“Botox, I think, is poison, I would never put it into my face, and I’m needle-phobic. I spend a lot of time keeping my face out of the sun and taking care of my skin and wearing make- up”. -Joan Collins
For people like Joan, Frotox is fast gaining moment with the growing lifestlyle trend in all things healthy, organic and non-toxic. The ‘Organic Millennials’ want their faces to reflect their inner health and are looking for alternatives to BOTOX in the anti-aging Olympics!
A new cooler option is freezing your wrinkles, and it’s fast becoming an alternative to anti -wrinkle muscle relaxants.
Chillax…the answer is ‘Liquid Cold’!
Freezing temperatures have long been utilised in medicine. cryotherapy, lowering core body temp during surgery, pain management and more recently applications in anti-aging.
Iovera is a cryosurgical device and is the latest technology, touted as a toxic free option in the treatment of dynamic wrinkles. It is currently approved in Europe and undergoing trials in the US -unfortunately us Aussies will have to wait!
Iovera acts by harnessing Focused Cold Therapy (FCT).
FCT is used to block the signal released from the nerve to the muscle creating temporary relaxation of the muscle, which contributes to the formation of wrinkles – similar to the action of neurotoxic muscle relaxants.
Liquid Nitrogen (liquid cold) fills a closed ended needle sending a frozen jolt to the end of the needle, stunning the targeted nerve. The nerve stays temporarily paralysed for anywhere up to 4 months after which it ‘reenervates’ and the treatment needs to be repeated .
Dr. Vincent Wong who is an Harley St London Cosmetic Physician and regularly performs focused cold therapy, told The Daily Mail. “It’s a unique stand-alone treatment in its own right and shouldn’t be compared side-by-side with Botox or any botulinum toxins. Instead, we should think of it as an additional option available to people, especially those who do not want botulinum toxin injections or cannot have them due to medical reasons.
Further reading-
http://myoscience.com/images/PRIME_Europe_Mar_2014.pdf
More youthful looks come at a price and treatments can range of $300 upwards per session lasting up to 3-4 months (similar to botox) being performed in under ½ an hour.
Pros…
- results are seen immediately
- non toxic
- temporary if you don’t like the results, you need only to play the waiting game
Cons…
- anti- wrinkle neurotoxic muscle relaxants, at this stage, appear to offer a broader application in terms of areas on the face and neck which are able to treated. Iovera is limited to the forehead area
- Some opinions are ;Iovera is less predictable than neurotoxic muscle relaxants as when its delivered it’s ‘hoped’ the right nerves are targeted making it less predictable and very reliant on practitoner skill
- adverse side effects short lived bruising swelling redness pain associated with swelling .nausea eyelid droop and eyebrow heaviness
Currently not available in Australia-but I’ll keep you updated posted!
Manufacturers of neurotoxic wrinkle relaxants are likely to be offering the cold shoulder to this latest technology but I’m pretty sure the ‘Millenial Organics’ will give it the warmest of welcomes…..
Would you consider this treatment option?
Love to hear your thoughts…