When considering wrinkle treatments, the type of treatment you and your physician decide upon really depends on the types of wrinkles being treating. For wrinkles caused by lines of motion, for example when you smile or the creases on the forehead, those dynamic wrinkles are best treated using something like Botox.
What is Botox?
Botox is a protein that is produced by a bacteria, clostridium botulinum, that paralyzes muscles. It's been used for years in the ophthalmology world for people that have problems with the way their eyes look, such as children that have one eye going in the wrong direction. Botox was used to paralyze the muscle causing the misguided eye, correcting the problem.
Later the husband/wife team of Alistair and Jean Caruthers in Canada discovered the cosmetic dermatologic application of the protein. It can also be used to treat patients who have muscle spasm, patients with muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy.
Positives and Negatives
The effects of Botox injections are temporary, which can both be seen as positive and negative. For patients it can be seen as a bad thing because they have to keep going back to get more Botox. However it can also be a positive thing because the risk of over-treatment, or excessive paralyzing of muscles, is limited because the effects will fade. You can rest assured it will go away.
What Botox Treats
Botox is mainly used in cosmetic dermatology for the upper part of the face to paralyze the muscles of facial expression. Over time, as the sun damages our skin, wrinkles can appear when we move our facial muscles. Across the brow or the little elevens that people get which can make them look stern, between the upper bridge of the nose, may be effectively treated with Botox.
Some physicians may use Botox carefully around the lips. If applied in sparing amounts, it may improve the wrinkles around the lips, though there is a risk of immobilizing the lips, which is obviously not desirable.
Another place Botox is being used frequently now is platysma muscle. Some people with thin skin on the neck have these tightened bands of skin on the neck caused by the platysma muscle in the neck. Botox injections may be used in the neck to relax that.
Botox is also often used to improve depressed eyebrows, as well as improve hyperhidrosis of the underarms or hands (excessive sweating).
Botox is often used in conjunction with lasers and fillers to address the signs of photo-aging or sun induced aging of the skin.
Botox Side Effects
As Botox will paralyze muscles and prevent them from moving, the greatest side effects generally arise from over treatment. If used in excess Botox may produce an undesirable result by immobilizing too much of the face, or as in the example above, limit use of the lips. By injecting minute doses of the protein, most often a trained physician is able to produce a satisfactory result. Generally an improvement can be seen within several days of the treatment and may last up to 4 months, although results may vary.
Alternative injectables for treating wrinkles include: Artefill, Restylane, Radiesse, Collagen, Sculptra, Juvederm, Fat Fillers, CosmoDerm & CosmoPlast and Perlane.
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