How does Botox work?
Botox is a highly refined purified protein that has been proven safe in millions of injections over the past decade and a half. When injected through the skin into the muscles responsible for facial wrinkling, it softens the muscle. Since the muscle is temporarily weakened, the appearance of lines and wrinkles is greatly smoothed.
Botox injections work to remove wrinkles by relaxing the surrounding facial muscles. Once the muscles have relaxed, the wrinkles disappear. The muscles are essentially paralyzed – patients will not be able to frown after having their forehead and frown lines treated. A Botox injection will take approximately three to five days to take effect and will last three to six months. Botox Candidates Candidates for Botox injections include those patients who show early signs of aging and those who are not good candidates for facial plastic surgery.
Normally, your brain sends electrical messages to your muscles so that they can contract and move. The electrical message is transmitted to the muscle by a substance called acetylcholine. BOTOX works to block the release of acetylcholine and, as a result, the muscle does not receive the message to contract. This means that the muscle spasms or movements that cause wrinkling, stop or are greatly reduced after using BOTOX. Patients sometimes refer to the effects of the injection to their area of treatment as being “paralyzed” temporarily. Patients with hyperhydrosis (intense sweating) also can temporarily remedy their disorder with BOTOX injections. The BOTOX is injected into the areas which sweat profusely like the under arms and backs of knees or palms of the hands, the BOTOX blocks the release of acetylcholine near the sweat glands which cause the excessive sweating.
