Botulinum Toxin A

Plastic surgery has been growing popular over the past 20 something years that it appears to be almost a society norm for women (and men.)

From lip injections to tummy tucks to breast augmentations and Botox, women get it all. Plastic surgery centers have even made these surgeries affordable for most by creating financial plans and seasonal promotions.

In a society that celebrates beauty and fresh youthful faces, some aging women might feel the need to keep up with societies expectations when they start seeing wrinkles or sagging skin on their faces.

Women have found a solution to facial lines and wrinkles by resorting to painful face lift surgeries, eyelid alterations, cheek/chin implants and Botox injections. By far, Botox has been the go-to quick fix for wrinkles and expression lines. But not every one knows what Botox is exactly and how it works.

Botox is made out of Botulinum toxin A, which is one of the neurotoxins that the bacteria Clostridium botulinum produces. This bacterium produces a number of neurotoxins that are aimed to damage nerve tissue and cause muscle paralysis. It is the same kind of poisonous bacteria that scorpions and tarantulas have to use on their prey. So in other words, Botox is literally poison.

But when this poison is used for cosmetic purposes, like in Botox injections, it paralyzes facial muscles, which smooth’s out lines and wrinkles. If a muscle can’t contract the skin does not create a line or wrinkle that moves along with it. Thus, Botox functions as a muscle paralyzer to avoid and smooth out any wrinkles in the skin.

A positive to Botox is that it can also be used for medical conditions such as chronic migraines, severe sweating, over active bladders and other muscle conditions. Botox is not a permanent effect though; it does wear off over a period of time.

A wrinkle-less face sounds appealing to every one because one’s skin will look flawless and youthful. But is it appealing enough at the cost of a paralyzed face?

Reality shows like Botched and Dr. 90210 have exhibited real life accounts of women who have Botox’ed their faces so much that their faces look almost stone-like, immovable, expressionless and motionless. The result when Botox is over done.

By no means is resorting to Botox injections to rid one’s face of expression lines and wrinkles a crime. Women can choose to do whatever they please to their bodies whenever they deem suitable. But in all reality, aging is inevitable and our physical features will always be its victim.

There are other routes women can choose to treat and slow down the skin’s aging process though. They can invest in crèmes and serums that help the skin look its youthful best.

The skin’s cell turnover rate slows down as one starts to age so products such as the Anti-Aging line from Clear Essence Cosmetics promotes the acceleration of skin cell regeneration to keep the top layer of skin soft and youthful looking. The Anti-Aging skin care treatment products contain Alpha Hydroxy Acids (Lactic Acid) that aid skin problems such as hyper-pigmentation, wrinkles and fine lines.

Whether women choose to slow down the skin’s aging process with plastic surgery or manually with crèmes and serums, natural change should be embraced and accepted because unfortunately the fountain of youth does not exist. Love yourself and the skin you’re in because every one is uniquely beautiful.