Most Botox users are middle-aged working mothers in their 40s and 50s, according to a new ASAPS survey. The most frequently cited reason in the survey was "to look more relaxed, less stressed."
The Aesthetic Surgery Education & Research Foundation (ASERF), a research branch of the ASAPS, did the survey. The two-page questionnaire was mailed to more than 1,600 doctors who are members of the ASAPS; 1,048 surveys were processed.
Botox is the brand name of botulinum toxin type A. It's made from a very small dose of the toxin. Botox is injected with a fine needle into specific muscles, blocking nerve signals to those muscles and preventing them from contracting. That makes wrinkles relax and soften.
Botox is approved for the "temporary improvement in moderate to severe frown lines between the brows in people 18 to 65 years of age," says the web site of Allergan, the company that makes Botox.
In the ASAPS' survey, just over half of respondents (51%) said their injections lasted four to six months. An additional 38% said the shots wore off after one to three months.
Virtually all survey participants were women (97%). Most were in their 40s and early 50s. The age breakdown was:
- 41-45 years: 19%
- 45-50 years: 19%
- 51-55 years: 18%
- 36-40 years: 13%
- 55-60 years: 13%
Most had two children (33%). Twenty-six percent did not have children. Seventeen percent had three children. Seventeen percent had one child, and 7% had four or more kids.
Most were married or had a life partner (67%), 12% were divorced, 12% were single, 7% were in a committed relationship, and 2% were widowed.
