A lifetime of emotions means that your facial muscles have been put to the test. All those happy moments, sad times and flashes of anger led to wrinkles, crow’s feet and laugh lines.

We get angry. We Cry. We laugh. It’s called being human. Unfortunately, a lifetime of emotions means that your facial muscles have been put to the test. All those happy moments, sad times and flashes of anger led to wrinkles, crow’s feet and laugh lines. Some men and women age "gracefully" with just the slightest trace of fine lines, while others develop deeper grooves that can give a permanent expression of stress or even the impression of a scowl.

What Exactly Is Botox?

Botox is injected into the facial muscles to improve the look of those lines temporarily. It’s a popular treatment. In fact, over 11 million men and women have tried the procedure. In addition to improving your overall appearance, the procedure has noticeable results and no recovery time. In fact, you can schedule an appointment on your lunch hour and after less than 10 minutes in the chair, walk out a new, more youthful person.

The results are noticeable, but not "hey-what-did-you-have-done" noticeable. People will just comment on how well-rested you look. They won’t quite be able to put their finger on it, unless, of course, you decide to tell them.

How Does Botox Work?

Several small injections are made directly into the facial muscles. Botox is successful in smoothing out those lines because it blocks the nerve impulses to the underlying muscles. It helps them to relax. Years of contracting the muscles when squinting, frowning, laughing, furrowing, concentrating or just scrunching up our foreheads in confusion have led to deep lines that no longer disappear when the muscles stop contracting.

5 Areas Botox can Improve

1. Worry Lines: Sometimes when we worry or get stressed out, we appear calm on the outside. Our face can be a mask, not letting anyone know our true thoughts, fears or concerns. Those little worry lines on our foreheads are the only "tell". Unfortunately, those little lines turn into deep furrows over time and we can walk around looking permanently concerned about everything.

2. Lines Between the Eyebrows: You never get a second chance to make a first impression, right? Unfortunately, if you have those vertical lines between your eyebrows the impression you may give off is one of unfriendliness, even though that may be the furthest thing from the truth. The culprit is the glabellum muscles. Reducing their activity can help those nasty frown lines to disappear.

3. Smile Lines: The little crinkles you get near your mouth are from years of smiling and working the underlying muscles. Gravity doesn’t help either. Sure, they have a cute name, but these wrinkles can be very frustrating.

4. Laugh Lines: Those deeper lines that run vertically down your face from your nose to your mouth are called laugh lines, but they can make the happiest person look angry. Using Botox to block impulse to those muscles can reduce laugh lines, even deep ones, dramatically.

5. Crow’s Feet: If you don’t have crow’s feet, you may not understand these fine little lines near the eyes. They seem innocuous, but they can really age a face, male or female. In fact, if you wear eye makeup, you may notice that towards the end of the day the eye shadow has congregated in the crow’s feet, which is not a good look.

Is Botox Painful?

Botox is a non-invasive procedure, but it is still a needle. The pain is short and negligible. Prior to the procedure, the skin is numbed with either an anesthetic cream or a cold pack. In fact, the whole process takes less than 10 minutes.

How Long Does It Last?

Botox is a temporary procedure. The results are noticeable right away and continue to improve over the next few weeks. Depending on your own specific situation, Botox is generally effective for about four months, sometimes longer. If you choose not to continue with Botox, your face will gradually return to its pre-Botox state.

Our skin ages due to sun damage, heredity, gravity, collagen loss, free radicals, hormone loss and changes at the cellular level. Botox is one of the ways we can fight back. It’s non-invasive, safe and produces great results.