How Botox® works?

The drugs available on prescription for use in anti-ageing treatments such as Botox®, Dysport® and Vistabel® are derived from botulinum toxin type A, a bacterium-produced neuromuscular toxin that can be deadly in its pure state but is very safe in the highly diluted doses used for cosmetic uses.

The wrinkles that form on your foreheads and around your eyes as you age are caused by your facial muscles relaxing and contracting when you make an expression. Our facial expressions change because the muscles in the face contract or relax. Botox® injections block the signal your nerves send to specific muscles telling them to contract and stop them from moving. This is why people get the ‘frozen’ if too much botox® is injected into a specific area. Most experienced practitioner aim to restrict rather than completely freeze the muscles so you get a more natural look. The aim of a good botox® treatment is to still be able to express yourself facial just with less wrinkling of the skin.

Botox® is not the same as a dermal filler, which plumps out a line to make it disappear, so it cannot be used to get rid of deep lines and wrinkles on the face caused by sun damage, lifestyle and the natural ageing process. It is most commonly used on the forehead, around the eyes to treat the crow’s feet or laughter lines, and between the eyebrows, to treat the glabellar or ‘bunny lines’.

The results of botox® injections last for three to six months, although it can be longer in some people, especially those who have undergone regular treatment over a period of time.