Botox has injected a major change into cosmetic dermatology and plastic surgery. In fact, we’d go as far as to say that Botox has been the biggest game-changer yet.
Before we explain why, let’s first answer the question, “What is Botox?” Botox is simply a brand name for a neuromodulator. There are several neuromodulators in addition to Botox that we use in our practice, such as Dysport (Valeant) and Xeomin (Merz), and all of them are good. Botox, a product made by the company, Allergan, is one such neuromodulator. All of these products are versions of botulinum toxin A and they all do basically the same wonderful thing: they relax dynamic muscles that cause unwanted lines and wrinkles on the face and neck.
So why do we use the name, ‘Botox,’ and not ‘injectable neuromodulators’ or some other long-winded description? The answer is simply because almost everyone knows Botox.
Botox was the first of the neuromodulators to hit the cosmetic market, and Allergan has done such a great job marketing its product that Botox has become a household name – similar to Kleenex, Band-Aid, and Coke. Yes, they are brand names, but they’re so familiar to us that we use them to describe the general products. So for the rest of this blog post, I’ll refer to injectable neuromodulators simply as Botox.
Botox, we’ve learned in our decades of treating patients, is not only a game-changer but also a life-changer. Ours is a judgmental society. If you walk around all the time looking angry, perturbed or miserable, people usually don’t respond to you as they would someone who looks relaxed and happy. You may not be angry at all, but the depressor muscles in your face have pulled things down. In fact, you may be among the sweetest people on earth and at peace with life. It’s just that your face, or facade, is showing the world big lines and crevasses, which people interpret negatively. And going through life this way can be depressing for even the strongest among us.
Botox can change that facade so that it more accurately represents the person you are on the inside. Researchers have shown in studies that people who have Botox and other cosmetic treatments are less depressed. In one study, published in July 2013 in Dermatologic Surgery, researchers found patients with depression had significant improvement in their depression symptoms after having the frown lines between their eyebrows treated with Botox.
So if you’re looking to make a positive change in your life, why not start with Botox?
