Our bodies are constantly changing from the moment we’re born, developing into maturity from childhood and eventually into old age. These changes occur everywhere, but when it comes to aging, few places are as obvious as your face regarding how aging affects you. As we get older, our hairlines retreat further back, our ears lengthen, and even our noses can droop when the cartilage weakens.
Another common aspect of this process is the presence of wrinkles, which can result from various factors, including sun damage, repetitive expressions, and the natural loss of proteins like collagen and elastin, as our bodies produce less of both over time.
Treating wrinkles is an age-old industry; several creams, surgeries, and other treatments are out there to try to reduce their appearance on your face. Botox® is among the most popular treatment options for wrinkles, and here we can explore why. Let’s examine Botox and what separates it from other treatments.
If you live in the Lake Oswego, Oregon, area and you’re trying to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, the laser & aesthetic department of Lake Grove ENT specializes in helping you achieve the look you want.
Botox treatments are a minimally invasive injectable that uses small doses of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, a toxin also found in people with botulism, a condition that can cause paralysis. In controlled doses, this treatment has both medical and cosmetic uses.
Before it was approved by the FDA to be used for things like wrinkles, it was already treating medical problems like excessive sweating, eyelid spasms, upper limb spasticity, and strabismus (crossed eyes). These days, it’s even used to treat migraines, inflammatory skin diseases, facial redness and flushing, and scars from wound healing.
The term injectable refers to a group of cosmetic injections that include Botox and dermal fillers, but the two groups are entirely different in how they treat wrinkles. Dermal fillers include hyaluronic acid, calcium hydroxylapatite, poly-L-lactic acid, polymethylmethacrylate, and autologous fat injections. They are primarily designed to fill areas of deep or sagging wrinkles by filling them and making them smoother and voluminous.
The unique paralyzing properties of Botox work by relaxing the muscles that cause specific types of wrinkles, resulting in smoother skin. Injections in the muscles between your eyebrows, on your forehead, around your eyes, around your mouth, and on your chin where wrinkles have formed temporarily block nerve signals to those areas, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and slowing the formation of new ones. The process often uses three to five injections and generally only takes about 10 minutes per treatment. The results are not permanent, typically requiring return trips every 4-6 months.
Botox is a safe, effective treatment for wrinkles and many medical conditions, and if you need it to help you look younger, make an appointment with the laser & aesthetic team at Lake Grove ENT today.
