In today’s article, Prof Dr Morthy, the Course Director of International Institute of Wellness & Aesthetic Medicine will discuss the use of Botulinum Toxin to treat and correct a variety of other cosmetic concerns.

Although Botulinum Toxin is mainly been used to treat upper face wrinkles, with the advancement in Aesthetic medicine, non surgical Botulinum Toxin treatment procedure is now being used to treat various cosmetic issues.

 

About Botulinum Toxin

 

A drug made from a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, Botulinum Toxin or Botox is prominently used as a treatment to reduce the appearance of wrinkles in the upper areas of the face, elevate the eyebrows as well as treat common problems such as hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), lichen simplex, pompholyx and acne vulgaris.

As a muscle relaxant or neuromodulator, Botox has an anti-wrinkle effect through its mechanism of action on the neuromuscular junction which causes relaxation of facial muscles thereby reducing facial wrinkles like frown lines, crow’s feet at the side of the eyes, wrinkles around the mouth, nasolabial folds and smoothing out neck and chest wrinkles.

 

Alternative Uses For Botulinum Toxin In Aesthetic Medicine

 

Chemical Brow Lift

The effects of gravity, ageing and the strong depressor muscles around the eye can all cause the brows to drop, resulting in sagging skin and a tired appearance.

A chemical brow lift (a.k.a. Botox brow lift) is a non-surgical brow lift technique to produce results similar to a regular surgical brow lift procedure with less invasiveness and little to no downtime.

By using Botox, it is possible to relax certain muscles around the eyes to help create an overall lift in the eyebrows. By altering the dynamics of muscle activity, it is possible to improve the aesthetic appearance of the face. There are certain muscles that hold the eyebrows down, especially the muscle surrounding the eye, known as orbicularis oculi. By careful placement of Botox injections into these muscles, the eyebrows are released from this downward pull, and the forehead muscles (frontalis muscle) are left to lift the eyebrows up without being antagonised. This leads to a few millimetres in eyebrow height usually. The onset of action is 4 days and the average longevity of Botox injections is usually 5-6 months.

 

Treatment of Gummy Smile

A “Gummy Smile” is when your upper lips contract and shows a large portion of your gums when smiling. For some people, they tend to grow self-cautious of their smile when talking to people. Traditionally, the option to reduce the “gummy smile” completely is by a surgery called gingivectomy. This procedure is done by an oral surgeon where they cut away part of the upper gums and is known as a permanent solution. However, more people result to a non-surgical approach as there are no downtime, painless and are able to see the effect take place almost immediately, which is by using BOTOX for Gummy Smile Correction.

The trick to treat “gummy smile” is by injecting a few units of Botulinum Toxin using the Yonsei Point technique. It will be injected in between the side of your upper lips and nose, and will only be needing 1-2 units of Botox to temporarily freeze or paralyze the muscles from elevating or contracting when smiling without showing your gums. It basically relaxes your lips to balance your smile. However, in the untrained hands, what can go wrong with the use of Botox in gummy smile correction? Mainly, it is injecting into the wrong muscle such as the levator muscles of the lip, and the orbicularis oris, or using high doses of the toxin. This will lead to unnatural looking smile, or worst, not being able to smile. Some experience difficulty in speaking and slurring of speech.

 

Reduction of Perioral Lines

The Perioral area which is the region surrounding the lips and the mouth is in most cases subject to both intrinsic aging which is biological and extrinsic aging which is related to environmental or lifestyle causes. The lip and mouth undergo both physiological and structural changes. Some of the most common aesthetic concerns that this area has with age progressing, include the down-turned corners of the mouth, marionette fold, vertical line formation, uneven pigmentation, volume loss or fat atrophy, lengthening of the upper lip, thinning of the lips, deepening of nasolabial fold .When left untreated these changes can be a clear give away of a person’s age.

Small quantities of botulinum toxin is injected into specific overactive muscles of the face. The toxin functions by cleaving a docking protein (synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDA [SNAP-25]) on the internal surface of neuronal membrane following which, the toxin diffuses into the tissue until it binds selectively and reversibly in the presynaptic terminal of the neuromuscular junction and then attaches to the specific protein-membrane that is responsible for acetylcholine excretion. The toxin immediately hinders the release of acetylcholine in the neuromuscular junction causing relaxation of local muscles that is reversible, resulting in reduced facial wrinkles/lines, of which some are due to constant facial muscle contractions.

The clinical effects of Botox are visible after the 1-4 days of injection. The duration of Botox effect varies among individuals due to differences in muscle arrangements in individuals. The effect usually lasts up to 120 days which may again differ depending from person to person.

 

Treating hyperhidrosis

Sweating is a normal phenomenon when you’re hot or under pressure. In fact, it is essential, and human beings need to sweat to regulate their internal body temperature.

However, for some people, the body produces much more sweat than is required for thermoregulation. This condition is known as hyperhidrosis. In some cases, the problematic excessive sweating is limited to one area of the body, such as the underarms or feet, a condition called focal hyperhidrosis. Other cases are more generalized, with sweating over large human body areas. The most common areas affected by hyperhidrosis are the scalp, underarms, hands, feet, and groin. Excessive sweating can significantly affect a person’s life, and it can be embarrassing and socially isolating, and many people find the condition quite upsetting.

Although there is no permanent solution, aesthetic researchers have found botulinum toxin injections are an excellent solution for this problem for temporary periods. They need to be injected in many areas in the underarms, and they temporarily block a chemical in the body that stimulates the sweat glands and reduces perspiration. Patients experience no pain or discomfort.

Botulinum toxin, commonly known as Botox, is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and related species. The neurotoxin targets the nervous system, disrupting the nerve signalling processes that stimulate muscle contraction. This is how the drug causes temporary muscle paralysis. For any muscle to contract, the nerves release a chemical messenger called acetylcholine at the junction where nerve endings meet muscle cells. Acetylcholine attaches to receptors on the muscle cells and causes the cells to contract or shorten. Botox injections prevent the release of acetylcholine, which stops the muscle cells from contracting. In this way, the toxin helps the muscles to become stiffer.

In case of excessive sweating, Botox tends to work by blocking the nerves responsible for activating the sweat glands. Typically, the body’s nervous system activates the sweat glands when the body temperature rises, thus preparing the body to cool itself automatically. However, the nerves that signal the sweat glands are overactive for people with hyperhidrosis. When one receives Botox injections directly into the body area that sweats majorly, the overactive nerves are essentially paralyzed. As a result, when the nerves cannot signal the sweat glands, the patients do not sweat. However, Botox only prevents sweating in the specific area where it is injected and lasts from twelve to fourteen months, depending on the patient`s overall medical conditions.

 

About IIWAM training in Botox injection procedure

 

It is prudent that all Aesthetic practitioners undergo proper training in Aesthetic Medicine. The practitioner must balance between benefits & risks of the Aesthetic procedure and steps to mitigate complications if it occurs. At IIWAM, we call it understanding the procedure, the product, and the patient, and our trainers pay utmost attention to teaching the following subjects of lip rejuvenation with lip fillers under our best Online Botox and Filler Training courses.

Apply for the best online aesthetic courses from IIWAM today.

 

About IIWAM Aesthetic Education

 

International Institute of Wellness & Aesthetic Medicine (IIWAM) is a private teaching institution that provides International Aesthetic Medical Certification program for Doctors, Dentists, Nurses, Aestheticians, and Spa Owners. Prof Dr Morthy is the course director for the Institute, formerly known as Aesthetic Academy Asia (https://www.iiwam.ac/education).

The Institute is based in Malaysia and with academic affiliations from the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, India and Indonesia. With our insignia of “Be Certified, Be Recognized”, we develop knowledgeable, skilled, and confident aesthetic practitioners of international repute. IIWAM training Programs are a combination of Onsite Training, LIVE Online Webinars, and Online Learning. IIWAM Programs are assured by City & Guilds of London and certified by European International University, Paris. IIWAM is also a registered CPD Training provider with CPD Standards Office in the UK and by CPD Malaysian Medical Association.

IIWAM also offers Cosmetic Procedures and Stem Cell treatment at IIWAM Wellness Centre (https://www.iiwam.ac/wellness) that are safe, effective, and affordable.