Wrestling with wrinkles: botox to the rescue
The farmer’s wife from outside Munich did not aspire to have a youthful, attractive appearance the time she sold her calf. But it was a wrinkle between her eyes giving her a permanently angry look which bothered her.
So the farmer’s wife went to Tatjana Pavici, head of aesthetic dermatology at Munich University, and using the money from selling her calf, pampered herself with a tiny bit of correctional cosmetic treatment.
Whether it’s a farmer’s wife, a university student, or a woman working at the cash register, it is hard to believe all the types who undergo an injection or some laser surgery, Pavicic says.
The secret to the tiny corrective action is the less the better.
“Stay away from permanent substances,” is Pavicic’s rule number one. By “permanent” she means all surgical invasions, be it facelifting or the use of non-degradable “fillers” such as synthetic fibres or microspheres.
For it can become problematic if side-effects develop from such implants. Anyone who has had synthetic threads drawn through their lips will never be rid of them again and, without any post-operative measures, suffer permanently from small knots or visible strands under the skin.
Minimally-invasive surgery in any event is completely adequate in the battle against bothersome facial blemishes, according to Ingo Schugt of the German Dermatologists Association in Berlin.
“It would really have to be a whole lot of blubber if you can’t get at it any more,” he said.
Among the minimally invasive substances – meaning the smallest-possible ones – are injections of botox. Botox – botulinumtoxin – is the most popular substance worldwide in smoothing out wrinkles, Schugt says. And he is reassuring about the protein which often is branded as toxic to the nerves: “It is poison the same way that alcohol or aspirin are.”
He said botox relaxes the muscles, in turn keeping them from tensely drawing wrinkles in the skin. Beyond that, it can be used as a medication against tension headaches or excessive perspiration.
Botox works the best in the upper-third of the face: against so- called crows’ feet, glabella frown lines between the eyes, the horizontal forehead wrinkles, or the cutely-dubbed “bunny lines” – those small slanted lines which appear when you wrinkle your nose.
All these are not signs of ageing, but are expressive wrinkles, Schugt explains. Depending on a person’s metabolism, the effect of botox lasts four to six months. Then a new injection is needed.
“Mimicking is a habit,” dermatologist Pavicic says, talking about patients who, during the paralyzing months of botox, simply learned how to stop the wrinkle-causing act of furrowing their brow.
Both experts are dismissive when questioned about the risks of botox – provided that a professional is called in for the job. Schugt says there are no allergies to be feared. But Pavicic does concede that an overdose can result in a “frozen face” – one without any expression.
In addition, those who get injected too often can possibly develop anti-bodies which then put up resistance against the substance. In contrast to biodegradable fillers such as hyaluronic and lactic acids, botox may only be injected by an expert. In this case, this means neither a cosmetologist nor a nurse, but only a medical doctor.
So anyone who attends a botox party in the living room of their best friend and, between rounds of sparkling wine and karaoke lets botox be injected in their forehead has only his- or herself to blame. Poor hygiene, a wrongly-placed injection, or shock from fear of hypodermic needles can cause long-term damage.
Beyond this, botulinumtoxin officially is only supposed to be applied in the area between the eyebrows.
In Germany, various medications with the relaxing substance are authorized – but only some of these for cosmetic purposes. “This authorization applies exclusively for the treatment of glabella wrinkles in adults under the age of 65,” points out Ulrich Heier of the Federal Institute of Medications and Medicinal Products in Bonn.
Anyone who wants to use botox to smooth out other places on the body must first sign a statement acknowledging that an injection is being made with a substance which has not been authorized. Most people do this gladly and without giving it much thought. Heier said that so far there have been no reports of cases along the lines of the warnings by critics about “serious, life-threatening or fatal side-effects.”
But he agrees that a certain scepticism with regard to using the toxin would certainly not be harmful.One treatment with botox can cost, depending on how deep the wrinkles are, between 300 and 500 euros (430-720 dollars) – or about as much as the farmer’s wife sold the calf for.
From Earth Times, posted by DPA, January 7, 2010
