Patricia Woloch recently asked:
Strength of toxicity depends on size of the dose. The botulinum toxin is the most poisonous protein in the world if given in a large enough dose, and can paralyze muscles throughout the body. But when Botox is injected in a cosmetic treatment, the dose is so miniscule that it affects only the specific muscle it was injected into. That tiny “toxicity” is the beauty of a Botox injection, and the reason it works.
How Botox Works
Botox injections temporarily paralyze the muscle. It prevents the nerve impulse from connecting to the muscle, so in effect, it makes the muscle deaf, unable to respond to neural messages.
If you have frown lines, it’s because over the years, for whatever reason, the muscles in the forehead have been contracting, and have formed those vertical wrinkles. They tend to make the face look cross or upset when you don’t feel that way. You might have been frowning all those years simply because some lighting was too bright, but the resulting lines cause people to form an inaccurate impression of your feelings.
By paralyzing the muscle, Botox prevents it from contracting. So for the four to six months that the injection is effective, you do no frowning. This tends to smooth out your forehead lines. When you have repeat Botox injections, the muscle starts to unlearn its habit of contracting. So you would end up frowning less often even if you stopped having injections.
Any side effects?
There have been over 200 studies done and over a million people have had Botox injections, but systemic allergic reactions have been extremely rare. You might have some bruising or tenderness at the injection site. This is not because of the Botox itself, but because of the injection. A very fine needle is used, but it can still leave you with bruising for a few days, depending on how easily you tend to bruise. Some people experience some temporary nausea, headache or neck pain, but again, this is very rare.
Botox was originally used to treat crossed eyes and uncontrollable blinking. There are ongoing studies to determine its usefulness in treating other medical conditions that involve muscle spasms.
Its cosmetic effect was discovered accidentally and in 2002 the FDA approved its cosmetic use. It is now the most popular cosmetic procedure in the U.S. and used widely for people aged between 18 and 65.
Strength of toxicity depends on size of the dose. The botulinum toxin is the most poisonous protein in the world if given in a large enough dose, and can paralyze muscles throughout the body. But when Botox is injected in a cosmetic treatment, the dose is so miniscule that it affects only the specific muscle it was injected into. That tiny “toxicity” is the beauty of a Botox injection, and the reason it works.
How Botox Works
Botox injections temporarily paralyze the muscle. It prevents the nerve impulse from connecting to the muscle, so in effect, it makes the muscle deaf, unable to respond to neural messages.
If you have frown lines, it’s because over the years, for whatever reason, the muscles in the forehead have been contracting, and have formed those vertical wrinkles. They tend to make the face look cross or upset when you don’t feel that way. You might have been frowning all those years simply because some lighting was too bright, but the resulting lines cause people to form an inaccurate impression of your feelings.
By paralyzing the muscle, Botox prevents it from contracting. So for the four to six months that the injection is effective, you do no frowning. This tends to smooth out your forehead lines. When you have repeat Botox injections, the muscle starts to unlearn its habit of contracting. So you would end up frowning less often even if you stopped having injections.
Any side effects?
There have been over 200 studies done and over a million people have had Botox injections, but systemic allergic reactions have been extremely rare. You might have some bruising or tenderness at the injection site. This is not because of the Botox itself, but because of the injection. A very fine needle is used, but it can still leave you with bruising for a few days, depending on how easily you tend to bruise. Some people experience some temporary nausea, headache or neck pain, but again, this is very rare.
Botox was originally used to treat crossed eyes and uncontrollable blinking. There are ongoing studies to determine its usefulness in treating other medical conditions that involve muscle spasms.
Its cosmetic effect was discovered accidentally and in 2002 the FDA approved its cosmetic use. It is now the most popular cosmetic procedure in the U.S. and used widely for people aged between 18 and 65.
