Botox

You wake up one day and look in the mirror and suddenly what you see does not satisfy you. You notice wrinkles on your forehead, under your eyes and around the lips. And you start wondering where these lines have come from. It is the reality that our faces transform with time. We can either admit to it or try to change it. Plastic surgery can do miracles but sometimes no surgical intervention is needed. What you might need is a single injection of Botox to look better, younger and fresh.

Why skin ages

Skin changes with age. It loses water and hence elasticity. But this is not the only reason for the wrinkles to show up. With time, collagen in the skin starts depleting, hormonal balance changes and our skin is being damaged by free radicals. These factors cause skin aging and lines to appear.

Besides, we show all our emotions with our face. We laugh when we are happy, we put our brows together when we are angry or upset, we cry when we feel sad. These all require facial muscle movements. With time there is a huge amount of such movements and finally the skin produces wrinkles at the sites of usual facial muscle movements. Folds that show up between our brows are actually a result of continuous muscle movements.

What is botox?

Botox cosmetic is a botulinum toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It is purified and moderated so that it can be safely used in beauty procedures. Botulinum reduces the action of the forehead muscles that cause the lines between the eyebrows to appear.

Botox cosmetic itself is an easy procedure that is administered by a doctor. Wrinkles between the brows are totally reduced or smoothened for a certain period of time, as a result of this treatment. It is a non-surgical procedure and people between the age of 18 and 65 are eligible to it.

Botox cosmetic treatment takes from 10 to 15 minutes. During this time a few small injections are made on your forehead and the procedure is over. You will notice visible results within a few days after the treatment. The lines between the brows should either disappear completely or at least may be smoothened and your look should be friendlier. These results should remain visible for up to four months after the Botox cosmetic procedure. However, results may vary as it depends very much upon the patient’s personal characteristics. You will need to repeat the treatment again in order for the results to be visible.

Botox procedure may be used to treat frown lines, crow’s feet, forehead wrinkles and neck bands.

Botox cosmetic is said to be the most popular cosmetic procedure after its approval by Food and Drug Administration in the United States. More than one million of people around the United States have already tried this treatment and 90% of them were satisfied with the results.

Botox treatment

Once you have decided you want botox cosmetic treatment, you may wish to see your physician only to ask a few questions. You may easily do so after you had made your appointment. Your doctor should ask a few questions about your past medical history, additional diseases and possible allergies. Even though you might think you are eligible to have the procedure performed and want it very much, your doctor is the one to decide whether you are a good candidate for Botox.

After you and your physician decide that you may have the treatment with Botox cosmetic, you will be seated in a special chair. Your doctor will then administer the cosmetic through a few small injections. These are made on your forehead aiming at your facial muscles that cause wrinkles between your eyebrows. Your doctor should determine where these muscles are prior to the injections by asking you to move your brows. Beware that size and use of the brow muscles is a very individual case.

Although you will need no anesthesia, your doctor may try to make the site of injection insensitive with the help of ice or anesthetic cream. Do not worry about pain because the procedure is almost painless.

Botox cosmetic treatment is very convenient since it does not require any recovery period. Therefore you may have the procedure even during your lunch break and go back straight to work after it. The results should be visible within a few days after the injections and should remain for four consecutive months.

After four months the wrinkles between your eyebrows should appear again and look just like they did before botox treatment. You are allowed to repeat the procedure every four months in order to keep the results noticeable.

Even though you will look better and facial lines will be invisible, your face appearance will not totally change. You will still be able to show your emotions with facial expressions, only they will be without wrinkles.

Botox cost

There is a variety of factors that affect the price of a botox cosmetic procedure. Total cost depends very much upon the physician, region and state. In general, bear in mind that low price usually does not offer the best value possible.

Since botox injections are mostly performed in order to solve beauty problems, most health insurance policies do not cover the cost of the procedure. However, there are certain medical conditions during which botox treatment is needed to cure the disease. Most of these diseases are neurological ones. Therefore when botox is used to treat these conditions, health insurance should cover the cost of the procedure. For more information, please check with your health insurance provider.

The price of a botox treatment ranges between $300 and $600, depending on the above mentioned factors.

Recommended e-book:

  1. Natural anti-aging guide

Mini botox

Skin changes with age and one can notice it mostly on the face. Wrinkles are a result of skin aging. There are a lot of people who are bothered by the fact that their skin does not look firm, fresh, and young anymore. Frown lines, crow’s feet, forehead wrinkles, and neck bands are the most noticeable changes of the skin due to older age.

What is Mini Botox?

Mini botox products include various creams and gels that contain special agents, which help the skin to regenerate and make it firmer and younger. There is a variety of such products on the market and people can choose the best for them by quality and price. Most of these Mini botox preparations comprise of the main substances, such as antioxidants, vitamins, natural fruit acids, DMEA, and carnauba wax.

Mini botox treatment

Wrinkles result from the loss of elasticity of the skin, continuous stress, age, and free radicals action. Therefore, antioxidative agents act to prevent the destructive action of free radicals. These agents repair and stop disruption of the skin cells. Another component, natural fruit acids, maintain the important moisture balance in the skin, which make the skin firmer. DMEA, known as 2-dimethyl-amino-ethanol, is also one of the components of Mini Botox creams. The action of this agent is to make the skin muscles firmer and activate distribution in the skin. Carnauba wax on the other hand is used to fill in the lines in order for the face to look younger.

Directions for use

Mini botox creams should be applied day and night on a clean skin of face and neck with a gentle massage. A person should apply these products for a longer time in order for the results to be more noticeable and constant. First visible results should appear in a few weeks after beginning to use the cream.

Since there are a lot of different products, you would probably want to consult a cosmetologist or dermatologist in order to choose the cream that would suit you best. In addition, please read the instruction about the cream, because the use might differ from product to product.

Mini botox results

Results should be noticeable within a few weeks after the beginning of treatment. Mini botox is best for crow’s feet, frown lines, forehead wrinkles, creases around the lips, and neck bands. These lines should be reduced with time, once you start to use Mini botox creams. You will notice that your face looks younger and fresher. Your facial wrinkles should be barely visible. Your skin should be firmer and toned. Mini botox products also moisturize the skin, leaving it fresher and younger.

Remember, that results may vary individually. They also depend very much on the manufacturer and the components of Mini botox creams. Therefore, you might want to consult a dermatologist before choosing the product for use.

Although scientists still have doubts about some of the components of Mini botox products, many women around the world are satisfied with the results that can be reached without any injections but only facial creams.

Recommended e-book:

  1. Natural anti-aging guide

Botox alternatives

Botox is known to eliminate fine lines in the facial skin. However, not everybody would go for botox. And for such people botox alternatives might be a good option.

Botox alternatives

These are the main groups of Botox alternatives:

  • Filling agents or injectables include fat, Collagen, Gore-Tex and Fibril
  • Face peel with acids and lasers
  • Surgical procedures of forehead, face and neck

Injectable fillers can remove the wrinkles temporarily and improving the appearance by making it look more youthful, gentle and energetic. These substances may also be applied on the lips and cheeks to make them look fuller. These soft-tissue fillers may be used in combinations with other rejuvening procedures like facelift, laser treatment, and chemical peel .

Injectable Fillers

Collagen filling agents consist of collagen which is used in injectable form. A small injection is made in the area of a wrinkle and collagen fills a wrinkle leaving the skin with no lines. The results are permanent.

Another refiller used to correct lines is made of 75% bovine collagen and 25% Plexiglas microbeds. This product still await for FDA approval. These materials fill the wrinkles leaving the skin looking youthful. The results last for up to 3 months. This wrinkle refiller is most usually used to eliminate smoker‘s or lipstick lines.

The newest injectable approved by FDA is called Restylane. This product contains non-animal-based hyaluronic acid. This substance is injected to provide volume and fullness in the skin. Restylane is natural cosmetic skin wrinkle filler and no animal-borne diseases can be transmitted. The results of these products last twice as long as collagen injections – for six months.

Fat-injection procedure is widely used to remove most of the wrinkles. Fat cells from other parts of the body, like abdomen, thighs, buttocks and others are taken and reinjected into the area of wrinkles.

Botox alternative results

You should remember that the results of this treatment will only last for some time. These results are not as long-lasting as the results of the surgical procedures. Although the manufacturers claim that the results last for a few months or even half a year it is very individual and some people may be disappointed when the results disappear in a few weeks. Professionals suggest that the period of lasting effects may depend on the age, genetics, skin quality and lifestyle. Injectable fillers stay longer in some sites than in the other.

Botox alternative risks and complications

When an experienced doctor injects the fillers, complications are very rare but still are possible. The risk for complications depends upon natural physiological and anatomical features of an individual. The results of the treatment with injectable fillers can never be predicted.

Allergic reactions are quite often with collagen fillers. Therefore, your doctor will do an allergy skin test to find out whether you are allergic or not. The test site should be observed closely for 3 or 4 weeks. If you note any signs of redness, itching, swelling and other, you should inform your surgeon and he/she will decide if you may undergo treatment with collagen injectable fillers.

Fat is not associated with allergic reactions.

Other possible complications, associated both with collagen and fat fillers, include infection, swelling, abscesses and scarring. Bear in mind that these are very rare occasions.

Recommended e-book:

  1. Natural anti-aging guide

Botox risks

Botox is a very safe and simple procedure, just like any other intervention it may have possible side effects and complications. Although side effects are very rare and no systemic complications were noted so far, you may want to take certain precautions in order to minimize the possibility of the side effects to occur.

Botox risks

You should not undergo botox cosmetic procedure if you are infected in the forehead area, i.e. where botox injections are made. You should avoid this treatment during the time when you are or might be pregnant. You are strictly not allowed to have botox treatment if you are allergic to this substance. Therefore, make sure you inform your doctor on these three conditions.

You should also tell your physician all the possibly important facts from your medical history. It is important to inform your doctor if you suffer from any disease that involves your muscles or nerves since it could interfere with botox. You should also let your doctor decide whether it is safe to administer Botox cosmetic during the breastfeeding period or the time when you plan to become pregnant in the future.

Note that some medical substances may interfere with the action of botox cosmetic. Therefore let your doctor know about all the medications that you use. Antibiotics, medicines that are used to treat heart rhythm disorders and medicines used to treat Alzheimer’s disease or myasthenia gravis are known to interfere with botox substance and cause more side effects. Also, make sure your physician knows all other medications that you use to treat various medical conditions.

Side effects are rare but still possible. The most frequent side effects include the following: headache, nausea, infection, and blepharoptosis.

In case you have any further questions about a botox cosmetic treatment, do not hesitate to ask your doctor. It is important for you to understand that only your physician can decide whether this cosmetic  procedure is for you or not.

Recommended e-book:

  1. Natural anti-aging guide