The story behind Botox

The story is that a little-known ophthalmologist, Jean Carruthers, was injecting her patients with BoNT, in her professional capacity, to control their eye spasms. When patient after patient reported a reduction in their frown lines, she started to suspect she had found something wonderful. The effects were so dramatic that she decided to treat herself and was wowed by the results. Back in 1987, Carruthers had no idea that her accidental discovery would result in millions of women (and many attentive men) feeling a whole lot happier and more confident in themselves.

The BoNT Glow

Want to keep your skin plumped and youthful? Then BoNT might just be the trick that keeps your skin from ageing prematurely. That’s because BoNT has been found to prevent collagen from breaking down. Collagen is the main structural protein found in skin and it’s responsible for skin strength and elasticity. Even better, BoNT helps your body produce more of it. It’s an effect I see in my daily practice. My patients who are treated with BoNT regularly have a glow about them. I call it the BoNT glow, and now we know why!

A mini facelift without surgery

But its superpowers don’t stop there; there’s far more that this magical molecule can do for you. Ever wondered how you can give yourself a mini facelift without surgery? Trying BoNT for its facelifting properties might be just the thing for you. BoNT, when used in dilute concentrations over the entire face, causes the skin envelope to shrink, and voila, you have a mini facelift. Although we have been aware of this effect for a while, it has only recently been backed up by research. It is something that experienced BoNT injectors have suspected for years! It’s why I have never treated my patients by chasing their lines but rather treating their faces as a whole.

Botox: one molecule to treat many skin woes

Did you also know when it comes to skin conditions, like acne, the BoNT molecule binds to the cells in the glands of the skin that produce the oily secretions rendering them sluggish which means reduced sebum production and fewer breakouts? I often find in my acne-prone patients that the areas treated with BoNT remain spot free for the duration of its effect.

If it’s not acne that’s the bane of your life but facial flushing, then good news, BoNT reduces facial redness and helps to control conditions like rosacea. We aren’t quite sure how it does this yet but evidence has shown that regular treatments with BoNT in areas affected by rosacea can reduce the inflammatory effects of the disease as well as the dilation of the small capillaries that expand when you have a rosacea flare-up. Coupled with its acne-reducing effects, for acne rosacea patients, this makes treatment with BoNT a viable alternative to help you control the effects of this chronic disease.

But what if you don’t have a skin condition like acne or rosacea but suffer from enlarged skin pores or excess sweating? Surely not? Yes, it’s true! BoNT can reduce open pores and sweat production and give you that photoshoot smooth skin you’ve always dreamed of. This is because it has an opposite effect on the small muscles around your sweat glands. Rather than relaxing them like it does for your facial muscles, it causes the smooth muscle in your glands to contract which in turn tightens your pores.

More about the author: Dr. Nichola Maasdorp is a dentist, with over 26 years of clinical experience, many of which she has spent specialising in medical aesthetics and skincare. Her passion is helping her patients feel amazing and confident by helping them solve the problems they are experiencing with changes in their skin and the inevitable ageing process we all suffer from. She is a Clubhouse panel speaker of the very popular Skin Talk available Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 5 pm. Listen LIVE to pros from all over the UK talk about all things skin and share their invaluable advice on topics such as LED therapy, skin products, the skin microbiome and much more.

Follow her on Instagram @nichola.maasdorp.no4.clinic