Life leaves indelible marks on our faces. We smile, frown, cry and our faces show it. Many wrinkles are creases that have been worn into the skin by making the same expression thousands of times. These “expression lines” are a result of the contraction of a muscle under the skin in that area. While these marks are unavoidable, advances in modern cosmetic research have given us several options to erase them. Many of the new techniques can now be performed in the doctor’s office and offer virtually no risk to the patient when done properly, by physicians who are both well trained and experienced. One such technique is Botox® injections.
Botox® is a derivative of one of the most potent toxins available, which in high doses causes botulism. However, in small, carefully administered doses, it has been shown to dramatically improve the appearance of wrinkles. It works by paralyzing the muscles that form frown lines. In addition, it decreases one’s ability to frown or squint, therefore preventing the deepening of these lines over time. It eliminates wrinkly expressions such as furrows, squints, and puckered brows, and helps prevent further wrinkles from forming.
Patients that get the best results from this procedure have upper facial expression lines, such as forehead lines, glabellar lines, and crow’s feet, which are caused by the use of small muscles in the face. A few drops of Botox® are injected with a tiny needle into the muscle that creates a wrinkle. It then blocks the nerve impulse from reaching that area, weakening it. As the muscle weakens, the skin overlying the muscles relaxes and the wrinkles disappear.
The effects of Botox® may not be necessarily permanent. They can last anywhere up to 4-6 months but after a few treatments, many patients are experiencing long-term results. For optimal results in maintaining the wrinkle erasure effect, patients can be treated every four to six months or more.
