Causes of Facial Aging and How Botox Can Help

Botox has become a popular treatment for reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines on the face, with many suggesting it is only hiding the wrinkles as the treatment partially paralyzes the face. That isn’t quite the case though. Botox causes the muscles in the injected area to relax by blocking the stimulators between the brain and the cells that cause us to contract the muscles in our face. The repeated muscle contractions cause wrinkles as our skin creases over time to accommodate the contractions, with the skin eventually not bouncing back and forming wrinkles. Botox relaxes the muscles so they aren’t able to contract as much as they could but it also increases the skin’s elasticity, making it bounce back to original shape without leaving creases. Botox can help minimize wrinkles and fine lines and has been FDA-approved to help decrease the appearance of crow’s feet, but its ability to prevent wrinkles hasn’t yet been fully tested or proven. Individuals who have undergone regular Botox treatments may find that they can go longer between treatments before they see the wrinkles and fine lines reappear.

Botox can help improve the appearance of several areas of the face through the relaxation of the facial muscles that come from the treatment. The most commonly known areas that individuals seek treatment for are the vertical lines between the eyebrows and the fine lines around the eyes. Botox can help with more than just that though. It can help minimize lines around the nose that are a result of laughing or scrunching our noses to smell something, chin wrinkles due to resting your chin on your hands, crow’s feet, give the eyebrows a lift, minimize horizontal lines on the forehead and perk up the corners of the mouth if they are starting to look droopy. These are all areas of our face that can easily be perked up from Botox treatment and improve our overall appearance. While Botox can be used on almost any area of the face, it is recommended to keep your treatment to one or two specific areas to avoid looking like your face is frozen due to the muscles not being able to move.

 Botox works to reduce the appearance of wrinkles by relaxing the facial muscles through an injection that blocks their nerve endings. By blocking the nerve endings and temporarily disabling the muscles in the face, the muscles aren’t able to contract and cause wrinkles. Botox doesn’t permanently eliminate wrinkles, but while the injection is actively blocking the muscles from contracting, it can help soften deep creases and make shallower wrinkles appear less prominent as the muscles that cause the wrinkles aren’t able to move. Botox works on the wrinkles that are a result of our facial muscles contracting, with results lasting up to three to five months depending on the individual and their particular situation.

 Botox makes you look younger by minimizing deep creases and smoothing out wrinkles and fine lines that are a result of our skin getting older and repeated muscle contractions in the face such as smiling, frowning and laughing. The treatment isn’t permanent, so the wrinkles and fine lines aren’t gone forever but they will be less visible as the muscles that cause the skin to contract, and crease become relaxed with Botox injections. The relaxed muscles won’t be able to crease the skin, therefore the wrinkles won’t appear as they do without treatment. In the case of deep creases, Botox won’t fully eliminate their appearance, but it will soften them, so they are less visible. Botox is thought to improve skin’s elasticity as well, making the skin bounce back from muscle contractions that can cause wrinkles.

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