During the Golden Globe Awards, one of the presenters commented on the celebrities looking like “Benjamin Button” as most celebrities look younger and younger as the years go by! The Benjamin Button movie depend­ed on computer technology to erase the lines of Brad Pitt but in real life, most people are addicted to Botox and fillers as the answers to ‘wrinkle disappearance”. This is quite remarkable how medical breakthroughs can slow down the appearance of facial aging, dependent of course, on how many thousands of dollars you have in your bank. It used to be a celebrity thing, but not any­more. It may be very expensive to “maintain” the look, but average people nowadays get it done not­withstanding.

What are the Botox treatment options? Botox erases facial lines and wrinkles (frown lines, crow’s feet, smile lines and worry lines on the forehead). It is used for brow lifts, excessive blushing, hy­perhydrosis (excessive sweating), jaw and calf reduction and chin dimpling. Most Botox treatments deliver rapid results and unwant­ed lines disappear for at least 3 months. This is the downside of the treatment because you have to keep on getting the injections to maintain the look.
On Jan. 16, 2009, CTV news announced that British Columbia is the first province that allowed administration of Botox injec­tions in dental clinics. This raised an issue between some doctors and some dentists. Dr. Carruthers, who pioneered the use of cosmet­ic Botox, is concerned that many dentists won’t have adequate ex­perience with the procedure and mistakes could happen.

Many people are aware that this treatment is available but many people are still skeptical about it. Most of my clients in the healthcare profession say no-no to Botox but some of my clients are asking about it. Their decision to get or not to get it done is a matter of personal choice and my role is to just to share with them what I know and what I have ex­perienced. Last year, I had it done once between my brows just to satisfy my curiosity. I paid a dis­counted price of $375, which I find very expensive, from a repu­table plastic surgeon. I had head­ache right after the injection but I was very happy after 2-3 days for 3 months. Then the frown lines came back and that was it for me. I am one of the “skeptics” so I think once is enough for me.

Let me share with you some in­formation I found on the internet, why people have mixed feelings about Botox treatments. On Feb. 05 2008, ctvbc.ca featured an ar­ticle about Dr. Sidney Wolfe, from the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen and he says “Botu­linium toxin is certainly one of the deadliest toxins out there.Public Citizen found that 16 people died after injections with Botox or My-bloc, four of them children under 18. The group analyzed nine years of doctor reports to the FDA and found some of the reactions were from unapproved use of the drug. Dr. Sidney Wolfe adds, “Of the 16 deaths we know that at least one who was getting for cosmetic rea­sons. For others we don’t know but cases we don’t, it was usually for spasm of neck.” The group wants Botox and Myobloc bottles to carry a warning about a risk of hospitalization or death. But Dr. Leslie Baumann, who researched the safety of the botulinum toxin in clinical trials, says the drug is completely safe, as long as your doctor is well trained. “You need to be very careful about what doc­tor you go to, make sure they are board certified. I’ve been safely using this on hundreds of patients for many years.”

While Botox injection will sat­isfy your hunger for immediate but temporary youthfulness, let us not forget that any type of in­vasive treatment can manifest all sorts of side effects. In cosmetic use, this means that the client will complain of inappropriate facial expression such as drooping eye­lid, uneven smile, and loss of abil­ity to close the eye. Headaches, focal facial paralysis, muscle weakness, and flu-like syndromes may be experienced as well. Some non- cosmetic treatments may have side effects which may range from paralysis of the wrong muscle group . When injecting the masseter muscle of the jaw, loss of muscle function will result in a loss or reduction of power to chew solid foods. An allergic re­action can occur whether it is a cosmetic treatment or not. Bruis­ing at the site of injection is a side effect not of the toxin, but rather the manner in which the injection was done.side effects were starting to show. She is a very pretty young woman and I did not understand why she had to do fillers and Botox. I was very frank with her and told her that her skin was all she needed to work on, because healthy skin is what gives a youthful look. She was very receptive with my advice; she agreed that her skin needs some work, and most likely realized that what I professed was sincere.

Don’t be afraid to try Botox if you would like to, as long as you make sure you are ready for the overwhelming results you might experience, enough to get you hooked and addicted. The results of all Botox and injectable cos­metic treatments are of limited duration, and can be as short a period as six weeks, or from 3 to 8 months. This means that you have to allocate specific budget for this by working overtime, or taking more shifts (for some in­dividuals). Remember what I told my cli­ent: that it is still a healthy skin that will take years off your age on a long term basis. There may be an injectable “shortcut” to look­ing young but the health of the skin can never be discounted as a source of youthfulness.

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