The Botox Craze in Pakistan

The Botox Craze in Pakistan

If someone asked you to name any physical flaw that you’d change about yourself, what would it be? Some would say their weight, whiter skin or even a slimmer nose. While the list is endless, more women in Pakistan are undergoing cosmetic procedures to shed years off their face.

As always, trends in Pakistan are started by celebrities and socialites who promote youthful, flawless skin. From morning talk show hosts such as Shaista Wahidi, Bushra Ansari, Mahnoor Baloch to Saba Ansari of Sab’s salon, Botox has become an epidemic in Pakistan. The promise to remove unwanted wrinkles, crow’s feet for youthful, utterly delicate skin is now easily available to the public without traveling overseas.

 The Epidemic

The world over has found a growing popularity in the procedure. In America, Botox is the No. 1 minimally invasive cosmetic procedure with over 8 million procedures in 2013. Bollywood celebrities are also some of the top clients including Bipasha Basu, Preity Zinta and Madhuri Dixit. The rise of Botox procedures in Pakistan has double in the past year alone. More celebrities are hopping on the bandwagon to take years off their face.

The decreasing cost of Botox has increased its patients, although the cost is not vastly affordable throughout Pakistanis. In the US or UK a Botox injection is priced between $300 up to $800. In Pakistan the treatment can be found at varying costs from $100 to $200 depending on where you visit.

Cosmetic procedures including Botox®, Restylane®, Microdermabrasion, Dermabrasion, Laser resurfacing, Collagen injections and Chemical peels being within reach in Pakistan- more celebs and socialites are taking up the procedures to get rid of wrinkles and fine lines. More and more celebrities and socialites keeping up with appearances, women and men are finding it easier to undergo the procedure without harmful consequences. The minimum age of women to approach Botox treatments are between 35-45 years old.

 

Nadia Hussain is just one of the many celebrities and socialites who promote the use of Botox in Pakistan. The model turned fashion designer is known to keep her figure fit as well as her skin. With the launch of her own aesthetics treatment facility at the Transform Clinic in Karachi called Radiance. The cosmetic and non-surgical skin treatments are done by cosmetic surgeon Dr Mabroor Bhatti.

The treatments at Radiance specialize in Botox with prices starting at 15,000Rs. to 18,000Rs. depending on the amount of treatment required.

What is “Botox” Exactly?

Botox are a couple of different injections of botulinum toxin used together to temporarily paralyze facial muscles.

As quoted by Dr. Farah of the Skin Laser & Liposuction Centre in Lahore,

“Botox is used to correct lines of expression on the face like laugh lines, frown lines, forehead lines and wrinkles around the eyes, these lines make one look older & tried. Once the muscles are at rest after Botox treatment, the skin becomes smoother creating a more natural and relaxed look.”

Botox relaxes the contraction of muscles by blocking nerve impulses so that the muscles can no longer contract leading to smoother, youthful skin. Generally Botox is known to be the most effective around the eyes and forehead since more wrinkles and fine lines occur on the upper part of our face more so.

Improvements begin to show within 2 to 4 days with the procedure lasting for 4 to 6 months. It is not at all a permanent solution to wrinkles and fine lines as they tend to reappear overtime.

How is Botox Administered?

 

Botox is minimally invasive in that it doesn’t require any surgical prepping such as anesthesia. It corrects the underlying muscle of the skin instead of the skin surface or subsurface.

The treatment takes just a few minutes to undergo as the injection is placed on various parts of the face. A fine needle is used to ensure complete accuracy, about 2-3 injections are placed on the desired areas including nose, crow’s feet and upper lips. Areas such as the forehead require 10-12 injections due to the large area.

Benefits and Side Effects

The major benefit of Botox is of course reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, other possible benefits includes disappearance of chronic migraine headaches, reducing  excessive sweating, decreasing joint pain from arthritis and control excessive urination.

Some side effects include:

• Temporary Bruising or Soreness
• Headache
• Respiratory infection
• Flu syndrome
• Blepharoptosis (drooping of the upper eyelid)
• Nausea
• Indigestion (heartburn)