What is Botox?
Questions and Answers
What is Botox?
Botox is a natural purified protein that relaxes wrinkle-causing muscles, to create a smoothed, rejuvenated appearance. When injected into a muscle, it temporarily blocks the chemical signals that make the muscle contract. Because it is injected in minute quantities, only the injected muscle will be affected.
Is Botox safe?
Botox has an excellent safety profile. It has been used for over 10 years in a variety of therapeutic areas in tens of thousand of patients worldwide. Botox has now received approval for the treatment of frown lines in Europe, United States of America and now in South Africa.
Is Botox right for me?
Do you want to look as good as you feel? Do you want to reduce the lines between your brows? If doing all you can to look your best is important to you, Botox may be for you. Your doctor can help you decide if Botox is right for you.
How does Botox work?
A tiny amount of Botox is injected into muscles whose repeated contracts cause lines between your brows to form wrinkles. Botox blocks the nerve impulse from reaching these muscles, so they relax. This relaxation enables the frown lines to simply smooth away.
Will Botox work for me?
In clinical trials of 263 patients randomized to receive either Botox or placebo, 90% of men and woman reported improvement in the lines between their brows.
How long will Botox treatment take?
The entire treatment takes only 10 minutes. Botox needs to be administered by a specially trained doctor, who can determine exactly where to administer several tiny injections to achieve the best results for you. No anaesthetic is required and you can return to normal activities immediately afterwards.
Will Botox relax my whole face?
No, Botox only relaxes the over-active muscles that it is injected into. It is used in minute quantities to treat facial lines and it does not affect other muscles in the face. You can still smile or frown, but without the furrows or wrinkles.
Are there any side-effects from Botox treatment?
Side-effects, if they occur, are temporary to mild to moderate. Some people may experience a slight temporary bruising from the injection itself, but this quickly disappears.
When will Botox start to work?
Within days, you will see a marked improvement in your frown lines, which may continue to improve for up to 10 days.
How long will the Botox effect last?
Results can last for up to four months, but this varies from person to person. After subsequent Botox treatments, results can last even longer.
Will my lines look worse if I choose not to continue treatment?
No, your lines gradually revert to their pre-treatment appearance.
Your physician has recommended Botox to you. But what is it exactly, and how can it help you? This information is designed to answer some of your questions about Botox treatment.
Botox treatment is a simple, non-surgical procedure that smooths the deep, persistent lines between your brows.
The 10-minute procedure, involving a few tiny pin-prick injections, relaxes the muscles that cause these line to form.
The results are visible within days and can last up to four months.
"I was amazed at how much of a difference [it] made to my appearance in the lines between my brows. Everyone thought that I'd just spent two weeks at a spa."