Mom always said to wear a hat and sunscreen to protect your skin and prevent premature aging. We wonder: if all else failed, would Mom have tried Botox, now the number-one nonsurgical way to banish wrinkles in the U.S.?

It hardly seems possible that Botox, manufactured by one company, U.S.-based Allergan Inc., has been around for only five years. (Doctors have used it to treat uncontrollable blinking and other muscle disorders of the eye since 1989.) Now it permeates our popular culture; you can even get Botox injections at the mall. Last year alone 3.5 million went under the micro-needle, and customers are no longer just the middle-aged. They are increasingly thirty-, twenty-, even teen-somethings who are coming to rely on Botox to nip wrinkles in the bud. Forget to put on the SPF 30? No problem. There’s always good ol’ Clostridium botulinum to fall back on. We don’t mind that Botox is the deadliest neurotoxin known to man, which in larger quantities kills about a thousand people a year who eat tainted food. We use it anyway because it works so well.

Botox works by paralyzing muscles, which is why it works best on dynamic lines – those caused by facial movements – not static lines. That little furrow between your eyes caused by squinting? Forehead lines, neck wrinkles, laugh lines, lip or nose creases? Botox erases them by weakening the nerve response until the injected muscle can no longer contract and cause the wrinkle.

Botox injections are quick, easy and relatively inexpensive. One treatment ranges from $200 to $400, depending on the size of the area injected. (A deeply furrowed forehead, say, will require more Botox than crow’s feet.) Practically anyone can partake of Botox, though it works less well on dark or thick skin or people who have had food poisoning. Also, stay away from Botox if you’re on antibiotics or heart medication, or suffer from a disease that affects the nerves, such as ALS, Lamber-Eaton syndrome or myasthenia gravis (Botox can cause allergic reactions or even a heart attack).

For most people side effects are minor. Contrary to what the movies depict, you’ll still be able to smile and close your eyes and drink from a glass without drooling. If you’re sensitive to the formula, your forehead might feel a bit overdone and difficult to move, but no one else will notice. Just ask your doctor to use less Botox next time. The most common complication is slight nausea or a mild headache. At worst, injections around the eyes sometimes cause eyelid droop, but this usually goes away in a few days.

But the needles do have a burning sting, and the effects wear off within three to six months, so you’ll have to repeat the procedure at least a couple of times a year to maintain your new wrinkle-free face.

As for the Botox parties you keep hearing about, the FDA officially frowns on these soirees even though a medical doctor presides. That’s because a) the back bedroom of a friend’s house is no place to have a life-threatening allergic reaction and b) alcohol can cause bruising. So resist the urge to party down with Botox and stick with a doctor’s office, preferably one run by a board-certified plastic surgeon.

In most cases you can fill out the few forms, consult with the doctor and get your injections all during one appointment. Before beginning, the doctor will have you smile, frown and open your eyes wide to pinpoint which muscles are causing wrinkles and dot those areas with a surgical pen. Your face will be numbed with anesthetic cream or an ice pack before each offending muscle is given up to three injections with a fine needle. The shots do sting and cause minor swelling, but most people describe them as a quick, mild discomfort. You should be up and out of the injection chair inside of 10 minutes and on your way to the rest of your day with no one the wiser.

For the first few hours after your injections, avoid lying down, bending over, or engaging in any other physical activity that affects circulation in the face. After that you’re good to go.

It typically takes a few days to see any improvement. Within a month, you should notice a big reduction in crow’s feet, forehead furrows and other treated areas. Results can last up to six months, but eventually the nerve endings the Botox destroyed start to regrow receptors and wrinkles return. Sometimes, repeated treatments atrophy the muscle to the point where you need fewer injections to maintain a wrinkle-free face, which is generally a good thing. (If you don’t like the results, stop the injections and your face will return to normal.) In extremely rare cases, results are permanent; a happy outcome if you love your new look, bad news if you don’t.

If the idea of Botox is distasteful, there are always the old-fashioned preventative measures Mom would have approved of, including slathering on sunscreen every day, wearing a floppy hat at the beach, and drinking lots of water to moisturize from within. Facial exercises increase blood circulation and supposedly produce more collagen, the substance that makes skin look young. Try this one: Tilt your head back to look at the ceiling, letting the mouth fall slack. Slowly, move your lips together to “kiss” the ceiling. Repeat several times.

If the damage has already been done, invest in an over-the-counter or dermatologist-prescribed wrinkle-reduction cream.. Lotions with hyaluronic acid and Retinol are harsher and more expensive, as are chemical peels, but do an even better job of erasing fine lines.

Those interested in animal welfare have a special reason to spurn vanity Botox. According to the Humane Society of the United States, each batch of Botox varies in potency, so maker Allergan must test each batch to make sure it’s safe for use in humans. This is done by injecting test mice with various intensities of the formula; whichever intensity kills half the animals within three days is considered a safe batch for humans. This strength, known as LD50 or Lethal Dose 50, comprises a single unit of commercial Botox.

-- Cynthia Rice