Facial faux pas
Botox sweeps the nation
Brigitte Moland
Nose jobs, liposuction and
facelifts have all been moved to the past.
This day and age, Botox is sweeping the nation as a new form of beauty
enhancement. Each year nearly one
million patients worldwide have hopped onto this beauty bandwagon and say
goodbye to their anti-wrinkle creams.
Botoluinum toxin type A, also known as Botox, was discovered
in the 1960s and was used originally to try to realign crossed eyes.
It was later discovered that with this drug, facial contractions tended
to reduce. By 1989, dermatologists, in addition to realigning double-spasmed
eyes, were using Botox to reduce the wrinkles and laugh lines of their aging
clients. In April of 2002, the FDA
approved of the use of Botox as a cosmetic treatment.
With a few simple
injections, wrinkle and laugh lines can disappear before one’s eyes. To many this is a mystery but, in fact, it
is simple science. Normally the brain
sends chemical messages that make facial muscles contract and move from the
brain to the muscles by a substance called acetylcholine. The Botox toxin stops
the acetylcholine from reaching the muscle and stops the contraction therefore
getting rid of any any facial lines one may have. “I think it has its place but can be overused like anything
else,” said literature teacher Mrs. Amy Bauman.
However miraculous and
ingenious this new beauty enhancement may sound, getting rid of wrinkles comes
at a fairly high price. Each injection
costs anywhere from $200-$1,200 depending on the place and the amount of your
treatment. Treatments only last up to three months meaning that to keep the
wrinkles away is another treatment. “I
don’t think I’d spend that kind of money on something like that,” said senior
Maria Finocchiaro.
Not only is Botox expensive,
but it also comes with a few health risks and side effects. Some effects that can be found directly
after the injection, include: numbness of the area, swelling, bruising, a
drooping eyebrow, or no improvement to facial lines. Other side affects caused by Botox include chest pains,
dizziness, flu symptoms and muscle weakness.
The most common health risks are headaches, respiratory infection and
eyelid drooping.
In conclusion to Botox, the
cosmetic treatment has done wonders to many people throughout the nation and
will continue to be used to help beautify and decrease signs of age. Many find this treatment to be wonderful and
use it to help them defeat the markings of age, but some think it is
unecessary. “I think growing older is a reality and people have to start
excepting it,” Bauman said.