Not everyone is willing to undergo surgery, whether it be a life-saving procedure or a cosmetic surgical one. More often than not, these people who are deathly afraid of any form of surgery are composed of individuals who swoon every time they see an injection needle, a scalpel, or anything sharp slowly coming into contact with their skin. Luckily for those who want to improve their looks through cosmetic surgery procedures, but are scared senseless of the idea of an actual operation, a wide array of non-surgical options are now open to them. One of the most popular, if not the most popular, non-surgical cosmetic procedures these days are BOTOX ® injections. BOTOX ® cosmetic is the trade name for botulinum toxin A. Simply put, BOTOX ® is a toxin. Not just any toxin, but a toxin that is a by-product of botulism, a form of food poisoning. Not too many people realize that the wildly popular cosmetic treatment is in reality a poisonous substance. How did it come to this? A lot of people may be wondering why anyone would want something as poisonous as botulinum toxin type A injected into their bodies. Here’s a bit of a history about how BOTOX ® came about. In the 1950s, researchers stumbled upon the fact that minute injections of botulinum toxin type A can help decrease the activity of muscles deemed to be overactive. Eventually, botulinum toxin type A was packaged as BOTOX ®. Initially, however, BOTOX ® was intended to treat eye muscle disorders such as misaligned eyes and blepharospasm or uncontrollable blinking. But it was only a matter of time before its cosmetic benefits were discovered. Doctors realized this when they reported that the frown lines between the eyebrows of patients appeared to soften after treatments. This is primarily because botulinum toxin type A is a neurotoxin which basically blocks the signals that would normally tell your muscles to contract. Simply put, BOTOX ® causes paralysis in the specific muscles that are injected with it. And if an area of the body can’t move, it cannot wrinkle. Thus, its cosmetic surgery benefits. Numerous men and women now consider BOTOX ® injections as part of their regular beauty regimens. And more and more people are getting hooked on it because it really does remove unwanted wrinkles, unsightly neck bands, and ugly crow’s feet. As a matter of fact, BOTOX ® injections are now so commonplace that people now hold so-called BOTOX ® parties, a social gathering where participants get their BOTOX ® fixes. What’s more, BOTOX ® can also be used to treat various ailments, including cervical dystonia, excessive sweating and migraines. However, people should still do research on the popular treatment in order for them to make an informed decision on whether to undergo the procedure or not.