Thanks to shows like “The Real Housewives of Orange County”, Botox has become a household name. Most of us associate Botox as something used strictly for wrinkles on the face. While it’s true 
that’s a major usage for Botox injections, there are actually numerous areas of the body that can be effectively treated with Botox. botox injection around lipsThe best part? Just as the Orange County housewives showed us on national television, there is no surgery involved!
A common "non-wrinkle" use of Botox is in the treatment of excessive sweating. Everyone is familiar with excess sweating. For most, it’s what happens after a good workout. It’s normal and expected in that situation. For some people, however, excessive sweating is a bona fide condition. It’s called hyperhidrosis, and it’s not fun. Unwanted excessive sweating can have a dramatic negative impact on someone’s life. It can affect you at work, on dates in your personal life, and it most definitely wears on your self-image. The first step is usually to try antiperspirants, but what if they don’t work? Among the options then: Botox. The idea is fairly simple. Local injections of Botox temporarily blocks the secretion of acetylcholine, the chemical responsible for activating the body’s sweat glands. Essentially, the Botox injections allow the patient to hit the off-switch for sweat in the area being injected. Studies have shown around 81% of patients using Botox injections for excessive sweating see at least a 50% reduction in sweating. Now, it’s not a cure. And the effects aren’t permanent. However, the results typically last several months and the procedure can then be repeated to maintain the desired dryness.
It used to be that patients wishing to “soften” their jawlines underwent jaw reduction surgery. That came with long recovery times and sometimes unnatural results. Today, Botox allows cosmetic surgeons to change the shape of a person’s face without any surgery required. Particularly common among some groups like Asian females, overly square or masculine jawlines are sometimes areas a person wants to soften. Botox injections into the masseter muscles active in chewing relaxes and softens them, which can subtly contour the sharp angles of a square jawline. And so, without any blades or “going under the knife,” patients are able to soften the appearance of their jawlines and improve their self-image.
First, the bad news: You can get smoker’s lines around your mouth even if you don’t smoke. They’re simply the vertical wrinkles around your lips that can be a natural result of aging. They can certainly be more pronounced in smokers, who pucker their lips (around cigarettes) much more often, but anyone can get smoker’s lines. Now, the good news: There are ways to deal with these wrinkles. Botox is one such way. By blocking nerve impulses to the muscles in the smoker’s lines area of your face, the lines in the overlying skin aren’t being constantly reinforced. Often times, a dermal filler is utilized in conjunction with the Botox injection, too, which simultaneously plumps up the skin to help reduce the appearance of the wrinkles and smoker’s lines in that area. Everyone’s face is different, and everyone’s goals are unique to them, but if you’re interested in reducing the appearance of your smoker’s lines, you and one of our GLOW cosmetic surgeons can work together to determine the best plan.
Botox injections can also be used to combat “necklace lines” and other wrinkles in the neck, as well as to alter the appearance of downturned corners at the edge of the mouth. In fact, there are seemingly more and more possible uses for Botox injections all the time. Chances are good that if there’s a part of your body that has wrinkles, lines, or some other feature you’re unhappy with and you’re interested in a possible non-surgical solution, Botox might be an option. Curious? Have questions about how Botox may or may not make sense for you? That’s what we’re here for. And that’s why we offer free, no-obligation consultations with our GLOW cosmetic surgeons. Schedule one today!
© GLOW Surgical Arts and GLOW Surgical Arts blog, 2011-2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to GLOW Surgical Arts and the GLOW Surgical Arts blog, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
