How Does Botox Work?

Botulinum Toxin-Based Injectable, more commonly known as Botox, has entered mainstream use over the past decade. Despite what many people may believe, Botox is not a filler, it is actually an injectable that helps improve wrinkles around the face. The procedure typically lasts six months, at which point you and your physician can decide on the proper next steps for wrinkle treatments.

A History of Botox:
Researchers discovered in the 1950s that injecting overactive muscles with minute quantities of botulinum toxin type-A would result in decreased muscle activity by blocking the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction, thereby rendering the muscle unable to contract for up to a period of 3 to 4 months.

Alan Scott, a San Francisco ophthalmologist, first applied tiny doses of the toxin in a medicinal sense to treat ‘crossed eyes’ and ‘uncontrollable blinking’, but needed a partner to gain regulatory approval to market his discovery as a drug. Allergan renamed the drug Botox.

As of 2007, Botox injection is the most common cosmetic operation, with 4.6 million procedures in the United States, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.