Botox® is a toxin produced by a bacterium called Clostridium Botulinum. It has been used for muscle over-activity for some years. Cosmetically it is used to remove the muscle action that forms frown lines.
Botox® is injected in a very small volume into each muscle. The initial effect of the injections is seen within three days and reaches a peak at one to two weeks after treatment. Each treatment lasts for approximately three months and it can be repeated indefinitely.
The dose can be increased if necessary. Some muscles should not have Botox® injected into them. This will be discussed at the time of the consultation. Please note that Botox® does not have a license for this use in the UK at the moment, but it is common practice.
Botox® is injected in a very small volume into each muscle. The initial effect of the injections is seen within three days and reaches a peak at one to two weeks after treatment. Each treatment lasts for approximately three months and it can be repeated indefinitely.
The dose can be increased if necessary. Some muscles should not have Botox® injected into them. This will be discussed at the time of the consultation. Please note that Botox® does not have a license for this use in the UK at the moment, but it is common practice.
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Last Updated: Sep 2009
Last Updated: Sep 2009
What is Botox?
Facial Lines::How They Form
Furrows and lines form on the face as a result of the pull of the underlying muscle. Damage from the sun and normal aging also play a part, making the furrows easier to form by reducing the elasticity of the skin. Lines will form on the skin perpendicular (at a 90 degree angle) to the underlying muscle. For intance, the frontalis muscle that pulls the eyebrows up runs vertically (up and down) under the forehead. As a result, lines that form on the forehead always go horizontally (across).
What Botox® Is And How It Works
Botox® must be injected. It does not work as a tablet or a cream. In its raw form Botox® is produced in nature by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum when the bacterium is deprived of oxygen. Raw botulinum toxin contains a mixture of subtypes. The manufacturer purifies subtype A and crystalizes it onto human albumin to make Botox®. (The other botulinum product, Myobloc®, is subtype B.)
When injected, Botox® travels through the tissues until it finds the nerve that ends on a muscle. The nerve ending absorbs the Botox® (or Myobloc®), and the medication acts to prevent the nerve from firing. This weakens the muscle, and the muscle can no longer produce the facial lines.
Ultimately, the nerve ending regenerates, and the muscle regains its previous strength. This is why injections of Botox® and Myobloc® wear off and have to be repeated.
Furrows and lines form on the face as a result of the pull of the underlying muscle. Damage from the sun and normal aging also play a part, making the furrows easier to form by reducing the elasticity of the skin. Lines will form on the skin perpendicular (at a 90 degree angle) to the underlying muscle. For intance, the frontalis muscle that pulls the eyebrows up runs vertically (up and down) under the forehead. As a result, lines that form on the forehead always go horizontally (across).
What Botox® Is And How It Works
Botox® must be injected. It does not work as a tablet or a cream. In its raw form Botox® is produced in nature by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum when the bacterium is deprived of oxygen. Raw botulinum toxin contains a mixture of subtypes. The manufacturer purifies subtype A and crystalizes it onto human albumin to make Botox®. (The other botulinum product, Myobloc®, is subtype B.)
When injected, Botox® travels through the tissues until it finds the nerve that ends on a muscle. The nerve ending absorbs the Botox® (or Myobloc®), and the medication acts to prevent the nerve from firing. This weakens the muscle, and the muscle can no longer produce the facial lines.
Ultimately, the nerve ending regenerates, and the muscle regains its previous strength. This is why injections of Botox® and Myobloc® wear off and have to be repeated.
