First emerging as an FDA-approved aesthetic procedure in 2002,1 BOTOX® Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA) became culturally associated with glamorous Hollywood stars.
Please see BOTOX® Cosmetic Uses and Important Safety Information below, including Boxed Warning.
These days, though, the continued dominance of social media has inspired a shift in public perceptions about aesthetic treatment. Influencers still exist, but perfection is no longer a job requisite. Where celebrities were once admired for their unattainability, consumers now seek out relatability. Now, open and honest conversations take precedence, helping change the definition of authenticity and evolve today’s aesthetic standards.
BOTOX® Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA) is a prescription medicine that is injected into the muscles and used to temporarily improve the look of moderate to severe forehead lines, crow’s feet, and frown lines between the eyebrows in adults.
That’s why Allergan Aesthetics, the makers of BOTOX® Cosmetic, introduced Allē, a loyalty program that helps users save money on products, procedures, and treatments, all while providing essential information on exactly what each entails. It comes as Allergan Aesthetics continues to focus on actively educating its consumers about its processes to ensure safety and scientific rigor and to help dispel misconceptions about aesthetic culture.
This is necessary in an era when doctors have taken to social media to share their expertise with the public, garnering online fame in the process. Dr. Muneeb Shah, for example, is a board certified dermatologist, who’s amassed millions of followers by responding to viral videos of skincare products and procedures and explaining them in layman’s terms.
Dr. Shah’s platform made him a fitting choice to open Allē’s South by Southwest panel, appropriately named “Authenticity in the Age of Social Media.” Addressing a full house, the dermatologist recalled the origins of his social media journey as a pandemic-era whim. Even he was intimidated by the glossy nature of various social media networks, but upon discovering that less-edited videos were encouraged on one short-form video app, in particular, he began posting content of his own.
“I didn’t have perfect lighting. I didn’t have an awesome mic. I had a lamp with the shade on it, not a ring light,” Dr. Shah said. “I had a tangled headphone cord that I would speak into and just tell dermatology information to people. They resonated with it because it was raw, and it was authentic.”
Talk to your doctor about BOTOX® Cosmetic and whether it’s right for you. There are risks with this product. The effects of BOTOX® Cosmetic may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. Please see additional Important Safety Information below.
During the conversation—which also featured model, actor, and entrepreneur Olivia Culpo; design expert and TV host Bobby Berk; beauty entrepreneur and content creator Felicia Walker; and moderator Leah Faye Cooper—Dr. Shah revealed that other doctors have questioned his choice to become a content creator. Despite these criticisms, he maintained medical professionals have an “obligation” to debunk misinformation where it starts, and that’s usually on social media.
He also explained how he’d see fellow dermatologists getting quoted in newspapers, saying, “‘Hey, this trend is going viral on social media. These kids shouldn’t do it. It’s really bad.’ But the kids that are seeing that stuff are not reading [those publications]. So to me, it was so obvious that you need to make content where people are receiving their information.”
In addition to Dr. Shah offering his social media expertise, Walker brought the perspective of a content creation veteran. Walker has been a leading voice in the beauty industry for over a decade, first as the founder of the successful blog ThisThatBeauty and, later, as a content creator and owner of her own skincare company, PHOEBE SKIN.
In recent years, her content grew even more personal. At age 45, Walker decided to seek out a BOTOX® Cosmetic treatment consultation, and rather than keeping the treatment under wraps, she took her social media followers along for her journey.
The decision was twofold. For Walker, receiving BOTOX® Cosmetic was the natural next step given her decades-long interest in aesthetic treatments.
“I choose BOTOX® Cosmetic for a few reasons,” Walker said. “One is research. I’m a big researcher, and it took years before I decided that I wanted to explore injectables. It’s always been a progression of, ‘What are the tools required for whatever [are] the results I’m looking to achieve?’ So, I always knew that I would get to a point where I would explore an injectable.
Now, there’s a whole sea of injectables out there. It’s, ‘Which one is it going to be?’ My research and speaking with a licensed provider led me to BOTOX® Cosmetic.”
(Continued Important Safety Information)
Alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be a sign of a life-threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before injection are at the highest risk. Please see additional Important Safety Information below.
Walker’s decision to get BOTOX® Cosmetic—and partner with Allē—stemmed from the company’s increasing interest in empowering and educating its clientele. In 2022, BOTOX® Cosmetic launched the “See Yourself” campaign, which pulled from nearly 20,000 submissions of BOTOX® Cosmetic patients who wanted to share their experiences with the treatment. Rather than boasting high-profile celebrity clients, the campaign utilized testimonials from a mother of nine, a nurse, and other everyday people who found that the treatment worked for them and fit into their own busy schedules.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, are breastfeeding, or plan to breastfeed as it is not known if BOTOX® Cosmetic can harm your unborn baby or pass into breastmilk. Please see additional Important Safety Information below.
What’s more, the company just announced a partnership with IFundWomen, a funding marketplace for women-owned businesses, to help spotlight and champion their stories. In June, BOTOX® Cosmetic and IFundWomen announced 20 women to receive $25,000 grants to continue their entrepreneurial journeys.
“Our patient community is diverse, consisting of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and ethnicities, lending to a beautiful array of stories and experiences,” said Carrie Strom, Senior Vice President, Global Allergan Aesthetics. “As part of our ongoing efforts to create a more honest and accurate portrayal of our patients, we are continuing to put stories of real patients at the forefront of our campaigns. Our hope is that we can pull back the curtain on what the journey is like for a wide array of people, making it a more inclusive space for all.”
(Continued Important Safety Information)
Side effects include allergic reactions, neck and injection-site pain, fatigue and headache. Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms, and dizziness. Please see additional Important Safety Information below.
For Walker, seeing herself in a company is especially important. “As a woman of color, as a Black woman, I know what it’s like to not see yourself represented in the injectable space. I know that so many Black women are looking at this and thinking, ‘This is not a thing for me. This doesn’t speak to me. It’s for other people. It’s not for me. It’s them, it’s not me,’” Walker explained.
“And for me, someone who has a voice of authority, who’s trusted and can say, ‘Hey, here’s the research behind a certain product. Here’s how it works. Here’s how I use it. Do I look like the stereotypes that you have in your mind of someone who used the product? No. So, can it be used responsibly and judiciously? Yes.’ And so, I felt like I wanted to be a part of voicing that for women who look like me.”
In doing so, Walker hopes to empower her audience with education and resources to make informed decisions when it comes to choosing an aesthetic treatment.
To learn more about Allē, the official aesthetics loyalty program of Allergan Aesthetics, visit here. Follow @Allē on Instagram and Facebook.
BOTOX® COSMETIC IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION AND APPROVED USES
Approved Uses
BOTOX® Cosmetic is a prescription medicine that is injected into muscles and used to temporarily improve the look of moderate to severe forehead lines, crow’s feet lines, and frown lines between the eyebrows in adults.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
BOTOX® Cosmetic may cause serious side effects that can be life threatening. Get medical help right away if you have any of these problems any time (hours to weeks) after injection of BOTOX® Cosmetic:
- Problems swallowing, speaking, or breathing, due to weakening of associated muscles, can be severe and result in loss of life. You are at the highest risk if these problems are pre-existing before injection. Swallowing problems may last for several months.
- Spread of toxin effects. The effect of botulinum toxin may affect areas away from the injection site and cause serious symptoms including: loss of strength and all-over muscle weakness, double vision, blurred vision and drooping eyelids, hoarseness or change or loss of voice, trouble saying words clearly, loss of bladder control, trouble breathing, and trouble swallowing.
BOTOX® Cosmetic dosing units are not the same as, or comparable to, any other botulinum toxin product.
There has not been a confirmed serious case of spread of toxin effect when BOTOX® Cosmetic has been used at the recommended dose to treat frown lines, crow’s feet lines, and/or forehead lines.
BOTOX® Cosmetic may cause loss of strength or general muscle weakness, vision problems, or dizziness within hours to weeks of taking BOTOX® Cosmetic. If this happens, do not drive a car, operate machinery, or do other dangerous activities.
Serious and/or immediate allergic reactions have been reported. They include: itching, rash, red itchy welts, wheezing, asthma symptoms, or dizziness or feeling faint. Get medical help right away if you are wheezing or have asthma symptoms, or if you become dizzy or faint.
Do not receive BOTOX® Cosmetic if you: are allergic to any of the ingredients in BOTOX® Cosmetic (see Medication Guide for ingredients); had an allergic reaction to any other botulinum toxin product such as Myobloc® (rimabotulinumtoxinB), Dysport® (abobotulinumtoxinA), or Xeomin® (incobotulinumtoxinA); have a skin infection at the planned injection site.
Tell your doctor about all your muscle or nerve conditions, such as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, myasthenia gravis, or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, as you may be at increased risk of serious side effects including difficulty swallowing and difficulty breathing from typical doses of BOTOX® Cosmetic.
Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including: plans to have surgery; had surgery on your face; have trouble raising your eyebrows; drooping eyelids; any other abnormal facial change; are pregnant or plan to become pregnant (it is not known if BOTOX® Cosmetic can harm your unborn baby); are breast-feeding or plan to (it is not known if BOTOX® Cosmetic passes into breast milk).
Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Using BOTOX® Cosmetic with certain other medicines may cause serious side effects. Do not start any new medicines until you have told your doctor that you have received BOTOX® Cosmetic in the past.
Tell your doctor if you have received any other botulinum toxin product in the last 4 months; have received injections of botulinum toxin such as Myobloc®, Dysport®, or Xeomin® in the past (tell your doctor exactly which product you received); have recently received an antibiotic by injection; take muscle relaxants; take an allergy or cold medicine; take a sleep medicine; take aspirin-like products or blood thinners.
Other side effects of BOTOX® Cosmetic include: dry mouth; discomfort or pain at the injection site; tiredness; headache; neck pain; and eye problems: double vision, blurred vision, decreased eyesight, drooping eyelids and eyebrows, swelling of your eyelids and dry eyes.
For more information refer to the Medication Guide or talk with your doctor.
To report a side effect, please call Allergan at 1-800-678-1605.
Please see BOTOX® Cosmetic full Product Information including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide.
© 2023 AbbVie. All rights reserved. BOTOX and its design are registered trademarks of Allergan, Inc., an AbbVie company.
PRT162633 07/23
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