For anyone who struggles to zip up their knee-highs, calf Botox (dubbed ‘bootox’) is the new quick-fix cure – but is it worth it? Forget glass slippers – if Cinderella was going to the ball in 2014, she’d be all about the knee-high boots.
At least, that’s if her fairy godmother could help zip them up. It turns out 40 per cent of women say they struggle to fit into the most obligatory of winter footwear – no matter what size or weight they are. But now cosmetic surgeons reckon they’ve got the answer. Promising to reduce calf circumference by 2cm, ‘bootox’ has hit just in time for Christmas. ‘The procedure involves injecting Botox into your calf muscles to relax them. This changes the contour of your calves, reducing their size for up to six months. The treatment cost round $400 and involves lying face down and having about ten jabs in each leg. But in ten minutes you will be walking back to work straight afterwards.’
It can take up to two weeks for ‘bootox’ to take full effect. Plastic Surgeons say the procedure is riskier than Botox elsewhere. Calves are large muscles for a reason – their movement pushes blood around the body and reduces the risk of clots. They’re the second most important muscle for pumping blood, after the heart. There are no studies on the long-term effect of calf Botox, but we know that when calf muscles weaken, clots are more likely.
Large calves are better addressed with exercise or even liposuction, which is effective and safer. On the other hand because as large area is being treated, up to 100 units of Botox is being used per session, compared to 20 or 30 units used on a facial treatment. But experts say the fatal dose is 3,500 units, so it’s still well below that, and it’s all superficial – it shouldn’t affect the inner muscles, which are used for walking.Anyway this treatment is not something to plan on topping up continuously but from time to time should be ok.
