Do not fear BOTOX

Do not fear BOTOX. Educate yourself!

As an esthetician, I work with Dr. Mike to create customized treatment plans for each patient in our cosmetic dermatology clinic. In about 80% of our consultations, we recommend BOTOX as an excellent alternative to aging prematurely. Many of our patients are thrilled to know that there is a simple solution to stubborn forehead lines, smoker’s lines, and crow’s feet. But about half of them grimace and say something akin to, “Oh, no, I don’t want poison injected in my face.”
As common as this response is, especially in a city like Austin where the natural lifestyle is hip, it still surprises and frustrates me. I feel like many individuals are lacking an understanding BOTOX and are uneducated in the safety of the drug.
So, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Yes, BOTOX is derived from a species of bacteria that can make you very sick, and, yes, there was a doctor in Florida who illegally tried to create home-made BOTOX with terrible consequences. That is the very reason Allergan, manufacturer of BOTOX, spends millions of dollars each year to ensure the safe and well-controlled manufacturing of this medicine. In fact, the consumer knows exactly who makes BOTOX and where it comes from. Can you say the same for more commonly accepted medications? Do you know who makes the aspirin in your cabinet, or the cough syrup in your refridgerator?
Additionally, ruling BOTOX out as a viable preventative for wrinkles because it is a “poison” or toxin is an ill-conceived way of thinking. Imagine if we thought this way of aspirin. Aspirin reduces pain and it can prevent heart attacks by ‘thinning’ blood. Yet this same preventative effect that saves lives, increases the risks of bruising or of bleeding out if one were cut.
We understand that the benefits of preventing a heart attack are worth risking a little extra bleeding with our paper cuts or bigger boo-boos. We don’t see aspirin as a poison simply because it alters a function of the body. That is what medications are all about, after all. So why use this inverted way of thinking to BOTOX, especially since it is much safer than thinning your own blood? All it does is reduce a little muscle movement around the forehead, eyes, or mouth. Nothing like a little relaxation to take the years away, I say!
For more perspective on how little harm a few drops of BOTOX are, let’s talk about the actual amount of medication used in the average treatment. One unit of BOTOX is similar to one small drop of water in volume. One unit of BOTOX is diluted by saline water at a ratio usually of 3 to 1 or 5 to 1. Of those 30 drops, only about 10 of them at the strongest dilution rate are the actually medication. 10 drops! That’s 1/3 the alcohol found in a 4 oz glass of wine!
BOTOX has been used for decades to help people, both cosmetically and medically. Its applications have helped thousands of people with neuromuscular problems since the 1980s. It can reduce migraines, excessive perspiration, facial twitches, and muscle spasms. It is an effective, safe, and affordable choice for reducing wrinkles, softening expression lines, and maintaining a younger look.
Educate yourself and give it a shot! All you’ve got to lose is your wrinkles!