Facial lines and wrinkles generally begin to appear in early thirties. On the upper part of the face these are usually the result of expression muscle actions. On the lower half of the face these are normally due to gravitational ageing and environmental factors such as sun exposure and smoking etc.

For some people these lines are not evident when they are relaxed. For others, they are prominent when relaxed and more prominent during certain expressions. Wrinkle relaxing injections dramatically soften facial expression lines such as frown lines, temple lines, and crow's feet or smile lines around the eyes. This maintains a natural and more youthful appearance.

The injections reversibly block the nerve impulses responsible for contraction of the tiny facial muscles that are related to expression lines. The muscles therefore cannot contract and tend to relax.

When relaxed, the overlying skin appears smooth and unwrinkled while the untreated muscles are still able to contract normally, thus allowing normal facial expression to be unaffected.

This excellent and inexpensive treatment achieves superb results and the ideal areas to treat are the deep creases between the eyebrows, frown lines of the forehead, laughter lines and crows feet radiating away from the eyes.

Although the results are dramatic, it will not radically change your facial appearance. The muscles are simply relaxed, so you can still frown, smile, or look surprised without the wrinkles and creases between your brows.

A muscle relaxant is injected using a disposable syringe with a very fine needle. A very small amount of the relaxant is injected very precisely into several locations on the face. The pain associated with the injections is minimal. Many patients describe it as a bug bite sting for only a couple of seconds.

No local anaesthetic is needed and you can resume normal activities immediately. Treatment takes around 15 minutes, depending on the number of areas you wish to treat.

Once you have been treated it usually takes two to five days before treatment actually takes effect and sometimes even a little longer to notice the full effect.

You may need to have top-up injections to maintain your desired appearance. Clinical studies indicate that the duration of treatment benefit is increased over time so that you should require injections less frequently in the future.

Bot-tox is short for Botulinum Toxin A which is a purified protein produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria and used for cosmetic purposes is in an extremely diluted form, and does used are 3000 times less than the toxic dose.

In fact Bot-toxin has been used in the effective treatment of medical conditions for decades, and has only been more widely associated with cosmetic purposes in recent years.

• Wrinkle reduction
• Sweat reduction

The most popular reason for having Bot-tox is that it temporarily smoothes out facial wrinkles, especially those caused through frowning and squinting. It is also used as a treatment to reduce excessive sweating.

There are two main types of facial wrinkles: dynamic wrinkles and static wrinkles of which the superficial ones are caused by the sun damage, and deeper ones are the normal result of ageing and the effects of gravity. Dynamic wrinkles are caused by strong muscles of expression, which force the skin to move and bunch.

With repeated frowning of squinting or repetitive lip pursing through smoking, these muscles force the skin to develop hills and valleys so that the skin can contract and relax, rather like an accordion. These lines of expression are found mainly above the eyebrows, around the eyes, and on the forehead.

It is against these type of deep wrinkles that Botulinum Toxin injections work the best.

A very fine needle is passed through the skin into the superficial muscles, and a tiny amount of Bot-tox is injected into each overactive muscle, causing it to relax. It takes between 3 -5 days for this to work and up to two weeks for it to become fully effective. The relaxation lasts for between 2 and 6 months, sometimes longer.

During this time the muscle gets smaller since it is unable to exercise itself. Over a 3 to 6 month period the nerve impulses return allowing the muscle to contract again. After a number of injections, the muscle may have relaxed to the extent that it no longer has enough strength to create deep expression lines.

Because Bot-tox is not permanent, all side effects are minor and short-lived. The most common ones are minor swelling, discomfort during injection and bruising. In some cases the toxin can migrate and cause a temporary weakness of nearby muscles. In rare cases there can be a drooping of an eyelid or asymmetry of facial expression. There are no long-term side effects.

Hyperhidrosis is a disorder characterised by excessive sweating that occurs in up to 1% of the population. The excessive sweating can occur in the hands, in the armpits or in the feet. It can be extremely disconcerting and make one self-conscious especially in intimate situations and anxious moments. Excessive sweating is very embarrassing on both a social and professional level.

Botulinum toxin has been found to give extremely effective relief from this embarrassing condition. Also known as Botox, Botulinum toxin has become the treatment of choice for a number of conditions including excessive sweating. It is injected into the affected area in order to prevent the sweat glands from overproducing sweat.

Primary Hyperhidrosis usually begins early during puberty, and then persist for the rest of the person's life. Secondary Hyperhidrosis is usually caused by an underlying condition such as psychiatric disorders, endocrine treatment for malignant disease, obesity, endocrine disorders such as hyperthyroidism and the menopause.

Topical medications, oral medications, iontophoresis, and surgery have not proven to be very effective in the majority of patients suffering from Hyperhidrosis.

The area to be treated is made numb with an anesthetic cream and then injections are performed usinga very small needle, which is the same size as an acupuncture needle.

After the injections, the skin may appear slightly bruised. Normal activities may be resumed after about an hour or so. In approximately 3 to 5 days after the injections, a decrease of sweating in the treated areas will be noted. The effects usually last for approximately 6 to 9 months.

Follow up injections may be needed to achieve the desired affect but this will be discussed with you at the free consultation.

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