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!
