What is Botox?

Botulinum toxin is a purified protein derived from botulinum toxin bacteria, it is a prescription only medication used to relax muscle.

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This maintains some natural movement but softens and prevents ‘lines in the skin’ in the classic 3 areas: forehead, frown around eyes.

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The treatment is administered using ‘invisible’ needles making the treatment almost pain-free.

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Botox can be used to prevent wrinkles developing and can also soften any already present.

Other areas anti-wrinkle treatment can help:

• Gummy smile botox
• Brow lift
• Bunny lines botox
• Jawline botox, slimming, tooth grinding
• Chin dimpling
• Neck bands
• Downwards turning mouth
• Headaches / migraines

How does botox work?

When we are speaking, the muscles underneath the skin on our face move. With age, we lose collagen and elastin, and the skin on the surface creasing with our expressions doesn’t ‘spring back’ like it used to.

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This causes superficial lines and wrinkles; essentially the skin cells in the wrinkles are squashed. Botox is a muscle relaxant and is injected into the muscle.

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The neurones in the muscle fibres (the connecting pathways) then become blocked and signals cannot be passed down the muscle which means the muscle fibres affected cannot contract, therefore less movement is produced and the skin cells are no longer squashed.

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This means the appearance of the wrinkles reduce.

What else can botox be used for?

Botox can be used to relax a hypertonic (strong) muscle caused by genetics or a habit or an individual’s anatomy.

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For example it is used very commonly to treat:
Gummy smile, higher upper lip on smiling than normal

Neck bands, strong chin muscles (causing a downturned corners of the mouth)

Headaches and migraine

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It can also be used to:
Reduce the activity of sweat glands such as under the armpits and sweaty palms,

Reduce the size of large calf muscles

Prevent tooth grinding, chipping teeth, jaw pain.

How is botox different to dermal filler?

‍As we age, we lose collagen and elastin from the skin which reduces the skin’s elasticity.

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Botox is a muscle relaxant in the form of a fluid, it is used to target fine lines and wrinkles in the surface of the skin.

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Dermal filler is a volumising gel, it is used to target deep volume loss and deeper folds and wrinkles caused by fat pad loss, not muscle movement directly.