Botox® Cosmetic
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The Botox® Facelift
If you are approaching your thirties or forties, or older, you may have started to notice 'smile' lines at the sides of your eyes or deep furrows of your brows and forehead, especially when you are in an emotional discussion. These beginning signs of more permanent wrinkles to come are actually creases that are being worn into the skin by making the same facial expression over and over. These 'expression lines,' also known as frown lines or crow's feet, are caused by the contraction of the muscles underneath the skin. We have known for years that surgically cutting the muscle will improve the wrinkle.
Botox® is a purified protein that is produced by the clostridium botulinum bacteria. There have been no serious side effects associated with its use by dermatologists. It is a natural, extremely safe, although temporary method of improving wrinkles and signs of aging of the face and neck.
A few drops of Botox® are injected with a tiny needle into the muscle that is causing the wrinkle. Over the next five to seven days the Botox® effect begins. The Botox® blocks motor impulses of the muscle, which weakens the muscle and causes the wrinkles in the overlying skin to gradually soften and often disappear. The effect lasts for about two to four months, with an average of about three months of wrinkle-free face. There is much more to the effect though. Botox® can also be injected into specific muscles of the forehead to raise the eyebrows and create a beautiful arch, and make the eyes appear larger. I call this the Botox® facelift or sculpting of the face with Botox®. This is a non-surgical approach to the facelift and can be helpful as a first step in someone considering a more permanent approach such as a facelift.
The most common areas for the use of Botox® are the frown lines between the eyes, the furrows of the forehead, and the crow's feet at the sides of the eyes. It is also now used to treat lines around the mouth and necklines. Botox® does not affect the way the skin feels; there is no pain or numbness of the skin after Botox® treatments. The effects are noted only in the specific muscles that have been treated, other parts of the body remain unchanged.
Botox® has been safely used for over 10 years for the treatment of spasms of the eye. It was noted that many of the patients also noted improvement of wrinkles around the eye after their Botox® treatments. Dermatologists then further developed use of Botox® specifically for the improvement of wrinkles. However a subset of those who were treated for wrinkles, who also happened to suffer from migraine headaches, noted that their migraine headaches also improved, and the results often lasted six months to one year, long after the affect of Botox® on the wrinkles had worn off.
Other very effective uses of Botox®, recently developed by Dermatologists are the improvement of excessive sweating of the hands and feet. When topical and oral medications fail, Botox® has been proven to be very effective for the treatment of uncontrollable sweating, especially of the underarms, hands and feet. There is usually some mild temporary weakness of the treated limb, usually lasting two to three weeks. The improvement in sweating can last for six months or longer.
Following is a summary of the uses and possible side effects from Botox® injections:
Botox® Uses
1. Lifting of the brows
2. Improve wrinkles of the forehead, between the eyes, crows feet (sides of eyes)
3. Improve lines of neck and around mouth
4. Treatment of excessive sweating of underarms, hands and feet
Possible Side Effects of Botox®
1. When injected to the forehead there is a small risk of bruising. This usually last for five to seven days and clears without leaving a scar.
2. When injected around the eyes there is a small risk of drooping of the brows (called ptosis). This is also temporary and can be improved with medicated eye drops.
3. When injected around the mouth or neck, there is some associated weakness of the overlying muscles, which can lead to mild drooling.
4. When injected into the underarms or hands, there is mild, temporary weakness of the hand. For example, it might be more difficult to open a tight jar, but typing ability would not be affected
5. Although Botox® is a very safe treatment, it should not be used in pregnant women or anyone with some specific neurological diseases.