All about BOTOX®

BOTOX® is now a household name…some of us know it as a popular cosmetic procedure while others consider it to be a thing that freezes your face and makes you look plastic. Our perception of Botox has been influenced by the media and other sources of muddied information. My goal is to teach you the medical aspects of BOTOX and educate you on why I think it is a safe medication – and I will base my teachings on facts.

First, BOTOX is an FDA-approved medication and is the most widely researched toxin available. In fact, as a medication (or drug) BOTOX has over 500 scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals to date. This means that the use and understanding of BOTOX is extremely validated and supported scientifically – not just by company opinion or sponsored research. It has been totally tested, and tried and re-tried again and examined and analyzed for various uses in the medical space.

BOTOX® Safety

I know that BOTOX® is safe as a cosmetic procedure because I have used it firsthand for over 15 years.

But despite my personal use, I want to elucidate some key features of BOTOX® so you can see how safe it is.

Botox was first approved for therapeutic or medical purposes in 1989. That is over 30 years ago – so there is a long standing history of doctors using this drug and many patients to learn from.

It was first approved for skeletal muscle-related conditions in children and adults. Conditions like limb spasticity, or blepharospasm (constant eye twitching) were caused by chronic involuntary muscle contraction, and BOTOX was used to relax these muscles so patients could become more functional.

It was later approved for cosmetic use in 2002…again, this is nearly 20 years of use. This is not a NEW drug!

The average dose we use for cosmetic BOTOX is very low. For cosmetic purposes, we use approximately 10-60 units every 3 months (depending on areas that are treated). While the safe dose for a medical or therapeutic indication is up to 400 units every 3 months.

BOTOX is approved in kids as young as 2 years old! This is for medical purposes, but it shows that this medication is safe for even very young children.

BOTOX is approved for use in 98 countries around the world, including the United States.

Over 100 million vials have been administered since 2002. Wow. That’s a lot of medication and a lot of information to lean on when studying and assuring safety!

BOTOX is a safe cosmetic procedure. Now let me teach you how it works and some secrets about how we use it to make you look younger and more refreshed.

How Does BOTOX® Work?

The word Botox is the trade name for a medication that has the active ingredient Botulinum Toxin Type A. Botulinum Toxin Type A is a protein produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Yes! Botox is a drug

In medical settings, it is used as an injectable form of sterile, purified botulinum toxin. Small doses of the toxin are injected into the affected muscles and block the release of the chemical acetylcholine, which would normally signal the muscle to contract. Reducing facial muscle movement and contraction leads to softening of wrinkles caused by facial expressions. Wrinkles that are present will gradually smooth out, and new wrinkles are prevented from forming since facial expression is limited.

The effects of BOTOX® appear within 7-10 days from treatment, and results typically last for 3 months before another treatment is needed. Patients who routinely have BOTOX® injections find they need injections less frequently for the same results. There is no downtime with BOTOX®.