The botulinum toxin is a true revolution in medical aesthetic. This powerful medicine, now domesticated, has been safely used on several situations.

Expression marks come up on the face as wrinkles, which are caused by expression muscles action. The use of these muscles varies from one person to another. Some people use them more and others, less. What happens as time goes by is that the muscle being used constantly gets hypertrophied and with its tonicity raised (muscle tension is the contraction degree that lasts even when the muscle is at ease). It all happens as if the expression muscle was being exposed to a series of muscular exercise. This hypertrophy forms wrinkles that are shown with more definition when the expression occurs and lasts less clearly even when the muscle is at ease. These wrinkles remain as a result of the hypertrophy effect and muscular tension. As time goes by, the skin tears apart and the wrinkles get deeper and more visible. Sun light causes photo aging, eliminates the skin elasticity and this whole process makes the face skin aging accentuated.

The botulinum toxin (Botox), which is produced by the bacteria Clostridium Botulinium, has a strong action, but used in small doses can improve the facial aging aspects. The aesthetic dose used is between 25 and 50 units and the one that harms human beings is 3000 units. The small amount used for aesthetical purposes provides the results without damaging health. Botox is used to soft wrinkles. Wrinkles on the forehead, between the eyebrows and around the eyes can benefit with this method. The technique consists on injecting the substance in the muscle in which the hypertrophy and muscle tension are present. This way a temporary paralysis is obtained (obviously of unnecessary muscles), vanishing the lighter wrinkles and softening the deeper ones. The expression isn't modified and there are no unpleasant sensations with the results lasting 6 months. What happens is that the muscle, forced to relax by the Botox, gets atrophied and even when the contraction action returns, it takes some time for the effects of hypertrophy and muscle tension act again. Then the Botox can be injected once again.

With temporary paralysis the habit responsible for wrinkle formation lessens, and at breaking this habit, the time for appearing new wrinkles is longer. So even if the treatment is stopped, the benefic effect lasts. Repeated applications tend to lead to a longer lasting effect. However, some people develop a vaccine effect and the Botox is no longer efficient, but this only occurs to a low percentage of patients.

The product is approved by the FDA (American medicine control department) as a muscular blocker and used by trained physicians do not present serious complications. But Botox is recommended only to wrinkles on the forehead, between eyebrows and around the eyes. For other areas and deeper wrinkles there is the filling technique, which can be used exclusively or associated with Botox, when there are important marks on the skin.