Botox Anti-Wrinkle Injections: How Do They Work?

Botulinum toxin, a substance produced in nature by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum, temporarily interrupts the transmission of nerve impulses that determine the contraction of mimic muscles. Therefore, facial wrinkles caused by excessive contraction of the facial mimic muscles will be smoothed. It is injected into the individual muscles whose activity needs to be modulated in order to reduce skin wrinkles. The direct action of botulinum toxin is not to correct the volume of the wrinkle with a filler, but to cause a blockage of muscle contraction which, consequently, leads to the subsequent relaxation of the skin. It interacts with the nerve endings of the muscle bundles and reduces their ability to contract . It is therefore injected into the correct muscles in order to determine a blockage of the movement of these anatomical parts. This blockage usually lasts for 4 to 6 months, after which time the treatment must be repeated.

Botulinum: effects

Botulinum cannot resolve very deep wrinkles or those caused by skin aging in general. The mechanism of action is explained by blocking the release of acetylcholine at the junction between the nerve that transmits the contraction stimulus to the muscle and the muscle that performs the contraction. The effect obtained is therefore that of a selective and reversible weakening of the muscles into which the toxin is injected, at very low doses. This effect becomes evident not immediately but after 2-7 days after treatment and remains for about 4-5 months, then diminishes. Immediate exposure to the sun is not recommended, to be avoided for about 10 days, avoid facial massages in the first days after treatment with the consequent vasodilation and possible migration of the product.

Indications:

• correction of horizontal wrinkles in the frontal area, treatment of glabellar, vertical wrinkles, located at the root of the nose;
• correction of periocular wrinkles commonly called "crow's feet".

The wide use in aesthetic medicine is also justified by the absence of significant side effects (no serious or fatal events in twenty years of use) and the reversibility of the therapeutic action.

Contraindications:

• neurological diseases such as myasthenia gravis, ALS, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune myasthenic syndrome;
• pregnancy and breastfeeding;
• antibiotic therapy;
• psychological alterations