What is Botox?
Botox — the brand name for botulinum toxin type A — is the purified form of the toxin, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been used for years in the treatment of muscle spasm of the eyelid muscles ( Blepharospasm) and vocal cord muscles ( spasmodic dysphonia),headaches and excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis).It works by blocking specific chemical signals that cause muscles to contract. When the muscles can't tighten, the skin flattens and appears smoother and less wrinkled. Their paralytic effect is temporary and with time the improvement initally seen diminishes.
Is Botox the right treatment for you?
Not all facial wrinkles respond well to Botox injections. Like a crease in a crumpled paper, smoothing out the paper improves the creases, but the etched lines remain. While Botox may treat the muscle causing the crease, deeply etched lines that have already occurred do not vanish. Alternate treatments such as fillers, may be selected or added to Botox for the treatment of such wrinkles. Also, Botox is not effective for wrinkles resulting from by sun damage since this has nothing to do with facial muscles.
Where does Botox work?
Potential areas for Botox treatment includes:
- Frown lines between the eyebrows and on the bridge of the nose
- Corner of the eyes (crows feet)
- Forehead creases
- Neck bands
- lips