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The Low Down On Botox
What is it ? Full name 'Botulinium toxin type A'. Sounds scary right ? And yes in it's unpurified form it can be highly hazardous to use. However, Botox when used for cosmetic purposes has been majorly purified and diluted right down to the bare minimun required.
It is injected into the facial muscles and almost immediately, it blocks the nerve impulses in the muscles there, restricting the ability to contract them.
This means that because the underlying muscle under the skin can no longer move, that the skin over it can no longer move either, essenstially cancelling out any wrinkles in those areas. The initial results are immediate with more improvement for a few days afterwards. The effects last approximately 3 to 6 months.
What can it Treat ?
Crows Feet
Forehead Lines
Smokers Lines that run above/below the lips
Lines that run from the outside corner of the mouth to the chin
Dimpling on the chin
Under-eye bulges and lines
Eyebrows
Lines in the Neck and Chest
Excessive sweating
It is focused on 'movement induced wrinkling'.
It cannot add volume or 'plump' anything out.
It cannot fill in deep wrinkles.
Is it Painful ?
That differs from person to person and of course anyone with a needle phobia is not really going to look forward to this treatment. But for most the procedure only produces mild discomfort. Most treatments only last for about 15 minutes and ice packs are applied after the last shot to prevent bruising and minimise discomfort.
Side-effects ?
As with any procedure there are risks. Headaches, double vision, paralysis of the wrong muscles, drooping of the eye brow or the eyelid, and bruising. Most of these, with the execption of eye brow drooping clear up with a few days/weeks, and the eye brow droop will only last as long as the Botox effects do.
Collagen/Fillers
These are used to soften the appearance of deep wrinkles or scars, restoring volume and plumping out areas the face and for giving lips a bit of an oomph. Again these are injectable.
They work by replacing dminishing collagen in areas where aging is really starting to show.
What can it Treat ?
Deep furrows especially those at the side of the mouth and on the forehead.
Small vertical lines above and below the mouth (bleed lines)
Lips where volume is reduced due to the aging process.
Anywhere where the face seems 'thinned out' compared to times past. Cheeks, cheekbones, chin, temples, under the eyes.
Fill in Scars
It cannot tighten skin, and although they can improve the appearance of movement induced wrinkles, botox is far better for this.
Lips
Lips shrink with age and start to lose definition. This contrubutes to small lines appearing both above and below them (Lipstick bleed lines).
During this procedure small amounts of filler are injected round the borders of the lips. This has the effect of 're building' the volume that has been lost and uplifting the corners of the mouth again. This also helps to smooth out the small bleed lines surrounding the mouth.
The lips themselves can also be injected for a fuller more plumped look, but it must look right on the individual face. Angelina Jolie's lips are not for all !
Care must be taken to ensure that only small amounts are used and allergy testing before the procedure is a must to ensure no reactions to the filler material.
Under the Eyes
Filler injections can plump out this area creating a thicker layer of skin. This reduces dark circles and fills in grooves around the eye making the whole area look a lot smoother.
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