Women are reportedly opting for Botox or Botulinum toxic to manage an unwanted facial expression, following a surge in the injections' use to smooth out existing wrinkles for younger-looking skin.
Reports claimed that women are having botox and fillers injected to banish their "resting bitch face" (RBF) -- an expression said to make people look angry or irritated when their face is relaxed.
Some people embrace the facial expression as it wards off unwanted attention, but those who want to look more approachable are happily paying for it, said Dr David Shafer, a certified plastic surgeon from Shafer Plastic Surgery and Laser Center in New York. He stated that this is a "common request" from his patients and he gets several of them each week.
To achieve the "pleasant-looking resting face", doctors use filler injection or the neurotoxic protein Botox, which upon injection temporarily paralyzes muscles and relaxes them to makes the overlying skin appear smoother.
The Mirror reported that this entire procedure takes about 10 to 20 minutes and costs between $500 and $5,000, depending on the number of shots.
A tiny bit of bruising or swelling can occur near the mouth and lips, but it is "barely noticeable", the doctor explained.
Park Avenue plastic surgeon Dr Melissa Doft said "people gravitate to women who appear happy", and for them to appear pleasant she injects fillers into their marionette lines -- from the lip's corners to the jawline -- and underneath their lips to plump and re-angle their mouths.
The cosmetic treatment may, however, turn into a disaster if a surgeon makes an inadequate assessment of the patient and just "freezes the expressions" as this may make someone look unattractive and carry a noticeable stigma of treatment which can make the person look older.
"It is important to weigh them up in light of the potential rewards in order to work out if it's all worth it for you," Dr Jonquille Chantrey, an aesthetic surgeon and International Beauty Lecturer, was quoted by Glamour.
As per another study from researchers in Norway, people had improved body images after undergoing a cosmetic procedure, but those with psychological problems such as depression and anxiety before the surgery still faced the problem following their cosmetic changes.
