Botulinum Toxin

Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxic protein that temporarily relaxes muscles when injected. Injections of botulinum toxin block the nerve signals to the muscle in which it was injected. Without a signal, the muscle can’t contract.

The effects of botulinum toxin are always temporary, usually lasting about 3-4 months. The most commonly treated areas are frown lines, forehead creases and crow’s feet wrinkles around the eyes. Several other areas can be treated such as “bunny lines” on the nose, neck bands, jawlines, dimply chins, depressed mouth corners, lip lines and gummy smiles.

Neurotoxin is also used in medicine to reduce teeth grinding, tension headaches, to treat temporomandibular joint dysfunction and excessive sweating. There are a lot of trends on social media regarding botulinum toxin like TrapTox, Brotox, Holetox and Scrotox ! Some are medically legitimate specialised treatments. Others are dangerous fads that should be avoided. If in doubt, your AAMSSA registered aesthetic doctor will be aware of the safety, risks and indications for the different uses of botulinum toxin.

Did you know: Botulinum Toxin is a scheduled drug and therefore according to the HPCSA rules cannot be advertised using its trade name. That is why ethical doctors refer to it as “wrinkle relaxing injection” or “neurotoxin”.

There are three brands of neurotoxin available now in South Africa.