Botox – How It’s Used to Improve Wrinkles?

On average, a Botox injection takes only about fifteen minutes. Within such a limited time, however, it might “do wonders” to a patient’s skin by means of substantially rejuvenating it.

So, what exactly is Botox, what are its main usage indications, and how is it used to improve the appearance of facial wrinkles? Let us find the answers to these questions right away!

A safety note: Botox injections should be performed exclusively by a certified healthcare practitioner. The main reason for it is that not everybody can buy Botox  because botulinum toxin belongs to aesthetic medicine products intended for professional use.

What Is Botox Therapy?

Above anything else, let us define Botox therapy. In simple words, it is an injectable procedure that is used to treat a great number of aesthetic and medical conditions by means of employing botulinum neurotoxin type A.

While botulinum toxin type A, in its turn, is a rather poisonous but at the same time useful substance that is produced by the bacterium clostridium botulinum. Here is a short description of its dangers and practicalities:

• The danger of botulinum toxin lies in the fact that it is able to temporarily relax muscles and, therefore, might cause botulism (a potentially fatal disease that is characterized by muscle paralysis, difficulty breathing, and trouble swallowing);
• At the same time, botulinum toxin is a substance that has a wide range of aesthetic and medical applications that make it exceptionally practical. When being injected by a knowledgeable health practitioner, it becomes safe and useful.

A side note: Botox is a brand’s name for botulinum toxin type A products that are manufactured by the global pharmaceutical company Allergan. However, it is not the monopolist on the market these days. Namely, such brand names as Dysport, Xeomin, Bocouture, and many others do also produce botulinum toxin products.

How Does Botox Work?

Due to the fact that Botox is based on botulinum toxin, its working principle is directly connected to muscle relaxation. When being more precise, it is considered to be one of the most effective muscle relaxants in the world.

A side note: The administration of the botulinum toxin product belongs to minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. On the one hand, it does involve needle puncturing during the injection. On the other hand, however, it does not require any special pre-treatment preparation or post-treatment downtime.

Here is a short overview of the way Botox injections work:

• According to their treatment protocol, Botox injections should be administered intramuscularly with the help of fine gauge needles;
• As soon as botulinum toxin gets into a patient’s body, it starts acting by blocking the signals that go from nerves to muscles;
• Eventually, it leads to substantial muscle relaxation since the muscles do not receive nerve signals to contract anymore.

The above-mentioned working principle of Botox is temporary. As time passes, its “blocking effect” wears off because of the new neurotransmitters a patient’s body constantly produces. It eventually leads to muscles start getting signals from nerves again.

A side note: On average, the effect of medical and cosmetic Botox injections lasts about six months. J-However, its exact duration depends on such individual characteristics of each patient as their health condition, skin type, age, and even lifestyle.

What Are the Main Indications for Botox Injections?

All indications for Botox injections might be subdivided into medical and cosmetic ones. While the first group includes different health problems related to muscle contraction, the second one contains various aesthetic imperfections linked to overactive muscle movements.

Thus, how about taking a closer look at the main medical and cosmetic indications for the Botox treatment:

• Injections of botulinum toxin are oftentimes used to treat the following health problems: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, muscle contraction, cervical dystonia, overactive bladder, urinary incontinence, limb spasticity (both upper and lower), hyperhidrosis, blepharospasm, amblyopia, strabismus, and even migraine;
• While the administration of botulinum toxin as a part of the cosmetic treatment (the product injected for aesthetic purposes is usually called Botox cosmetic), in its turn, primarily aims to get rid of different dynamic wrinkles, such as forehead lines, crow’s feet, frown folds, and other skin depressions.

How Is Botox Used to Reduce Facial Wrinkles?

Due to the fact that one of the main aesthetic purposes of Botox injections is to provide a patient with overall facial rejuvenation, how about discussing it in detail? Namely, let us check out the information on how exactly botulinum toxin affects skin depressions, what types of wrinkles it addresses, and how long its result lasts.

How Does Botulinum Toxin Affect Skin Depressions?

Unlike dermal fillers that are primarily used to “fill” skin depressions, botulinum toxin does not add extra volume to a patient’s wrinkles. The working principle of the substance is based on its power to relax muscles.

Here is how Botox affects different skin depressions: after being injected into a patient’s muscle, botulinum toxin begins to block signals that connect a patient’s nerves to the muscles, which eventually leads to muscle relaxation.

While muscle relaxation, in its turn, causes the smoothing of a patient’s skin around the injection site. As a result, skin depressions that have been caused by muscle contraction either disappear or are substantially reduced.

What Types of Wrinkles Might Be Addressed with Botox Injections?

It is essential to mention that Botox treatments primarily aim to address dynamic wrinkles. These are skin depressions that occur due to constant facial muscle contractions and become visible when a patient makes a certain facial expression (for instance, raises eyebrows or smiles widely).

A side note: While botulinum toxin does a great job in taking care of dynamic wrinkles, a dermal filler might come in handy when a patient needs to get rid of static skin depressions that appear when a patient’s face is at rest.

In other words, cosmetic injections of botulinum toxin are used to take care of the following facial wrinkles, lines, and folds:

• Forehead wrinkles (skin depressions that appear due to the contraction of the frontalis muscle that occurs when a patient raises brows);
• Crow’s feet lines (while being also called periorbital lines, these wrinkles appear when a patient smiles);
• Glabellar folds (as their name suggests, these skin depressions emerge around the area of a patient’s glabella);
• Bunny wrinkles (wrinkles that occur on the bridge of a patient’s nose whenever a patient makes active facial expressions);
• Marionette lines (vertical folds that arise at the corners of a patient’s mouth and branch towards the chin);
• Lipstick folds (lines above the upper lip of a patient that stretch vertically as a result of photoaging, puckering, or smoking);
• And so on.

A side note: Apart from the above-mentioned facial skin depressions, Botox injections might also be used to take care of chin dimpling (the so-called “orange peel” around a patient’s chin area).

How Long Does the Result of Botulinum Toxin Wrinkle Reduction Last?

One important thing to note is that the injection of botulinum toxin tends to provide a patient with a durable but nevertheless not permanent facial rejuvenation. Botox belongs to cosmetic products of temporary action.

On average, the result of a single botulinum toxin injection lasts up to six months. However, its exact duration strongly depends on a whole bunch of factors, such as:

• The proficiency of a healthcare practitioner who performs the cosmetic facial practice of Botox administration (including their injection technique, experience, and knowledge);
• The quality of the injected product (please note that only the original Botox is safe, effective, and durable. Thus, avoid running into a fake botulinum toxin product);
• The individual peculiarities of patients who undergo Botox injections (namely, their skin type, health condition, age, genetics, and even lifestyle);
• And so on.

Also, there exist several Botox after-treatment “DON’Ts,” the adherence to which might substantially prolong the result of the procedure. For instance, a patient should NOT do the following things for the first 48 hours after the injection of botulinum toxin:

• Undergo direct sun exposure without applying sunscreen cream to the injection site;
• Visit saunas, take hot baths, or put themselves in contact with other sources of excessive heat;
• Wear heavy makeup around the area of the treatment;
• Do active facial muscle exercise;
• And so on.

What Are the Side Effects and Complications After the Treatment of Wrinkles with Botox?

Botox wrinkle reduction belongs to minimally invasive treatments and, therefore, does not lead to any serious side effects or complications under normal circumstances.

However, the procedure of treating facial wrinkles with the help of botulinum toxin might still temporarily cause the appearance of the following adverse reactions:

• The feeling of pain or discomfort around the area of the treatment;
• The inability to actively move facial muscles;
• The appearance of flu-like symptoms (including headache);
• The irritation of the skin at the injection site (namely, redness, itching, or swelling);
• Eye dryness or excessive tearing;
• Droopy eyelid, cockeyed eyebrows, or crooked smile;
• And so on.

In order to minimize the risk of these side effects and complications, a healthcare practitioner should make sure that a patient does not have any contraindications to the injection of Botox before actually performing it. Namely, they have to exclude the presence of allergic reactions to any component of the product, serious health complications, or skin infections.

A Bottom Line

All in all, Botox is a powerful product when it comes to the necessity of reducing facial wrinkle types that occur due to overactive facial expressions. It provides a patient with a young-skin appearance in a safe, effective, and long-lasting way.

Thus, how about scheduling an appointment with your healthcare practitioner right away and employing Botox injections while reducing facial wrinkles and, therefore, allowing you to remain young and attractive at any age?