BOTOX® Alternatives
The following are some alternatives to BOTOX®:
1) Filling agents or injectables such as fat, Collagen, Fibril, and Gore-Tex
2) Resurfacing procedures with acids and lasers
3) Lifting operations of the forehead, temporal, neck and midface regions.
The primary alternatives to BOTOX® are creams chemical peels and surgery.
There are a few people who become resistant to BOTOX® (botulinum A). For them
there is Myobloc (botulinum B) but it lasts only half as long as BOTOX®, and
a much higher dose is needed. Another injectible is silicone, first used to
increase breast size in the 40s and 50s. There have been problems with silicone
which required subsequent surgery.
A new product awaiting FDA approval is Artecol (also called Artefill) which
is an injected material made up of 75% bovine collagen and 25% plexiglas microbeads.
It is injected with a needle that deposits the Artecoll while pulling out the
skin, thus leaving a small cylindrical mass. Each microbead is coated in bovine
collagen to keep them from clumping together. Now the company who makes Gore-Tex
claims that its Subcutaneous Augmentation Material (S.A.M.) will reduce or eliminate
wrinkles.
A surgeon makes a small incision in the face just under the skin, lifts up
the tissue to create a small cavity for the implant which is inserted and secured
in place.
Two new injectables waiting on FDA approval are composed of hyaluronic acid,
a naturally occurring component of connective tissue, One is a synthetically
manufactured product called Restylane for fine lines and Perlane for deeper
skin folds. The other hyaluronic acid-based product is Hylaform, which is extracted
from rooster combs. Another soft tissue filler waiting approval is called Radiance,
which consists of calcium particles made into a paste and injected under the
skin.
Physicians can administer skin surface peels using chemicals like trichloracetic
acid (TCA), dermabrasion, strong phenol peels, and laser peels. These can be
expensive, take a long time to heal, and have complications like scarring or
uneven skin colour. Laser resurfacing is a very common treatment used for wrinkles.
The use of the laser to treat wrinkles can also be called wrinkle laser, laser
peel, laser surgery, and laser vaporization.
There are numerous anti-aging and anti-wrinkle creams on the market, created
by the cosmetic industry, which claim to relax the fine lines and wrinkles when
applied topically on the surface of the skin. These products might improve the
face temporarily by offering hydration, vitamin-enrichment or other nutrients,
but are treating only the outermost layer, the epidermis.
Retinoic acid (vitamin A) is a non-injection treatment for the skin and is
used in medical treatments and also can be purchased at the cosmetic counter
in lotions and creams. The market trend for BOTOX® injection rates are up 31%,
while alternatives such as chemical peels are down 31%, and collagen injections,
once very popular, have dropped by 46%. The consumer can pay $5000 for a facelift
to remove lines and wrinkles now, or as an alternative can undertake twelve
BOTOX® injections over time.
There are a number of new creams on the market, based on the chemical Acetyl
Hexapeptide-3, a non-toxic agent that reduces the amount of nerve stimulations
to the muscles which in turn may reduce lines and wrinkles. One such product
is marketed under the name of Avotox. Another is OHT Peptide-3, and another
is StriVectin-SD.
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