Botox: What is Botox Made Of?
Posted on April 30, 2008
Filed Under Skin Care |
The cosmetic effects that botox achieves are those surrounding age reduction; there are many myths about what it is and before a person starts a course, it is worth finding out more information. Despite its recent rise to fame, the original research into this product is a few decades old. The first research into Botulinum toxin was carried out over five decades ago; researchers were looking into methods to treat neurological problems in people.
A few decades later after much research, the FDA granted permission for it to be used medically and the first patients to make use of the drug were those with eye conditions; some of these included patients with excessive, involuntary blinking and for those suffering with crossed eyes plus, on occasion, wrinkles. In the year 2000 it was approved to treat cervical dystonia; this eases the pain from serious contractions in the shoulders and neck, but it was also given the ok to be used on another more unusual eye condition. In their research, doctors discovered that Botox softened the frown lines between the eyebrows; it was after this discovery that it officially came into existence and was FDA approved for cosmetic use in 2002.
You see botox is a neuro toxin, meaning it paralyses the muscles it is injected into and makes them relax; given sufficient treatments, frown lines that the person has lived with for many years will gradually fade. With continued use, the frown lines in most instances will completely vanish but the same effect can be found in lines at the sides of the eyes, mouth and other forehead lines. To allay any fears about injection toxin into our bodies these injections only contain a diluted and purified version of the poison; if it were not for the purification process this treatment could make us very sick.
Unfortunately, lines and creases form whenever we laugh (especially as we get older) or make any other facial gesture; they are caused by muscles contracting. After years of making these expressions the wear and tear on your face begins to be noticeable and the lines start to become permanent; many ’skin age reduction cream’ manufacturers have tried to produce creams that reduce facial line but this is the only treatment that works, currently. Because botox paralyzes the facial muscles, normal movement, expressions and gestures are almost impossible to make; people who have regular treatment often look as though they are dummies because they cannot smile properly or make other facial gestures that we tend to rely on.
Depending on the amount of treatments, a person can look fairly normal but their facial gestures will be restricted so that the creases and lines do not show. Injections of this very popular cosmetic treatment are still costly; often considered something only celebrities can afford because a single injection can cost anywhere from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars. It may be a few years yet before we see the result of long term use of botox but that doesn’t seem to concern those people who are using it at this moment.