Is Botox Safe?
Written by Dr Peter Forrester, Medical Director of The Cosmetic Doctors Company in Surrey UK. Dr Forrester has practised aesthetic medicine for over 25 years and is regarded as an expert in this field.
Yes, Botox is very safe.
For the vast majority of patients, when administered by a qualified and experienced medical practitioner, it is one of the most reliably safe treatments available in medicine generally. That is not a marketing claim, it is a conclusion supported by decades of scientific research and clinical use across tens of millions of patients worldwide.
Botox has been used in medical practice since the 1980s, first in neurology and ophthalmology, and in aesthetic medicine since the 1990s. The evidence base accumulated over that period is among the most extensive of any medical drug or treatment in the field.
Licensed formulations of Botox have been subjected to rigorous regulatory scrutiny in the UK and internationally, and the safety profile at the doses used in aesthetic practice is well established.
But Isn't Botulinum Toxin a Poison?
Yes, toxins could be regraded as poisonous, but in the same sense that many drugs used safely in medicine are harmful at the wrong dose. The botulinum toxin used in aesthetic practice is a highly purified, precisely dosed pharmaceutical preparation, administered in quantities far below any threshold of systemic effect.
The doses used to treat a frown line are a minute fraction of what would be required to cause harm. This is not a theoretical reassurance, it is supported by an unambiguous clinical safety record built over more than three decades of widespread use.
We explain this in more detail in our blog post Should We Be Worried That Botulinum Is a Toxin?
Does That Mean There Are No Risks at All?
No treatment is entirely without risk, and honesty requires saying so. Side effects do occur, most commonly very mild and temporary, such as localised bruising or headache. More significant complications, such as temporary drooping of the eyelid, are uncommon and resolve as the treatment wears off.
Serious adverse events are esceedingly rare, and the overwhelming weight of clinical evidence places botulinum toxin among the safest treatments in aesthetic medicine when used appropriately. It is worth stating clearly - there are absolutely no effects of Botox, either good and bad, that do not wear off completely as the botox wears off.
For complete reassurance read Botox - Why is it One of the Safest Treatments in Medicine?
The single most important safety variable is not the treatment itself, it is who performs it. Botulinum toxin should be prescribed and administered by a qualified medical professional with specific training and experience in facial anatomy and injectable technique. In the wrong hands, even a safe treatment can produce poor or harmful outcomes. At the Cosmetic Doctors Company, every consultation and treatment is performed by a medically qualified doctor.
If you are considering treatment
If you are considering treatment and would like to discuss your suitability in a no-pressure environment, a consultation with one of our doctors is the right place to start.
At the Cosmetic Doctors Company your consultation and any subsequent treatment will always be with one of our expert, medically qualified doctors.
To make a booking please use the links below to telephone or email or to fill out our contact form click here.