Otox For Facial Rejuvenation: Even You Can Do It!

When you crossed your eyes as a child and your mother warned you if you kept doing it, your eyes might get stuck like that, you didn’t really believe it. Or maybe you did, and you stopped crossing your eyes, much to your mother’s delight. Crossing your eyes a lot doesn’t actually result in your eyes always looking crossed, but there are other things we do with our faces that do result in permanent changes. People who constantly furrow their brows wind up with fixed wrinkles and lines on their brows, whether they’re actually furrowing or not. Or maybe you’ve contorted your face in deep thought so many times that you are now stuck with a permanently sort of angry look, despite not feeling angry at all. These are very real problems that a great deal of folks are faced with, but there are treatments readily available to all of us to combat those frown lines, wrinkles and lines. Botox and Xeomin might be the answer you’ve been looking for.

While it’s understandable if you automatically associate Botox with celebrity, it is by no means a treatment only for Jennifer Aniston, Kelly Ripa, Courtney Cox (all of whom have openly admitted to getting the treatment) and other famous faces. Botox has only been FDA approved for just over a decade, yet it’s already a a $1.8 billion per year industry. Botox and other minimally-invasive facial rejuvenation procedures reached an all-time high in 2012, with Botox injections seeing an 8 percent increase from the year before -- there were 6.1 million procedures performed in the U.S. last year. It isn’t just celebrities that are utilizing Botox as a safe, simple way to achieve facial rejuvenation. It’s everyone.

If you’re admittedly curious about Botox but a little unsure as to what exactly it is, here'’s a brief description: Botox and Xeomin (both available at GLOW Surgical Arts) are trade names for the protein called botulinum toxin, which is produced by the bacterium clostridium botulinum. Injections used in cosmetic procedures use a small amount of this protein, which enables the controlled weakening of certain muscles. At GLOW Surgical Arts, we use a tiny needle to gently inject Botox or Xeomin directly into the muscles that cause the bothersome lines or wrinkles on your skin. There might be a minor pinch or sting, but the injections are easily tolerated and the whole procedure takes just a few moments. You can be in and out of our cosmetic surgery office in Redwood City in five minutes, and there is zero downtime.

When used for facial rejuvenation, the Botox or Xeomin injections relax the contraction of the facial muscles, blocking nerve impulses. Those muscles can no longer contract, and the result is a relaxing and softening of any wrinkles or lines. It isn’t just in facial rejuvenation that Botox injections have proved useful, either. Excessive drooling, overactive bladders, achalasia and muscle spasms in children with cerebral palsy are some of the many non-cosmetic uses for Botox. There is even a study from University Medical College in Taiwan and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine that suggests men with enlarged prostates benefit from Botox injections directly to the prostate.

For cosmetic purposes, Botox and Xeomin injections are safe, simple, and relatively affordable. The decision whether or not to get the treatment isn’t one we expect you to take lightly, either. Our cosmetic surgeons will go over every detail with you, and whether or not Botox is a good fit for you, during a free, no-obligation consultation. If, in the end, you decide to go for it, you won’t have to wait long to see positive results. 2-3 days after the procedure, you’ll see a difference. These changes will last several months, and the procedure can easily be done again to re-achieve desired facial rejuvenation results. It’s completely up to you, but the bottom line is that, just like those crossed eyes as a kid, facial wrinkles and lines don’t have to be permanent.

© 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.