Botox has become a well used cosmetic enhancement over the last few years by ridding people of age line and wrinkles; one has to wonder just what it is that this substance is and how it works. In order to appreciate just what this is we need a brief history lesson into its discovery, quite a while ago now. Botulinum toxin was first researched back in the 1960′s; it was used to treat patients with neurological problems.
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; these included blepharospasm (uncontrollable blinking), strabismus (crossed eyes) and even wrinkles. In the year 2000 was given the all clear for the of treatment cervical dystonia. this is where severe neck and shoulder contractions were causing discomfort to a number of people, but other eye conditions were included in this approval. The strange discovery they made quite by accident was that botox helps to reduce the visible lines between the eyebrows; after further tests in 2002 the FDA allowed it to be used for the first cosmetic enhancement and the drug finally had a new field of use.
Botox paralyses the muscles that cause wrinkles keeping them in a relaxed state; in time frown lines gradually soften and subside if sufficient treatments are given. If this procedure is continued, in many instances the lines will soften so much they will seem to disappear; now the same procedure is used on other areas of the face where lines form, generally with age. The injections are actually a diluted form of botulism; if it were not for the purification process this treatment could make us very sick.
The reason people want to use the injections is because every time you laugh, smile, frown, or for that matter do just about anything with your facial muscles, wrinkles are caused by the underlying contractions of these muscles. This treatment is able to take back, for a temporary period, all those years of lines, creases and wrinkles that has formed from the use of our facial muscles; this is something that many skin creams have attempted to do for many years. After being injected into the effected area, botox temporarily paralyzes these muscles so that you can’t make these expressions; these treatments provide the user with a facial surface that is smooth and often referred to as looking like a dummy or mannequin.
A person who has undergone this treatment still has enough movement to provide some expressions but they are limited; because most of the wrinkles and creases have all but disappeared, it appears that the person is younger than their true years. Whilst popular this cosmetic treatment is still very expensive for what it is; with injections in the low to very high hundreds of dollars each, it looks to remain expensive for some time to come. There is always some concern about new treatments and botox is no exception with many people worried about the long term effects of injections, but even so this has not stopped its popularity.