Barbie Botox Goes Viral, But Doctors Advise Caution

Doctors warned that the “Barbie Botox” fad, which has young women lining up for toxin-based operations to replicate the actress Margot Robbie’s appearance in the movie, may cause resistance among them and impair future medical applications.

Doctors frequently utilize a treatment known as “Trap Tox” to inject a class of medications known as botulinum toxins, including Botox, into the trapezius muscles of the upper back to treat migraines and shoulder pain.

However, there has been an increase in demand for use as a cosmetic surgery since the July premiere of the Barbie movie. On TikTok, the hashtag BarbieBotox had 11.2 million views.

According to Revance Therapeutics president Dustin Sjuts, the technique “supposedly slims the neck and that got attributed to the actress who’s playing Barbie,” he told Reuters in an interview.

They don’t address wrinkling or loose skin. They desire a neck that is smaller and more sculpted, said Scot Glasberg, a New York-based plastic surgeon and the incoming president of the Plastic Surgery Foundation.

The use of the injection in the trapezius is “off-label” because only operations affecting the face are permitted to utilize such injections for cosmetic purposes.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration, it is the responsibility of medical practitioners to determine whether such operations are “medically appropriate” for “off-label” usage.

While Barbie Botox has increased in popularity recently, Revance and Evolus, who produce comparable toxins under the Daxxify and Jeuveau names, respectively, told Reuters that they do not anticipate the fad significantly increasing sales.

Manufacturer of Botox AbbVie declined to respond.

The US market for toxin-based injections, which is thought to be worth over $3 billion annually in sales, has traditionally been favored by those over the age of 40.

The experts expressed concern about the use among younger women, and six of them cautioned that operations performed by employees who were not properly trained at some medispas increased the risk of problems.

Risk of Resistance

According to Cleveland Clinic dermatologist Shilpi Kheterpal, the increase in use among younger women, whose immune systems are frequently stronger, increases the possibility that the medications may eventually stop working as well for them.

Since many cosmetic medications on the market have a similar chemical, Kheterpal warned that if someone uses large doses of Botox repeatedly, they might eventually stop working.

The possibility of administration by individuals who may not be sufficiently qualified was again emphasized by doctors, particularly at medispas where there is no control.

“There are no regulations on the type of doctor that can run a medispa,” said Melissa Levoska, assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

“So, a family medicine physician or OB-GYN [obstetrician-gynecologist] physician can technically open up a medispa, and now increasingly there are also physician assistants and nurse practitioners who are doing injections.”

The toxins are generally safe, but a potential risk, if not injected properly, could be the impact on neighboring muscles which might weaken them for months.

“The science isn’t quite there yet, in order to support the clinical profile of it,” said Evolus chief executive David Moatazedi.

“However, we do know neurotoxins have been used at doses significantly higher for therapeutic purposes than the level of being used for aesthetic purposes and we know the products are safe.”