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A Shot At Beauty

Fighting that frown: Dr. Edmond I. Griffin (left) uses BOTOX® Cosmetic to remove Dunwoody resident Bob R.'s squint and frown lines. The procedure took just a minute, said Bob, 47.

".... Call it Botulism for beauty. Originally harnessed to relax muscles associated with serious medical conditions such as swallowing disorders and crossed eyes, BOTOX® Cosmetic - a diluted, purified form of the toxin - is one of the hottest new weapons against wrinkles".

"Bob R., of Dunwoody, said he decided to have the procedure after seeing the change in his wife. It softened her whole appearance. Already youthful in appearance, Bob said he wanted merely to take out squint and frown lines he had developed over the years." "...the whole thing probably took less than a minute, and it really did what it was supposed to do." "Typically a very fine needle is used to inject the BOTOX® Cosmetic, with patients' skin numbed with ice. Usually, they see results within three to five days." "...Dr. Edmond Griffin, of Dermatology Associates of Atlanta, has been offering the injection for more than two years."

"BOTOX® Cosmetic has, however, retained one trait of its evil twin. Like botulism, it still has the ability to slightly paralyze muscle - which allows it to eliminate wrinkles by essentially smoothing them out. The facial muscles are not frozen, but temporarily softened. BOTOX® Cosmetic works best on crow's feet around the eyes, the frown lines between the brows and "surprise" lines in the forehead. It worked much better than I expected, said Griffin, who said he got the injection to ease two deep frown lines on his forehead. And, he said, a surprise side effect of the treatment is that his migraine and tension headaches eased. And patients say there is another bonus: Some have found after two injections that the muscles are retrained not to tense, allowing the wrinkles to disappear permanently."