Botox and Our Fascination With Youth

Whether we agree with the sentiment behind it or not, ours is a culture that is obsessed with youth. But this should hardly be surprising, as it is hardly unique. Shakespeare didn't write cheery plays about the honor and wisdom and beauty of old age; he wrote King Lear -- which only illustrated in horrific, macabre, and tragic intensity the pitfalls of age. It's youth that Shakespeare was interested in: its beauty, its passion, its vigor and vitality.

Fast forward to the modern era and little has changed. Perhaps we're less apocalyptic about old age, but we'd still admittedly rather stay forever young, as countless iterations of pop songs have wallowed on about. We want to feel young, we want to act young, and above all we want to look young -- maintain that youthful appearance that we associate beauty and life with.

Of course, nature wouldn't have it this way. We age and our bodies decay. Things don't work as well as they used to. Suddenly our backs are sore -- since when was that an issue? Our feet hurt when we stand up for too long. We're tired, even irritable. And then we look in the mirror and realize the inexorable truth: we've aged and its showing. Still, this is no reason to sink into despair; all is not lost. After all, this is the twenty-first century, and if we've begun to improve on anything since the beginning of civilization it's how to extend our lifetimes and, recently, how to maintain our youth.

Botox -- scientifically known as the protein botulinum -- has become one of the most popular methods to achieve this goal. Dr. Richard Clark originally discovered the extraordinary cosmetic effects the protein had on wrinkles in 1989. Its rapid popularity was due, in part, because it was viewed as a quicker, easier, and less expensive alternative to more extensive plastic surgery -- which it is. With a simple injection of Botox into the targeted area of the skin, wrinkles and aging-lines become increasingly less visible, highlighting a younger looking face and giving patients the much-desired confidence in their appearance that they took for granted when they were younger. In addition to cosmetic applications, Botox is also used as a medication for various types of muscle spasms or dystonias. By weakening hyperactive muscles, the protein relaxes the affected skin tissue and patients can feel comfortable in their own skin again.

Whether it's for medical purposes, self-confidence, or simply the understandable desire to maintain your youthful look, Botox is a proven and popular method to keep your skin in a fresh and clean state. A few painless pricks into the areas you want to have treated will have you looking like the you of before.