Eternal youth is the holy grail of medicine. Companies strive every year to develop products that will accomplish such a feat. People around the world seek out different potions, ointments, creams, and salves to preserve their young features. The manufacturers of these skin care treatments insist that wrinkles will melt away if you use their products. However, how effective are these cosmetic substances?
In a new study published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, heat maps were utilized to show how Botox can have phenomenal cosmetic and psychological effects on patients. A team of researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania generated a heat map that incorporated color-coded properties and features. They did this by using 3D speckle tracking photogrammetry. This method enables medical specialists and researchers to assess “dynamic facial wrinkles” and the degree of reduction associated with Botox treatment. The study consisted of 14 participants over the course of two weeks. They were first evaluated before the injection of 20 units of Botox, and they were also examined afterwards as well.
In the pre-treatment map, light blue signified wrinkles. After completing two weeks of Botox treatment, the light blue coloring reduced in appearance, and was replaced with light green and yellow. The new colors were associated with a decrease in skin wrinkling. As indicated by Medical Daily, in the article Botox Injections As Wrinkle Treatment: Heat Maps Show Efficacy of Toxin Via 3D Imaging Technique, “horizontal wrinkling in the treated area decreased from 9.11 percent to 2.60 percent and from 4.83 percent to 0.83 percent in the forehead following injection. The vertical stretch in the forehead decreased from 6.73 percent to 1.67 percent. The average vertical stretch of the area during brow furrowing dropped from 2.51 percent to 1.15 percent.”
These are some pretty substantial figures that do suggest that Botox has wonderful effects on aging. Perhaps someday, age will only be a number without any physical manifestations in the human body.
