Allergan, a large pharmaceutical company, owns the rights to Botox Cosmetic. It first received FDA approval in 2002 for the temporary treatment of moderate to severe frown lines in the brows of persons 18 to 65 years old. It is administered by physicians and is available by prescription only.

Botox Cosmetic is also the only treatment of this type that has received FDA approval. (To receive FDA approval is not an easy task. In the U.S., to receive FDA approval, a product must undergo numerous rigorous clinical and laboratory tests. It is only after these tests are thoroughly reviewed and a product is shown to be effective and safe for its intended use, is a product given FDA approval. The process can take years)Botox.

The popularity of Botox Cosmetic speaks for itself. Since its approval, millions of men and women have received treatment, with nearly 3.3 million in 2005 alone. Not surprisingly, year after year the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has consistently ranked Botox Cosmetic as the most popular physician-performed cosmetic procedure in the U.S. (including both surgical and non-surgical procedures).
Treatment with Botox Cosmetic is recognized as non-surgical. An individual method usually takes from 10 to thirty minutes, requires only a few little needles, and frequently shows benefits within 3 to 7 days. Solutions are usually recurring every 3 to 6 months.