I think it's safe to say that over the past 10 years, Botox has become, hands down, the top requested non-surgical procedure performed in the USA. For those of you who do not know how Botox works, basically Botox blocks signals from the nerves to the muscles. The injected muscle can no longer contract, which causes the wrinkles to relax and soften. Botox is often used on the forehead, in between the brows, as well as around the eyes. Botox is also used for a plethora of other things such as to stop excessive underarm sweating and eye twitches. Getting Botox injections are a non-invasive procedure that is performed in your doctors office, it will last about 4-6 months before you will need to revisit your doctor for more injections. Botox will run you about $500-$750 depending on the area being treated and how may units they have to use. And did I mention that it SMOOTHS WRINKLES?! Now you can also go overboard and start to look like you are "Botoxed" which can have the effect of a frozen look. Think of recent photos of Madonna or Kylie Minogue.
Now I have never gotten Botox injections, however I definitely see the appeal of a little tasteful tweak and am not opposed to maybe one day giving it a whirl. What I find interesting is there are more and more reports of women as young as their early twenties starting to get Botox! Why?? What could it possibly do to a lineless 20 year old? CBS News reported that while preparing for a role in an upcoming episode of "Glee," 18-year-old pop star Charice Pempengco had Botox injections to look "fresh on camera." Because you know how wilted those 18 year olds can look.
Some people believe the younger you start, the more preventive it is. The theory behind that is because you are 'paralyzing" the muscles and they cannot move, new wrinkles will not form. One study confirms the prevention angle. Researchers followed sets of identical twins over a 13-year period. Starting at age 25, one twin received Botox two to three times a year; her sister went without the treatment. The twin who received the treatments was found to have less visible crow's feet, and no visible lines on the forehead or between the eyebrows (Binder W. Long-term effects of Botulinum toxin type A (Botox) on facial lines: a comparison in identical twins. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2006;8(6):426-431).
Botox DOES NOT work on wrinkles caused by sun damage (wear your sun protection people!).
So what do you think? How young is too young? Any doctors out there that want to weigh in?
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