Botox vs. All-Natural Skin Care
by John Russell
On April 15, 2002, the FDA approved Botox® to treat frown lines. Botox® was
first approved in December 1989 to treat two specific eye muscle disorders,
“Blepharospasm” and “Strabismus” and subsequently approved in December 2000 to
treat Cervical Dystonia, a neurological movement disorder that causes severe
neck and shoulder contractions.1
To gain the approval for use with frown lines, a clinical study involving 405
mostly women over 50 with moderate to severe frown lines were injected with
Botox® cosmetic and after 30 days frown lines were evaluated. The frown lines
were eliminated for approximately 120 days at which time re-injection was
required. The FDA guidelines were injections to incur no more frequently than
once every three months and the lowest effective dose should be used.
The study highlighted the following common adverse side effects:
-
Headache
-
Respiratory infection
-
Flu symptoms
-
Droopy eyelids
-
Nauseous
Less
frequent but adverse reactions in approximately 3% of patients included
While the adverse
reactions were termed temporary, they could last months.
The FDA approved Botox® as a prescription drug, thus, requiring medical
supervision. The actual name for Botox® cosmetic is Botulinum Toxin Type A; it’s
actually produced from the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum.
What actually occurs is an injectible form of sterile purified toxin, in a very
small dose, is injected into the affected muscles to block and release the
chemical acetylcholine that would otherwise cause contraction in the muscle. The
toxin actually paralyzes the injected muscle.
Interestingly, the Botulinum Toxin has been known for centuries. As early as
1895, a professor (Emile Pierre van Ermengem of Ellezelles, Belgium) identified
the original toxin from Bacterium Bacilus Botulinus. It was later renamed in the
1920’s as Botulinum Toxin Type A, generic name Botox®, which is a registered
trademark. Dr. Herman Sommer, at the University of California San Francisco
subsequently provided the data sufficient for future medical studies.
In the 1950’s, Dr. Vernon Brooks2 discovered that the Botulinum Toxin, when
injected directly into an active or hyperactive muscle included the release of
acetylcholine from motor nerve endings, thus, inducing a temporary paralysis of
a targeted muscle.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Dr. Alan Scott, M.D. of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye
Research Foundation began effectiveness testing with monkeys to determine if the
drug might have effective therapeutic modalities.
For the next 20-30 years, Dr. Scott collaborated with Dr. Schantz of the
University of Wisconsin to further develop product samples.3
In the late 1970’s, Dr. Scott formed a company named Oculinum, where he
continued to study the drug with monkeys and in 1978 received permission from
the Food & Drug Administration to test on human clinical studies. In 1988,
Allergan acquired the rights to distribute Dr. Scott’s Botox® Toxin Type A
product. The current manufacturer, Allergan Inc., is located in Irvine,
California.
Current side effects in actual applications are as follows (as a % of total side
effects):
While Botox® is the rage today,
alternatives for professional skin care, such as the all new NutriMinC RE9
anti-aging skin care system from IH Distribution LLC, is an excellent
alternative. More information can be seen at
www.ihdistribution.com.
IH
Distribution’s products are all-natural, botanically-based, pH correct,
hypoallergenic, dermatologist tested, NEVER tested on animals, contain no animal
products or by-products, made without mineral oil and formulated without dyes or
chemical fragrances.
The idea of injecting your face every three months, at a cost of up to $1,200
per injection, with toxins, given known side effects and the significant
discomfort of the injections, from a product continually tested on monkeys
should drive consumer’s research to other alternatives.
Webster’s dictionary confirms toxins are “any of various poisons produced by
microorganisms and causing certain diseases” or “any poisons secreted by plants
or animals”.4
Copyright © IH Distribution LLC, 2004 No material may be use without the
expressed permission of IH Distribution LLC
1. FDA T02-20 April 15, 2002 2. Schantz, EJ, Historical Perspective EDS. Therapy
with Botulinum Toxin New York, New York, Marcelle Dekker Inc. 1994 3. Schantz EJ,
Johnson EA, Botox® Toxin Persp Biomed 1997; 40 (4) 317327 4. Webster’s New World
Dictionary and Thesaurus, Copyright © 1966 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
About the author: Pure. Natural. Beautiful from IH Distribution. IH Distribution
specializes in health areas such as acne skin care, anti-aging cream,
anti-wrinkle cream, hormones and natural hormone replacement therapy, natural
progesterone cream and skin care cream. We offer beauty care products such as
natural cosmetics, facial products, skin care products, eye make up and
dermatologist approved cleansing products.
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