if the doctor accidentally injects the wrong muscle and you end up with a drooping eye or the inability to shut one eye or worse both, at least the effect is only temporary.
Works Cited
The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. “Cosmetic Surgery Quick Facts:2003 ASAPS Statistics”. Retrieved on 3/10/04. http://www.surgery.org
Mendez-Eastman, Susan K. “Botox: A Review”. Plastic Surgical Nursing. Pitman:Summer 2003. Vol. 23, Iss.2; page 64. Accessed on 3/8/2004. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_
