Botox - from Medical Procedure to Household Word

Objective

Determining the factors driving the adoption of invasive medical procedure for consumer application

Methodology

We used secondary research for data collection
Botox procedure data has been taken from ASAPS (American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons)
Databases used to search articles are Factiva and Google scholar
Search query used is:

botox, botulinum toxin: to find the total number of articles published on botox
botox and wrinkles, botox and frown, botox and lines: to find skin care articles using botox

Determined the correlation between the number of articles published and number of botox procedures
Analyzed the articles published to determine the market drivers

Technical overview

Botox injection is a diluted form of botulinum toxin type A which is injected into facial muscles to paralyze or weaken the muscles that form wrinkles. Botulinum toxin is a medication and a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It is the most toxic protein known with an LD50 of roughly 0.005-0.05 µg/kg.

It is sold commercially under the brand names:

Botox, BTXA, Dysport, Myobloc, Neurobloc and Xeomin which are used in the treatment of muscle spasms.
Botox Cosmetic and Vistabel are available for cosmetic treatment.

How botox procedure is performed

Botox procedure usually takes 5-15 minutes and there is no need for any anesthesia.
The procedure is not entirely painless and the small needle does sting. Some physicians may numb the area with a topical anesthetic prior to the injection.
Before the injections, all the sites are premarked and cleaned with an antiseptic solution.
The Botox is then injected.
It generally takes three to seven days to take full effect and it is best to avoid alcohol at least one week prior to treatment.
Aspirin and anti-inflammatory medications should be stopped two weeks before treatment as well in order to reduce bruising.
Once the procedure is performed results last anywhere from 2 to 5 months.

Botox Is commonly used to treat

Forehead lines
Crow's feet (lines around the eye)
Frown lines

Side effects of botox

Botox is not without side effects. However, the side effects are minor and resolve rapidly. The most common side effects include:

Mild nausea

Flu like symptoms

Headache

Redness

Pain at injection site

No severe side effects have been reported, but the dermatologist or medical practitioner administering botox injection should be experienced.

Source: articles.directorym

Market overview

Initially botox was marketed for its medical applications in treating various muscle-related conditions but later its marketing was broadened to include its cosmetic application—smoothing out frown lines between the eyebrows.