The Deal

• $198 for 20 Units Of Botox ($250 value)

Botox: Relaxing into Beauty

Learn more about how Botox gives faces a smooth, serene appearance with Groupon’s guide to the useful toxin.

The botulism toxin, better known these days by its trade name Botox, stops facial wrinkles at their source: the small muscles whose constant contractions furrow the skin. During a typical treatment, a doctor or nurse administers the Botox serum directly to the desired areas—typically the glabella (between the brows), crow’s-feet, or forehead—via a series of injections. These injections usually contain 20 units of Botox (the FDA-approved dosage), though the treatment provider may prescribe more, depending on factors such as the severity of wrinkles or whether you want to keep the one that looks like a cool snake. During the days following the injections, the toxin inhibits nerve signals to the tense muscles that cause facial creases, relaxing them and the overlying skin for three to six months.

Derived from an initially dangerous, illness-causing bacterium, Botox is a remarkable example of scientists turning lemons into lemonade. In context, the food analogy may not be appetizing, but it’s somewhat apt: botulism gets its name from the word botulus, Latin for sausage. It was first identified as a source of food-borne illness in wurst-loving Germany in the 1820s, but researchers immediately began speculating about its therapeutic effects. It wasn’t until the 1960s that a safe, standardized method of extracting and diluting the toxin was achieved, and its first beneficiaries were not med-spa clients but people suffering from crossed eyes. Injections of botulinum into the overactive ocular muscles that caused the condition corrected patients’ vision, a result that had previously been possible only through surgery or wearing 3D glasses upside down. In the decades since, it’s been found to be able to treat a wide range of other conditions, from muscle disorders to excessive underarm sweating.