WHAT IS BOTOX ® COSMETIC?
BOTOX® Cosmetic is the only approved treatment to temporarily improve the appearance of both moderate to severe frown lines between the brows and crow’s feet lines in adults.
A well-studied treatment
BOTOX® Cosmetic is one of the most extensively studied medical aesthetic treatments and is approved for cosmetic use in 78 countries.* BOTOX® Cosmetic has a record of experience that aesthetic specialists know and trust. And, the safety and efficacy of BOTOX® Cosmetic have been evaluated in both Allergan sponsored clinical trials as well as in 417 peer-reviewed articles in scientific and medical journals.
*VISTABEL® outside of North America.
Derived from sources that exist in nature
BOTOX® Cosmetic contains tiny amounts of a highly purified botulinum toxin protein refined from the bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. Formulations, potency, and approved doses vary among botulinum toxin products, which means that one product cannot take the place of another. Those are a few reasons why there is no such thing as a “generic” form of BOTOX® Cosmetic. There have been no studies to support that other products are Unit-to-Unit equivalent to BOTOX® Cosmetic.
A treatment experienced by millions of people
Approximately 10.9 million vials of BOTOX® Cosmetic have been sold in the United States since 2002, and millions of people have already made BOTOX® Cosmetic a part of what they do for themselves. Today, BOTOX® Cosmetic is the #1 selling product of its kind in the world.†
†Data collected through June 2014.
HOW DOES BOTOX® COSMETIC WORK?
BOTOX® Cosmetic targets one of the underlying causes of frown lines and crow’s feet—the repeated muscle contractions from frowning and squinting over the years. Your specialist will inject these muscles with BOTOX® Cosmetic to temporarily reduce muscle activity. You will begin to notice a visible smoothing of your crow’s feet lines and frown lines between your brows.
Wrinkles result from a combination of many factors. It’s not just about cellular changes that can occur over time, reduction of collagen, or damage caused by free radicals in the sun and the environment. When you frown or concentrate, the muscles between your brows contract, causing your skin to furrow and fold. And when you squint, the muscles around your eyes contract and cause crow’s feet.
BOTOX® Cosmetic works beneath the skin’s surface and targets the underlying muscle activity that causes frown lines and crow’s feet.
For the crow’s feet area, your specialist will inject 3 areas of the orbicularis oculi, the muscle that frames the side of the eye. This will be repeated on the orbicularis oculi muscle on the other eye.
Injecting BOTOX® Cosmetic into the muscles that cause crow’s feet lines temporarily reduces the activity of those muscles. The result is a reduction in the appearance of those lines.
For the frown lines area, your specialist will administer 5 injections into muscles in your forehead—1 in the procerus muscle and 4 in the corrugator muscles.
Injecting BOTOX® Cosmetic into the muscles that cause frown lines temporarily reduces the activity of those muscles. The result is a reduction in the appearance of those lines.
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT WITH TREATMENT?
Real, noticeable results
You may begin to notice results within 24 to 48 hours for moderate to severe frown lines, with results lasting up to 4 months.
Some patients report that being injected with BOTOX® Cosmetic feels like a pinch
Your specialist may use ice to numb the treatment area. If you are concerned about discomfort, your specialist may apply a topical numbing cream before administering your treatment.
The actual injection process takes about 10 minutes
Your specialist will discuss your treatment goals and perform a facial analysis to determine the appropriate treatment areas for you.
You’ll look like yourself—only with less noticeable frown lines and crow’s feet
BOTOX® Cosmetic is a technique-sensitive treatment. You should not lose the ability to show expression when you are treated by someone who is licensed, trained, and a medical expert in facial anatomy.
Return to your daily routine
Treatment requires minimal downtime or recovery; it’s often called a lunchtime procedure. You’ll be able to go about your normal routine immediately after you leave your specialist’s office.
Cost considerations
Your cost not only includes the price of the product, but more importantly, the skill and expertise of the specialist or healthcare professional who is administering your treatment.
BOTOX® Cosmetic is a technique-sensitive treatment—look for someone who is licensed and trained and has experience treating patients with BOTOX® Cosmetic.
Be wary of discount products or “cheap” BOTOX® Cosmetic—if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
It is more important to find an experienced specialist who will take the time to understand your treatment goals and develop a treatment plan that is right for you.
Photos taken at maximum frown and/or full smile before and after treatment with BOTOX® Cosmetic at day 7. In two clinical studies for moderate to severe crow’s feet, 26.1% and 20.3% of people had ≥ 2-grade improvement at day 30. In one of these studies, 67.9% of people had mild or no crow’s feet at day 30 after treatment. In clinical studies for moderate to severe frown lines, physicians assessed 80% of people had significant improvement at day 30.
Side effects associated with the injection include localized pain, infection, inflammation, tenderness, swelling, redness, and/or bleeding/bruising.
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE
Simple steps to make sure that you are receiving real BOTOX® Cosmetic
Step 1
See a reputable provider who purchases BOTOX® Cosmetic directly from Allergan or a distributor authorized by Allergan.
Physicians who purchase BOTOX® Cosmetic from Allergan are listed in the Find a Doctor directory on this website.
Step 2
Ask to see the vial of BOTOX® Cosmetic that the specialist will use during your treatment. The vial will have the BOTOX® Cosmetic logo and also have a holographic image that says Allergan.
Guaranteed for quality
When a US specialist purchases BOTOX® Cosmetic through Allergan or a distributor authorized by Allergan, it is guaranteed for quality. BOTOX® Cosmetic is a biologic product and follows strict manufacturing, storage, and transportation procedures that prevent it from being compromised.
Botox
BOTOX is an extremely effective, non-invasive, dermal filler used to treat wrinkles and fine lines. Botox is a temporary nerve blocker which relaxes and weakens over contracted muscles to smooth away lines and wrinkles.
What are wrinkles?
It all starts with a nerve telling a muscle to contract. This causes the overlying skin to scrunch up. With time and repeated contractions, the skin begins to thin at certain points and a wrinkle appears.
Wrinkles are the lines and creases that form in your skin. Some wrinkles can become deep crevices or furrows and may be especially noticeable. They tend to become prominent in areas of the face that show expression; i.e. the mouth, the nose, the eyes, and the forehead.
With age, after years and years of such expression the skin will begin to keep those creases and lines. Also, as we age the face tends to lose fat, that gives our face its necessary volume and fills the creases. Facial volume loss can be corrected through the use of dermal fillers.
How does it work?
Botox is a dermal filler injected into the skin to fill the spaces created by wrinkles and facial volume loss. Think of the skin as a piece of paper. By folding the paper along the same crease over and over, you are deepening/reinforcing that fold and weakening the paper.
Now imagine if all of a sudden you cannot fold the piece of paper. Instead, you flatten it out and place it between two large books. With time, the fold fades. That is the same mechanism by which BOTOX® is able to prevent/decrease the wrinkles of the face. The big distinction in the analogy, however, is that skin is a living organ that is able to regenerate. So, with time and good skin care, wrinkles will virtually disappear.
What does Botox improve?
- Expression lines
- Lines between and around the eyes
- Lines on the forehead
- Crows feet and under-eye depressions
- Lines along the neck
- Smile marks, around the outside of the mouth
- Wrinkles and lines around the nose
Is Botox painful?
Botox is non-invasive and is simply administered in a small shot. The discomfort is minimal and fairly brief. If you’d like we can numb the area with a small amount of anesthetic, but that’s generally unnecessary.
Results can be seen almost instantly, and can be expected to reach their peak after about 24 hours. Typically, dermal fillers must be repeated every year or so to keep the desired results. Yet they are still the best way to relieve wrinkles and fine lines.
