The most common myth of Botox is, "Oh my gosh, that's a toxin. Why would I want a toxin injected into my body? I want to age organically and gracefully. I don't want toxins in me." My response to that is, yeah, if Botox is ingested, it can be toxic. As a purified protein that's injected, not ingested, it's actually very safe. There are so many medical issues that are now treated with Botox as a therapeutic tool, that it works for migraines, it helps people with TMJ, people who have hyperhydrosis, excessive sweating, even for things like overactive bladder, which is a muscle spasm in the bladder and people who have hemorrhoids. I mean, it works for so many people who have muscle spasms in the necks and cerebral palsy. It's an incredibly therapeutic treatment for so many medical conditions.

If it were toxic, then we would never be able to use it for all of these medical benefits. It's actually a purified protein that is used in a way that is very therapeutic. I think the second myth is that it gives you an unnatural frozen look. I think that was propagated in the early days of Botox where people just had too much. I mean, you can have too much of anything that's good, and Botox is definitely one of those things. Fillers is another one where you could definitely have too much, even though it's safe and it's good. I love to use Botox in a very conservative and light amount. I like to use it to shape rather than to smoothen out and freeze away lines. Obviously, it works well to make lines go away, but I prefer to use it in a way that preserves expression that actually lifts... lifting the eyebrows, for example, lifting the area around the mouth, the jowls, and corner of the mouth. I think it's a really valuable tool for those areas.

Why Would I Want a Toxin Like Botox in My Body?

Yes, Botox is technically a toxin, but as Dr. Daniel Levy explains, there is a big difference in how it is used that makes it very safe to use to treat not just wrinkles but a variety of issues and even conditions.