94 SEPTEMBER 2019 | TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM
TRUNK^ARCHIVELOOKING GLASS
W
hen doctors Jean and Alastair
Carruthers stumbled upon the
wrinkle-smoothing effects of botu-
linum toxin while treating a patient’s eye
spasms in 1987, could they have imagined this?
The miracle molecule has changed the way we
age, and regular injections have a run-of-the-
mill role in the self-care universe. Botox is now
FDA-approved for three cosmetic uses (verti-
cal lines between the brows, crow’s-feet, and
forehead lines) and has 26 therapeutic appli-
cations worldwide (from migraines to excess
sweating). Meanwhile, doctors continue to get
creative with where to inject it, experimenting
with what is known as off-label use.One of the newest methods is being done
at San Francisco’s Spa Radiance Medical,
where nurses mix Botox with hyaluronic acid
or vitamin C serum from the Spanish pharma-
ceutical brand Xtetic and superficially inject it
all over the face with a MesoGun. (The cost is
$375 to $750, depending on how much is used.)
This procedure, dubbed the Botox Facial, is
combined with LED lights before and infrared
lights after to stimulate collagen production
and reduce inflammation. The treatment has
become a favorite among oft-photographed
clients, says Angelina Umansky, owner of the
adjacent Spa Radiance. “It looks like someone
ironed out the skin. Everything gets smoother,as if you’ve had a beautiful rest.” One
that lasts up to six weeks. And because
Botox has also been shown to have
a tightening effect on pores, many
dermatologists are injecting small
amounts into the top levels of skin
in a procedure called “pore-tox.”
Allergan, the company that owns
Botox, announced that it produced
its 100-millionth vial this spring; its
patient loyalty program, Brilliant
Distinctions, which is basically fre-
quent flyer miles for your face, just hit
5 million members; and the company
believes it has only begun to pene-
trate the U.S. market. While a mere
2.5 million people use injectable treat-
ments now, according to Carrie Strom,
Allergan’s senior vice president of U.S.
Medical Aesthetics, 65 million are con-
templating them at this very moment.
Yet competition in the neurotoxin
market is heating up, with options
offering both shorter and longer dura-
tions. (Botox typically takes one to two
weeks to kick in and lasts for threeBotox DIRECT
The latest way to supercharge your facial?
Add a little toxin. BY JAMIE ROSEN
months.) Allergan is in the process of
buying a company that is developing
a first-timer-friendly toxin that takes
effect in 24 hours and lasts two to four
weeks. Evolus, a new medical aesthet-
ics company headed by a former Aller-
gan executive, recently received FDA
approval for a Korean-manufactured toxin
named Jeuveau, which looks set to become
a major Botox rival, and Revance Therapeu-
tics just completed a Phase 3 study for its own
injectable neuromodulator, dubbed DAXI,
that showed efficacy for six months. It is sched-
uled to come to market in 2020.
It’s not just vanity that’s driving this prolif-
eration. Dermatologist and psychiatrist Amy
Wechsler notes that Botox injections have an
effect on our mood. “My job as a doctor is to
do no harm and cure people of ailments, but
also to make them feel better,” she says. “And I
often make people feel better with this mole-
cule.” TO BOOK A BOTOX FACIAL, VISIT SPARADIANCEMEDICAL.COMLET US
EXPLAIN
A Botox Facial does
involve needles—but the
ones in a MesoGun are
hair-thin and deliver
ingredients only into
skin, not muscle.