Nearly eight million women and men had BOTOX® treatments in 2018, according to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, making it the most popular non-surgical cosmetic treatment by far. In fact, BOTOX treatments account for about half of the total number of all minimally invasive treatment options, including chemical peels, microdermabrasion, facial fillers, and other injectables. The number of people opting for BOTOX has increased tenfold since the early 2000s when the product first received FDA approval for the treatment of facial lines and wrinkles. That record stands in stark contrast to many other treatments that have waned in popularity as new options have emerged to take their place.
So why has BOTOX remained so popular? There's one major reason: It works. But there are other reasons, too. If you’ve been thinking about having BOTOX injections to reduce the look of your lines and wrinkles, here’s what you should know about BOTOX treatment — and why it’s still so popular, almost 20 years after it earned FDA approval.
BOTOX is a neuromuscular agent, which means it alters the way the facial nerves and muscles communicate with each other. Specifically, BOTOX prevents your nerves from sending signals that cause your facial muscles to contract. When you smile, frown, or make other expressions, your brain uses the nerves to send signals to your facial muscles, directing them to contract in specific ways to form that expression. As your muscles contract, they tug on your skin, forming folds and lines. Over time, all those repeated contractions cause the folds and lines to become more permanent and “etched” into your skin, which means they’re visible even when you’re not making an expression. BOTOX acts to block those signals so your muscles never receive the direction to contract. No contractions means no tugging and pulling on your skin, and no lines and wrinkles either. When used regularly, many people find even the etched lines become softer and less noticeable.
Because of the way BOTOX works, it’s only used for wrinkles that form as a result of facial expressions — so-called dynamic wrinkles. Crow’s feet, forehead lines, bunny lines, and brow lines are the most common areas where BOTOX is used. Other wrinkles, including lines and folds around your chin and nose, form as a result of sun exposure, gravity, and good, old genetics. Those wrinkles need to be treated with dermal fillers. The good news is, you can have both BOTOX and dermal fillers without any problems, which means you can treat all your facial lines and wrinkles, no matter where they occur — and all without surgery or downtime.
Of course, one of the main reasons why BOTOX is so popular is because it works so well in reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles. After BOTOX injections, you can expect to see your results within a few days, and they’ll last for about four months, after which you can have touch-up treatments to maintain your results. Patients treated with BOTOX consistently report very high levels of satisfaction, and what’s more, repeated injections to prolong results increase overall patient satisfaction as well.
One of the biggest benefits of BOTOX is that you can correct wrinkles and lines without surgery, incisions, or anesthesia. Once your treatment is done, you can go right back to your regular routines, making it really easy to fit a treatment into your schedule, no matter how busy you may be. Plus, BOTOX injections take only a few minutes to administer. Afterward, you might have a little redness and tenderness near the injection sites, just like you’d have with any injection, but they’ll clear up pretty quickly. In the meantime, gentle application of ice can relieve any minor tenderness you might have. And finally, as mentioned earlier, BOTOX injections can be performed with other treatments like dermal filler injections to treat wrinkles and other signs of aging in your upper and lower face for a "mini-facelift" in under an hour.
At Qvita Health & Wellness, our experienced providers are skilled in BOTOX treatment techniques aimed at reducing wrinkles and lines so you can enjoy a more youthful, smoother, more restful appearance. To learn more about BOTOX or to schedule a treatment, contact the practice today.
