At least that is what advertisers want us to believe.
Two such advertisements appeared from one page to the next in the April 2008 edition of Self magazine. This magazine is geared toward working women "perhaps mothers and wives in the thirtysomething age range." Most of the articles featured in the magazine regard topics such as weight loss, stress relief, beauty tips, sex advice, easy-to-fix recipes, and self-help strategies. Strewn between the articles, the reader will see page after page of ads for make-up, clothing, shampoo, hair coloring, active wear, prescription medication, perfumes, diet soft drinks and weight-loss products. The two ads that will be discussed are both for the prescription cosmetic treatment Botulinum Toxin Type A better known as Botox Cosmetic. Botox is manufactured by Allergan, Inc. of Irvine, California and is used to temporarily diminish the appearance of wrinkles and frown lines on the face. Botox is injected by a physician directly into the wrinkle to paralyze the skin which somehow makes the wrinkles "disappear"; at least temporarily. Eventually, the patient will have to go back to his or her doctor for additional treatments as Botox does not permanently remove the creases and lines in one's skin. From the web site HowStuffWorks.com: Botox Cosmetic has been successfully used to treat severe glabellar (frown) lines and is approved for use in adult patients up to 65 years of age. Also a form of botulinum toxin type A, when Botox ® Cosmetic is injected into the muscles surrounding the brow area for instance, those muscles can not "scrunch up" for a period of time. They are paralyzed. So the wrinkles in that area, often referred to as furrows or frown lines, temporarily go away (Neer, 2001, Botox in the Body).
The first ad for Botox displays three pictures of the same young woman in various stages of bliss. In each of the three photos, she is smiling, laughing, and appears to be the happiest woman alive.
