Botox®

Dr Singh who runs his botox clinic in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in his latest blog shares his thoughts on botox.

Growth in demand for botox

The trend today is away from traditional cosmetic surgery and toward less expensive minimally invasive procedures. The use of cosmetic procedures, such as botox to reduce the signs of ageing has increased dramatically over the past 10 years.

However the rapidly rising demand for botox and dermal filler treatments together with increasingly complex injection procedures present a growing challenge for todays expanding aesthetic community. According to current industry estimates for 2013, a total of 1.5 million toxin and dermal filler procedures were carried out in the UK.

What do patients want

The goal is to help our patients appear more naturally fresh-faced and youthful with botox injections. I’m in agreement together with my colleagues4 that patients today want treatments that help maintain a natural look, rather than extreme changes.

I use the 3 R’s of possible treatment modalities when trying to regain youthfulness:

Rebalance
Revolumerisation
Reposition
What do patients not want? One of the biggest concerns among patient seeking botox treatment is to avoid looking unnatural. These same patients are worried whether others will notice if they have had treatment4, since research has shown half of these patients don’t want others to know, or at least be able to tell, that they’ve had cosmetic procedures done.
What is Botox^® and how does it work

In this case article I will be discussing the use of Botox^® as a muscle relaxant. It’s essential to have a firm understanding of what it is exactly and it’s mechanism of action as your patients will ask you and they may have some misconceptions about it from their friends and the media.

Botox^® is a protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum. To my patients I explain it is a purified protein and comes from bacteria similar to antibiotics. In addition I explain it is like any other medicine, in correct low doses it’s therapeutic and in high/dangerous doses its toxic. Numerous studies have been conducted to confirm the safety aspect of this drug.

In simple terms Botox^® interfere with neural transmissions by blocking the release of acetylcholine, the principal neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction, causing muscle paralysis. This is why the effects are temporary as the nerve begins to branch out to send new nerve ending to the muscle to tell it to move. The greatest misconception clinicians have is they should inject into the muscle, however the biggest benefit is obtained from aiming for the neuromuscular region.

Currently there are 3 types of Botox^® available for aesthetic treatments:

AbobotulinumtoxinA – Azzalure®; Galderma
Incobotulinumtoxina- Bocouture®; Merz Aesthetics
OnabotulinumtoxinA – Botox^®®; Allergan
For more information about botox hertfordshire, please call us on 0800 006 2266.