Submitted by Dr. Louis W. Apostolakis

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This somewhat trite statement is nonetheless a very valuable mantra to live by. It certainly holds true for keeping the signs of aging at bay.

Most people are aware of how well botulinum products (Botox/Dysport) work to treat creases that are already present, but what many people don’t realize is how tremendously effective it is to prevent those creases in the first place.

Most commonly used to treat the creases between the eyebrows (the glabella), it does so by blocking the movement of the muscle you use to scowl, the most important cause of those creases. Once a crease has formed, some amount of permanent damage has occurred.

While the botulinum products do a great job at mitigating that damage, it is a far better approach to simply prevent the crease in the first place. For most people, the best time to get started with Botox or Dysport is in the late 20s, before the appearance of the crease. There are other areas such as the forehead creases and crow’s feet that are also well treated in the same fashion.

Botox brand of botulinum toxin was approved 22 years ago and has been used extensively in the cosmetic world for more than 10 years. It has one of the most studied safety backgrounds ever. People have had repeated treatments over the course of decades and there have been no discoveries of any side-affects as a result of repeated use. In fact, no one has ever had any permanent complication from Botox cosmetic.

Short term complications include affecting a muscle other than the one intended or over-affecting the intended muscle. These complications may be annoying but resolve quickly. Stating that the most dangerous part of getting Botox cosmetic is “the drive to the office” is in fact an understatement. Dysport was approved in the United States more than a year ago and is not known to have any meaningful differences in its safety profile.

Allergan, the makers of Botox, might be the luckiest company in the world. Allergan has had two blockbuster drugs that were not developed for use in the cosmetic world but both were “accidentally” discovered for such treatments. The first is Botox, which originally had treatment of eye muscle imbalance as its indicated use. It wasn’t until treating eyelid spasms that the observation of relaxed wrinkles was made.

The other lucky drug is Latisse. Latisse is a glaucoma drug that incidentally was discovered to stimulate eyelash growth. While most drug companies are scared to death of discovering “what else the drug might do,” Allergan hit the jackpot when the “side effects” were even more popular than the original intended uses.

Dr. Apostolakis is a board-certified facial plastic surgeon (AAFPRS). His practice specializes in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the face and neck, commonly referred to as plastic surgery. He has been practicing in Austin, Texas, since 2001.

As of Oct. 21, 2011, this service provider was highly rated on Angie’s List. Ratings are subject to change based on consumer feedback, so check AngiesList.com for the most up-to-date reviews. The views expressed by this author do not necessarily reflect those of Angie’s List.