What is Botulinim Toxin treatment?
Botulinim Toxin is a natural, purified protein that relaxes wrinkle-causing muscles, creating a rejuvenated appearance. The active ingredient in Botox® treatment is derived from bacteria in much the same way penicillin is derived from mould. It is manufactured in sterile laboratory conditions. Botox® is a prescription-only medicine and treatment is only available from a qualified medical professional.
How does Botulinim Toxin treatment work?
Botulinum Toxin relaxes specific facial muscles that cause dynamic wrinkles – the ones we gather when making facial expressions.
Botulinim Toxin is used to treat:
- Frown lines (Elevens) and Forehead lines
- Crow’s feet and Bunny Lines
- Grumpy face lines (DAO’s)
- Gummy smile
- Jaw slimming / teeth grinding (TMJ)
- Chin buckling (Mentalis)
- Neck bands / platysmal bands
- Excessive sweating (Axillary Hyperhidrosis)
What does Botulinim Toxin treatment involve?
This is a non-surgical procedure whereby a small amount of Botulinum Toxin is administered into selected facial muscles using a very fine needle. Discomfort is typically minimal and brief, and no anaesthetic is usually required. The injection may sting for a few seconds but normal activities can be resumed soon after.
The dose recommended for the treatment will vary depending on your individual situation and the severity of your lines. Your professionally trained Doctor or Nurse will know what the best dose is for you and which muscles to inject to give you the best results.
How long does Botulinim Toxin treatment last?
The effect can last up to 3 or 4 months before lines slowly begin to return.
Will facial expression be affected by Botulinum Toxin treatment?
Botulinum Toxin works specifically on the muscles treated. This means that any muscle left untreated, including untreated facial muscles, should not be affected by the Botulinum Toxin treatment. During your Cosmetic Consultation you’ll work with our team to determine the best dose for you to achieve the best results.
Are there any side effects from treatments with Botulinim Toxin?
In addition to its use for cosmetic reasons, Botulinim Toxin treatment is also used to treat patients in a variety of therapeutic indications, including cerebral palsy in children, movement disorders (head, neck, shoulder, face), and axillary hyperhidrosis (excessive underarm sweating).
In the amounts used for the treatment of upper facial lines, the side effects are usually temporary and localised to the area of injection. Possible side effects may include headaches, pain, burning/stinging, bruising, swelling or redness at the injection site, local muscle weakness, including drooping eyelids/eyebrows, swollen eyelids, skin tightness, tingling sensations, itching/aching forehead, nausea and flu-like symptoms.
How long has Botulinim Toxin been used?
Botulinim Toxin has been used in Australia and New Zealand in therapeutic treatments for over 20 years. It was first approved for use in New Zealand in 1991.
Can treatment be combined with other products and procedures?
Many people use a combination of cosmetic products and/or procedures with Botulinim Toxin. Your Doctor or Appearance Medicine Nurse will advise you as to whether or not you will receive better results if your Botulinim Toxin treatment is combined with other products and/or procedures.
Prior to Cosmetic Skin Treatments such as Botulinum Toxin, Dermal Fillers and Micro-Needling, it is essential that a full cosmetic consultation occurs so that a treatment plan is generated specific to your needs.
Clinic Eleven Botulinum Toxin professionals
Clinic Eleven has two Medical Professionals available for your Botulinum Toxin consultations and bookings.
Dr Brent Krivan MB ChB is a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of GPs, the New Zealand Society of Cosmetic Medicine, with a Diploma from Skin Cancer College Australasia. Brent is known for his exceptional work as an injector achieving beautiful natural looking results.
Ari Hall – Registered Nurse and Cosmetic Injector with over 20 years’ experience in Cosmetic Appearance Medicine. Having recently returned to NZ, Ari has previously worked in London and Sydney. Ari is skilled in balancing facial symmetry using anti-wrinkle injections and hyaluronic fillers to create a natural, fresh and youthful look.
Xeomin® – The new Botulinum on the block!
What is Xeomin®?
Xeomin® is the purest form of Botulinum Toxin on the market today. It does not have the complexing proteins that its predecessors have, which can be one of the factors involved in treatment failure with the other forms of Botulinum Toxin.
In other words, if you are treated with this toxin only, you will have less likelihood of a strong immune reaction. The less pure the toxin, the stronger the immune reaction that can be triggered. Botox® has more complexing proteins and Xeomin® has none.
Like Botox®, Xeomin® works by paralyzing wrinkles. It blocks the signals from the nerves to the muscles. As a result, the targeted muscle cannot contract.
Xeomin® versus Botox®.
Botox® and Xeomin® have a lot in common, but they also have some important differences. Unlike its predecessors, Xeomin® does not need to be refrigerated. This may be an advantage when it comes to distribution. What’s more, Xeomin® is “naked”. There are no additives – just botulinum toxin type A. This may lessen a patient’s likelihood for developing antibodies to Xeomin®. When your body senses a foreign invader, it responds by creating antibodies and launching an attack. If this were to occur with a neurotoxin such as botulinum toxin type A, it may not have its desired effects.
Xeomin® is said to be more like Botox® than Dysport®. It takes about one week for the full effects of Xeomin ®injections to be realised, and once this occurs the results last from three to six months. Dysport®, Xeomin® and Botox® should not be used interchangeably.
What is Botulinum Toxin?
Botulinum toxin is a naturally-occurring protein produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Botulinum toxin type A – the active ingredient in Xeomin® – is produced commercially from C. botulinum serotype A.
How does Xeomin® work?
Xeomin® is injected into muscles to decrease their activity. Xeomin® blocks the release of a chemical messenger – acetylcholine – that conveys the signal from nerve terminals and causes muscle fibres to contract. Not all terminals are affected by botulinum toxin, so the muscles can still contract, just less forcefully.
Xeomin® is used to treat:
- Forehead lines
- Crow’s feet
- Bunny lines
- Grumpy face lines (DAO’s)
- Gummy smile
- Jaw slimming / teeth grinding (TMJ)
- Chin buckling (Mentalis)
- Neck bands / platysmal bands
- Excessive sweating (Axillary Hyperhidrosis)
Are all Botulinum Toxin products the same?
Not all botulinum toxin products are the same. This is reflected in the unique names for each product. The dose of Xeomin® may be different from other botulinum toxin products.
How is Xeomin® made?
In nature, C. botulinum produces the toxin in association with accessory proteins (toxin complex). Merz takes the toxin complex and employs a proprietary manufacturing process that isolates the therapeutic component and removes the accessory proteins to produce Xeomin®.
If you are interested in Xeomin® injections, please feel free to make a consultation with us.
If you are interested in learning more about Botox®/Xeomin® use for any of these treatments, please contact Clinic Eleven on to schedule a consultation with one of our Cosmetic Medicine Nurses.
Please take the time to read our Botulinum Toxin Type A page as this informs you of the contraindications and side-effects of these treatments. Botulinum Toxin is a medicine and must be treated as such, only to be injected by a Registered Medical Professional.
BOTOX® is a prescription medicine containing 100 units of Clostridium Botulinum Type A toxin complex for injection. It is used for the treatment of severe frown lines and associated ‘crow’s feet’ around the eyes. It should be administered only by trained medical professionals. Talk to your specialists about the benefits/risks of this procedure in appearance medicine. Cautions: people with neuro-muscular transmission disorders, presence of infection at site of injection, pregnancy and lactation. Possible side effects include headaches, pain, burning sensation or redness at injection site, temporary local muscle weakness including eyelid droop, decreased sensation and nausea. If you have side effects or concerns, talk to your doctor. A charge applies. Allergan Pharmaceutical, Auckland.
XEOMIN® is a prescription medicine containing 50, 100 LD50 Units of clostridium botulinum Type A toxin complex for injection. It is used for the treatment of frown lines on the forehead in adults. It should be administered only by trained medical professionals. Talk to your specialist about the benefits/risks of this procedure in appearance medicine. Xeomin® treatment lasts about four months and further courses of treatment may be necessary. Cautions: Generalised disorders of muscle activity; Infection or inflammation at the proposed injection sites, pregnancy and lactation. Possible side effects: headache, pain, swelling or infection at injection site, local muscle weakness including drooping eye lids, lack of feeling & nausea. You will need to pay for this medicine. Discuss with your specialist if Xeomin is right for you.
For more information or for a copy of CMI please contact the NZ distributor: NZMS Ltd: 2a Fisher Crescent, Mt Wellington, Auckland, Ph 09 259 4062. TAPS NA7621.
All before and after photos on the Clinic Eleven website are genuine untouched photographs of our patients. Because results may vary from patient to patient the photos provide guidance only to the possible results. Your individual results may vary from those seen in the photographs for a variety of reasons.
All before and after photographs are © Clinic Eleven.
If you are interested in learning more about Botox®/Xeomin® Botulinim Toxin treatments contact Clinic Eleven on to schedule a consultation.
