15th Anniversary of Botox: Used for Beauty and Much More

Since 2002, Botox injections have been helping people across the globe eliminate crow’s feet, frown lines and other signs of aging. One of the earliest proponents of Botox, Sharon Osborne, called it “one of the best things that’s ever been created for cosmetics,” and had her treatment done on live camera in 2003. Joan Rivers devoted a whole chapter to Botox in her book, Men Are Stupid… And They Like Big Boobs: A Woman’s Guide To Beauty Through Plastic Surgery, and calls it a “miracle in a needle.” Stars as young as 23 (like Ashlee Simpson) and 29 (like Kim Kardashian) admit to getting Botox for preventative maintenance. No wonder that Botox is known as “the glue that holds celebrities together” for graceful aging.

Botox gained notoriety as a beauty treatment first

The best cosmetic uses for Botox include the relaxation of frown lines between the eyes (glabellar lines), creases at the corners of the eyes (crow’s feet), lines along the mouth (marionette lines), and deep forehead trenches. Botox is a great first step into the world of cosmetic treatments, as the effects generally last 4-6 months, compared to some dermal fillers that last years. When lost volume is not a concern, Botox works wonderfully to limit the activity of spastic muscles that are flexing all the time, whether we realize it or not. Treatments can be targeted on very precise regions of the face to produce beautiful, natural results. The pain, recovery time, and risks are all considerably diminished, when comparing Botox to plastic surgery.

Though it has been around 15 years and other products have come out, experienced plastic surgeons like Manhattan’s Dr. Thomas W. Loeb still turn to Botox as the solution of choice for many patients.

Botox is FDA-approved for medical uses

Botox is approved for use in 85 countries to treat 25 medical and cosmetic conditions, with new applications discovered all the time. More than half of the revenue from Botox comes from medical uses. In the US, there are seven FDA-approved uses for Botox you may not know about:

• Urinary incontinence (due to a spinal cord injury or MS)
• Chronic migraine headaches or adults (who have more than 15 headaches, lasting 4+ hours, a month)
• Upper limb spasticity (in adults)
• Cervical dystonia, particularly to reduce abnormal head position and neck pain (in adults)
• Severe underarm sweating (in adults, when the condition is inadequately managed by topical agents)
• Blepharospasm / eyelid twitching (in patients over 12 years of age)
• Stabismus / crossed eyes (in patients over 12 years of age)

More uses for Botox pending

Allergan holds close to 800 patents for potential uses of their drug. Many doctors use Botox for off-label purposes to help their patients with:

• Depression
• Premature ejaculation
• Abnormal heartbeat
• Severely cold hands
• Cleft lip scars in babies
• Painful sex
• Lock jaw and TMJ

Other cosmetic uses of Botox include:

• Eyebrow lift
• Gummy smiles
• Jaw line softening

Botox in NYC

Need Botox in New York City? Book a consultation with experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Thomas W. Loeb, MD, who has successfully treated thousands of patients with Botox since 2002. Dr. Loeb also specializes in facial plastic surgery and dermal fillers, so you have the full range of treatment options to address your concerns.

Additional “Botox” resources:

1. W Magazine – On the 15th Anniversary of Botox, an Appreciation of How It’s Changed Everyone https://www.wmagazine.com/story/botox-anniversary-kim-kardashian-joan-rivers
2. Time – 11 Surprising Uses For Botox, http://time.com/4501839/botox-inection-wrinkles-migraine-depression
3. Today – Ashlee Simpson May Have Gone Beyond A Nose Job, http://www.today.com/popculture/ashlee-simpson-may-have-gone-beyond-nose-job-wbna21271948