Botox Users May Read Faces Poorly

Having Botox injections to reduce wrinkles may also reduce your ability to read emotions on people’s faces, a new study suggests. Why? Botox freezes muscles. Therefore, you are less able to mimic someone else’s facial expression. And mimicry is one of the ways that people interpret the emotions they see on a face, researchers said. The study involved 31 women. They were divided into two groups. Both groups received injections in the face. One group got botulinum toxin (Botox). The other group got a facial filler substance that did not affect muscles. Both groups were asked to look at images of faces. People who got Botox were less able to recognize emotions in the faces than the other group. The journal Social Psychological and Personality Science published the study online. Medical News Today wrote about it April 25.