Botox® contains botulinum toxin, a substance that relaxes the muscles and has been used in medicine for many years, originally to treat muscle contractions and spasms. It is now used throughout the world to treat facial wrinkles. Very popular uses include frown lines, forehead wrinkles and crow's feet. Other situations include lines that occur when lifting the nose or a tendency for the corners of the mouth to sag downwards, giving an unwanted sad appearance.
Botox® relaxes the muscles. Only the frown muscles can be fully relaxed with no detrimental effect, and frown lines are therefore the most straightforward indication. The effect lasts for three to four months. In other places the muscles can only be partly weakened. The patient still needs to move these muscles, and consequently wrinkles still form, but obviously far less than before the treatment. Only very small doses can be used on the crow's feet, so the effect only lasts for about two months.