Called Calf Tox, the new Tik Tok trend promises a shapely leg thanks to the injection of botulinum toxin into the calves. Super expensive, this procedure is already the talk of the town. What is it really ?
Every day, Tik Tok sees new beauty trends blooming! In particular, that of using botox to reshape your silhouette or modify your appearance. The latest one? THE Calf Tox whose hashtag has more than 2.5 million views. This fashionable phenomenon consists of injecting botox into your calves to see them refine and reshape. The objective? Have a perfectly curved leg.
If botox is known to treat facial wrinkles by relaxing the muscles responsible for wrinkles, its use to reshape the calves is absolutely not approved by most professionals. No matter, the technique is creating a buzz on the networks and many fans have already taken the plunge. So, is it as effective as it seems? The doctor Alexandre Koutsomanis, qualified specialist in plastic and aesthetic surgery, tells us more.
“This whole thing started when some people realized that by injecting botox into the masseter muscle (the jaw muscle) to treat bruxism, it had melted it and therefore become thinner. Like you know, when you inject botox, it blocks the muscle and a muscle that is not working, it tends to melt. So, if it is possible to refine a masseter muscle, why not do it in no time? any muscle, here at the calf level,” explains Dr. Koutsomanis. Before adding “The theory is right, the practice is wrong”. For what ? “Simply because the calf muscle is 50 times the size of a masseter muscle.” Clearly, imagine the astronomical quantity of botox that would have to be injected into the calf to reduce the volume of the muscle. As a reminder, the bottle costs 400 euros. “For this to be minimally effective, around 30 vials per calf would be required, which would result in a huge cost.” explains the specialist. And make no mistake, if a professional suggests that you inject one or two vials per calf, it will not be effective.
In addition to the exorbitant budget required for this procedure, it is important to remember that injecting botulinum toxin into the calves is not without consequences. You risk losing strength in your legs and therefore having serious problems walking. So what really works to slim your calves? There liposuction which will suck the subcutaneous fatty tissue in order to obtain thin and harmonious legs.