Is Frotox the new Botox?

Jennifer Aniston, Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Kidman are just some of the stars that have admitted to Botox, but now there’s a new anti-ageing system on the market they might want to try.

Cryotherapy – also known as Frotox – has finally launched in the UK after a year of research, but what is it and does it actually work?

Frotox is a toxic-free wrinkle treatment that’s been labelled by some critics as Botox – but better.

It was created by a group of scientists in the US and has been designed to work immediately, without leaving anything in your body.

It works by injecting liquid nitrogen into the muscle nerves in your forehead, in a procedure that takes around 15 minutes.

[Related: Botox makes you depressed - by freezing your smile]

The shots literally freeze the nerves, making them ‘hibernate’ for four months so that the muscles can relax.

Rather than Botox, the effects can be seen straight away and you can still make facial expressions as the muscles are targeted specifically.

Initial trials of the new injection found that all the testers had fewer wrinkles - and you’re not injecting purified botulinum toxin into your forehead, which is what Botox is.

Frotox has finally launched in the UK, administered by Dr Yannis Alexandrides at 111 Harley Street in London.

He’s been trialling the injections for more than a year, since it was initially launched in the US.

“The liquid nitrogen freezes the targeted nerves on the forehead and between the brows,” he said.
“Nitrogen occurs naturally in the body [so] - unlike Botox - you aren’t putting a foreign substance in to your system.”

[Related: Mother gives Botox injections to her eight-year-old daughter]

But not everyone is convinced by this new fangled wrinkle treatment, with some critics calling it risky and unpredictable.

“There is some degree of uncertainty with this procedure, as it is delivered in the hope that the right nerves can be hit to achieve the desired result,” said Dr Dennis Wolf, Joint Medical Director at The Private Clinic on Harley Street.

“In my opinion the procedure is, therefore, far less predictable than Botox.”

Will you be trying Frotox? Let us know over on Twitter now.