Muscle Relaxing Injections (Botox)

AKA:
• Botox
• Botulinum Toxin
• Wrinkle relaxing Injections

Who does it?
Plastic Surgeon   Face Surgeon   Eye Surgeon
Cosmetic Doctor  Cosmetic Dermatologist
Cosmetic Dentist  Cosmetic Nurse

Before & After Botox

What is botox (muscle relaxing injections)?
The most popular of all the non- surgical aesthetic treatments, botulinum toxin injections – best known as ‘Botox’ – are used to freeze the muscles of the face, preventing wrinkles from forming.

Like ‘Hoover’ before it, ‘Botox’ is actually a brand name, and it’s not the only brand on the block: Dysport and Xeomin (cosmetic names Azzalure and BoCouture) are also big players, although it’s unlikely your practitioner will advertise which brand s/he uses, as the marketing of prescription- only medications to consumers is banned in the UK.

Toxins aren’t just used to treat wrinkles, however. Their cosmetic uses include facial slimming and neck lifting, and they can even be used to deal with the problem of hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating.

Who is suitable for Botox?
You’d need to have a full consultation with a medical practitioner, who will take your medical history, to assess your suitability for each of the individual treatments possible with botulinum toxin injections – because it’s a prescription- only medicine, this is a legal requirement anyway.

Some things that might prevent you from having treatment include a history of swallowing difficulty, or certain muscular, neurological or connective tissue problems.

What’s Botox like?
The injection technique will vary depending on the treatment you choose. The process is totally painless, although a topical local anaesthetic cream will be applied to the treatment area first.

The only licensed cosmetic use for botulinum toxin is to treat the glabellar – frown – lines. This involves tiny injections to the area in between your eyebrows.

All the other cosmetic uses for Botox, although perfectly safe, are considered ‘off label’, which means that the product manufacturer doesn’t have a licence to market them for that purpose.

Facial slimming can be achieved by injecting botulinum toxin into the muscles of the jaw. (see below).

For a ‘neck lift’, botulinum toxin is injected into the platysmal muscles, which run down the sides of the neck, as well as into the muscles of the lower face.

This is a great treatment to deal with ‘turkey neck’ and can also help treat sagging jowls, as it prevents the neck muscles from pulling on the lower face.

Hyperhidrosis is treated by administering 20 to 30 injections of botulinum toxin to each armpit – although it can also be performed on the hands or feet.It is not known exactly how the treatment works, but it is believed to suppress the sebaceous glands.

Most botulinum toxin treatments are very quick, taking between five and fifteen minutes, although you will need to factor in the consultation time if you plan to receive the treatment on the same day.

What happens after Botox?
There might be a small amount of redness, swelling or bruising at the site of injection, but this should fade quickly.

Results aren’t instantaneous, as it takes a while for the toxin to work its way into the muscles, but you should start to see the effects of the treatment within about a week.

You will need to return for top-ups every three to six months, as the effects fade over time, but most people are so delighted with the results that they can hardly wait for their next appointment.

Will I have a scar after Botox?
There is minimal risk of scarring from muscle relaxing injections, but side-effects can include ptosis (drooping) of the eyelid or forehead. This is fairly rare and only temporary, however.