Posts Tagged ‘Wrinkles And Lines’

The Beauty of Botox - Effect on Wrinkles (part 2)

Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Kenji Matsuhara recently asked:


Which wrinkles and lines bother you the most? Are these lines and wrinkles the type that are best eliminated using Botox?

If you choose to eliminate only the wrinkles that can be treated with Botox, will any of the remaining ones still leave you unsatisfied with your appearance? For example, if you want both your frown lines and marionette lines removed, you will likely need a different cosmetic procedure to have the marionette lines eliminated.

It should point out that Botox injections work best on crow’s-feet (wrinkles radiating from the outside corners of the eyes), worry lines (horizontal forehead lines), and frown lines (vertical lines, also called glabellar lines, that appear be­tween the eyebrows). These are wrinkles that are typically caused by chronic contractions of the muscles under or adjacent to these areas of the face. Laughing, smiling, frowning, and squinting are some of the common facial expressions that can cause these lines. If you have lines and wrinkles on other parts of your face that concern you, you may need other types of cosmetic procedures to eliminate them. With that in mind, consider these questions:

Which wrinkles and lines bother you the most? Are these lines and wrinkles the type that are best eliminated using Botox?

The followings are the types of lines and wrinkles:

From the top of your face down, bothersome facial wrinkles have the following names and locations. Notice that Botox is not the best choice for all types of wrinkles and lines.

Forehead lines: horizontal lines, often called worry lines. These lines form mainly because the underlying frontalis muscle, which stretches across the forehead, moves when you make facial expressions. When you lift your browsometimes referred to as the “aha” or surprised lookthe muscle contracts, which causes the skin that is covering the muscle to pull, wrinkle, and then return to its original position when you relax the muscle. Now consider the countless number of times you’ve used these muscles. As you age, your skin be­gins to lose its elasticity, it suffers from sun damage, and the constant contracting and relaxing of the muscle results in forehead lines. These can be eliminated using Botox or filler injections such as collagen or fat.

Frown lines: vertical lines, also known as glabellar lines, that appear between the eyebrows. These linescan make you appear serious, angry, or stressed even when you’re not. It is for the removal of these lines that the Food and Drug Administration gave approval for Botox in April 2002. These lines are best removed with Botox. If you’ve frowned a lot over the years and the lines are very deeply etched, you may also need wrinkle fillers (e.g., collagen, fat) to eliminate these lines. Your doctor will discuss your options with you.

Crow’s-feet: lines that radiate from the outside corners of the eyes. They’re also known as periorbital lines. If you have these lines, they’re most likely the result of smiling and squinting. If you look in the mirror ands mile or squint, notice how your muscles contract and cause your eyelids to nearly cover your eyes and how the muscles contract at the corners of your eyes where the lines appear. Crow’s-feet are best eliminated with Botox, plus adjunctive treatment such as collagen, chemical peels, or laser resurfacing.

Laugh lines: also known as smile lines or nasolabial lines, they are the two vertical lines that run from the outside corners of the nose down to the top of the outside of the upper lip. Even though they are called laugh lines, gravity and aging are also factors in their development. They can best be eliminated using wrinkle fillers (e.g., collagen, fat, AlloDerm, Cymetra, Gore-Tex, or SoftForm).

Lipstick or smoker’s lines: the tiny radiating lines that appear above the upper lip and below the lower one. It seems as though everyone has a different name for these annoying wrinkles, which are best removed using laser resurfacing, chemical peel, microdermabrasion, or wrinkle fillers tissue augmentation (e.g., collagen in­jections, AlloDerm, fat)in addition to Botox.

Marionette lines: the often deep lines that run down from the outside corners of the mouth toward the chin. These lines develop from a combination of factors, including gravity (the cheeks tend to sag from the force of gravity) and thinning of the supporting tissue that comes with age. These wrinkles are best eliminated using wrinkle fillers or laser resurfacing. Another option is a face-lift, a complex surgical procedure.

If you’ll still be bothered by the remaining lines and wrinkles, are you willing to have other cosmetic procedures done to correct them? Naturally, you will need to discuss all your options and prices with your doctor, but you should be aware that other procedures may be needed for you to get the look you desire. You also should know that while Botox injections don’t involve any recovery time, some other cosmetic procedures do.





Is Botox A Viable Option?

Monday, August 24th, 2009
Phillip Hatley recently asked:


One of the most popular and fastest growing cosmetic procedures available today is Botox injection. Used for the temporary removal or reducing of ****** wrinkles caused by muscles that is used frequently. These wrinkles are formed from repetitive use of ****** muscles such as when we laugh or frown. As a result humans form crows feet around their eyes, frown lines on their forehead and laugh lines around the mouth. As we age these lines or wrinkles become more prominent. As a temporary fix, Botox can effectively reduce and smooth these ****** wrinkles

Botox is in a family of drugs called neurotoxins and it is derived from a protein of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Actually it is botulism, a severe form of food poisoning, in the Botox form it is purified. The Botulinum toxin was discovered in the sixties, but it was not until seventies that scientist realized the toxin had attributes that could bring relief to people who suffered from neurological disorders such eye ticks and droopy eyelids, as well as other muscular disorders.

Eventually scientist and doctors realized that the toxin had cosmetic benefits as well. Botox can be toxic if taken in substantial doses since it is a poison that relaxes or paralyzes nerve endings in the muscles of the face. Fortunately, diluted doses are all that is required for the desired effect of reducing wrinkles and lines.

Botox does have side effects with the most common being a result of the injection itself. Some patients report discoloration where the injection was applied with some Botox patients reporting lesions on the white part of the eyes. Drooping of the eyelids have been reported to occur with most cases being temporary and occurring right after the injection is administered, with this side effect only being temporary. Another side effect occurs when unqualified people that have not been certified or trained in proper Botox procedures give injections. Injections from these unqualified people should be avoided as these procedures can result in discomfort and pain, bleeding or bruising and infections are possible.

People with infections or any kind of skin disorder or condition should avoid having Botox injections and all injections should be in a sterile location. Consulting your doctor before having a Botox injection is highly recommended. Allergic reactions to Botox are possible, but a visit to your doctor and his counsel should be enough to decide if you should receive a Botox injection. Certain medications can increase the side effects of Botox treatment including antibiotics. Women who are pregnant should also avoid the treatment.

Some things should be considered in preparation of receiving Botox treatments. After the treatment there will be, in some cases, bruising and swelling for people with sensitive skin. Applying ice to the treated area with an ice pack or compress will help reduce the swelling. People that are handy with makeup application can cover some of the bruising although the swelling will be difficult to hide. Planning ahead is always best before having an injection. Pain medication bought from the local drug store can help reduce discomfort and pain as you recuperate.

Botox is a viable option for people that would rather avoid plastic or cosmetic surgery. It should be emphasized that the procedure is only temporary and future procedures will be needed to maintain a youthful appearance and can become a burden for people on a tight budget.





Botox – Where Did it All Go Right: the Asprin of the Cosmetic Surgery World!

Sunday, August 16th, 2009
Cade Witnish recently asked:


Originally utilised in the seventies for the treatment of patients with various movement disorders, Botox injections (Botunlinum Toxin A) were used in small doses to kill off the nerve cells within the muscles responsible for the offending disorder – reversing the severity of the movement. Dr. Caruthers, a pioneer of this revolutionary treatment, discovered that many of his patients also experienced anti-ageing benefits as a result of their treatment. After further experimentation, Botox Cosmetic Treatments where born.

This discovery of the Botox injection, as an anti-ageing treatment, revolutionised the cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery world. Since then, there have been a number of other comparative treatments – including Collagen injections, developed however Botox injections still remain the most popular treatment due to its non-permanency and cost effectiveness.

The Botox treatment however is not just a pretty face (pardon the pun). Although it has built its reputation through the successful treatment of forehead wrinkles, eye wrinkles and lines in cosmetic surgery for thousands of men and women– it also has many other uses in the cosmetic market. Some of these include injection into the balls of the feet.

Superstars such as Victoria Beckham and Sarah Jessica Parker are famous for high heels. This fetish comes at a cost. Many women in the UK experience pain in the balls of their feet from prolific wearing of high heels. Botox injections, once every three months, is used to relax the muscles and reduce pain.

Another condition that benefits from Botox injections are headaches and migraines. Much of this pain is caused by muscle spasm and over tight muscles. Botox treatment can stop these from occurring.

Hyperhydrosis. Sounds like an illness that could cause death doesn’t it? The only death it will cause however is from embarrassment. It is when someone has uncontrolled sweating and yep, you guessed it our old friend botox can stop it. Botox injected into the correct sweat glands, can stop this embarrassing affliction - the rise in this treatment is meteoric.

Cade Witnish, M.D. of Harlequin Medical, a Cosmetic Surgery Clinic in London, says ‘Botox injections for hyperhydrosis treatment has increased in the plastic surgery market by 400% in the last year. Botox remains the number one treatment in the cosmetic surgery industry. Botox anti-ageing still remains number one, but other botox treatment such as in cosmetic surgery for men, migraine, high heels (balls of feet) and other botox cosmetic treatments are growing faster.’

So there you have it – not just for anti-ageing (it’s an oldie but a goodie), but for all other cosmetic surgery treatment purposes, Botox is the cure all. It has been a long reign at the top of the plastic surgery world, but I don’t think this anti-ageing super heavyweight is going anywhere soon. Many have tried and failed – it will be interesting to see what product will be the next contender to try and take the place of botox injection as the king of cosmetic surgery jungle.