Botox: What is Botox Made Of?
Raymond Lam
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.
It wasn't until around 1989 that the Federal Drug Administration agreed to allow its use in medical procedures to help people with disorders of the eye; some of these included patients with excessive, involuntary blinking and for those suffering with crossed eyes plus, on occasion, wrinkles. More research was carried out into other medical uses and in 2000 it was allowed to be used on patients that had a cervical dystonia condition; 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; 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.
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.
The problem is that when we laugh, cry or frown for example, lines and wrinkles appear caused by the muscles that have helped create the expression; these injections can help eliminate those lines. These lines are formed on our faces after years of wear and tear; whilst many manufacturers have tried to produce creams that eliminate these wrinkles and creases (unsuccessfully), this treatment can at least for a short period. After being injected into the effected area, botox temporarily paralyzes these muscles so that you can't make these expressions; many people believe that overuse leaves the recipient with a look similar to that of a mannequin.
Whilst the face can still provide expressions, they are seriously reduced but this give the effect of someone looking much younger than they really are. Whilst popular this cosmetic treatment is still very expensive for what it is; this is why it has been coined as something only celebrities have performed because the least expensive injection can still cost upwards of 300 dollars to in excess of 1,000 dollars. 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.
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