Recently, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety revoked the license for Innotox, a Type A botulinum toxin produced by South Korea's Meditox, due to falsified experimental materials. This measure took effect on the 26th. Related products are currently circulating in the Chinese market, where they are translated as "Meditox" and its botulinum toxin products are commonly referred to as "Powder Toxin" and "Little Gold Bottle."
To date, all three botulinum toxin products under Meditox have had their licenses revoked by the MFDS. Besides Innotox this time, Meditoxin and Coretox had their licenses revoked last year.Although Medytox's botulinum toxin products have been exported to some countries and regions worldwide, these three products have yet to obtain approval from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). Nevertheless, they have been used in non-medical settings such as beauty salons within China. Image source: Internet
As celebrities both domestically and internationally increasingly embrace botulinum toxin, many beauty-conscious individuals are taking risks to undergo injections in pursuit of enhanced appearance.Currently, botulinum toxin has become a highly sought-after product in the international pharmaceutical market. What exactly is botulinum toxin? Does it truly have face-slimming effects? Who should avoid using it for facial slimming?
What is Botulinum Toxin?
Botulinum toxin, also known as botulinum neurotoxin or botulinum toxin, is commonly referred to as the "face-slimming injection."
Does Botox Really Slim the Face?
Botox works by blocking nerve impulses to muscles, relaxing overly contracted muscles and paralyzing overdeveloped ones. It achieves "disuse atrophy" by temporarily paralyzing muscles, causing thickened or enlarged muscles to shrink and create a slimmer facial appearance.
While Botox can cause muscle atrophy at the injection site, creating the appearance of a slimmer face or legs, it has no actual "slimming" effect on fat.
Botox itself is highly toxic; facial slimming injections require caution.
As a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum, Botox is inherently highly toxic, and improper use can lead to serious consequences.Two critical steps in botulinum toxin production and injection:
1. Ensure purification—higher purity is better. Bacterial impurities must be removed to prevent local allergies, infections, and impaired wound healing.
2. Strictly control dosage. Insufficient injection yields poor results, while excessive amounts cause botulinum toxin poisoning, potentially leading to systemic muscle paralysis and respiratory failure.
Five categories of individuals should not undergo Botox facial slimming treatments:
1. Pregnant women and lactating mothers;
2. Patients with myasthenia gravis or multiple sclerosis;
3. Individuals with ptosis (drooping eyelids);
4. Those who are extremely thin or suffer from heart, liver, kidney, or other organ diseases;
5. Individuals with allergic constitutions.
Beauty salons lack qualifications for botulinum toxin injections
It is understood that the revoked Korean "pink botulinum toxin" has not obtained approval from China's National Medical Products Administration and is an illegal product. However, over 420 million yuan worth of injectable type A botulinum toxin products are still exported annually from South Korea to China. The "pink botulinum toxin" circulating in the Chinese market primarily enters cosmetic surgery institutions through unofficial channels such as overseas purchasing agents.
Beauty salons themselves lack the qualifications to administer botulinum toxin injections. Legitimate botulinum toxin products can only be sold to medical institutions and cannot be directly sold to beauty salons. Therefore, any botulinum toxin injection services offered by beauty salons are inherently unreliable.