10 Fun Facts about Botox!

Botox is one of our most commonly requested treatments by our Kingston and area clients. Here are 10 fun facts about Botox that you may not know:

1) Botox is one of four approved Botulinum toxins injected for wrinkles. Botox was the first developed so has brand name recognition but there are 3 other drugs on the market in Canada: Dysport, Xeomin, and Nuceiva also known as Newtox! Each of these is used for cosmetic and medical purposes and each has its own unique features.

2) Botox was initially developed to treat those annoying eyelid twitches. Some people suffer from permanently twitchy lower eyelids called Blepharospasm - botox blocks the spasm. The eye doctors realized their patient's looked really good because they weren't making any Crow's feet wrinkles and started using Botox for cosmetic reasons!

3) Dysport was the second botulinum drug to enter the market. Its name comes from Dys for Dystonia (or muscle spasm) and Port for Portsmouth, England where it was first approved. It started as a drug for medical use in muscle spasm but also is now popular for cosmetic wrinkle treatment.

4) Botox can be used for other medical reasons: teeth grinding, migraines, muscle spasms, sweating or hyperhidrosis, bladder spasms are all medical uses of Botox.

5) Since the start of the pandemic, one of the most requested uses of Botox, Dysport and Xeomin currently is for teeth grinding. Due to stress many people are grinding their teeth in the night leading to headaches and jawaches. Botox, Dysport and Xeomin can be injected into the masseter muscles of the jaw to relax the tension in the muscle and reduce teeth grinding. Nuceiva is not approved for this indication.

6) Another increased request due to the pandemic is for lower face and neck treatments due to people looking at themselves on their webcam on Zoom. Botox, Dysport and Xeomin can be injected along the necklace lines, vertical neck bands and jawline to help improved jaw line contour, and improve the appearance of the neck.

7)Other newly published uses for Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin include: treating Rosacea by closing all the small dilated blood vessels, Treating acne by decreasing oil production, Treating sweating by shutting down sweat glands!

8) Another rapidly rising request for Botox, Dysport, Xeomin and Nuceiva/Newtox is Baby Botox, or Baby Tox. This is using lower doses in younger clients to help prevent the development of wrinkles. By starting early with low doses the goal is to prevent the wrinkles from forming, as opposed to traditional injections which are used to help improve the appearance of wrinkles that have already formed.

9) Botox, Dysport, Xeomin and Nuceiva/Newtox come in a powdered form. The powder is mixed with Normal Saline for injection. The amount of saline used to reconstitute the powder can vary. If we want pinpoint precise injections, using a more concentrated solution will keep the medications close to their injection point. Using a more dilute concentration can help smaller amounts of the drugs diffuse farther giving a larger area of coverage and smoothing.

10) Botox, Dysport, Xeomin and Nuceiva/Newtox are best used to treat dynamic wrinkles - or those wrinkles that appear with facial movement. Static wrinkles - or wrinkles that are present at rest - will not disappear completely with Botox, Dysport, Xeomin or Nuceiva/Newtox treatments. Additional treatments such as filler, or laser may need to be combined with tox injections to give optimal results!