Being attractive is surely wanted by everyone, especially women. Women tend to want to look beautiful and younger. To make it happen, they are competing to use various methods and perform treatments to maintain their appearance and beauty. Some use natural ingredients by maintaining healthy food intake and exercising to keep their faces and bodies beautiful and fresh and look younger. However, others choose fast ways to get results that look perfect, such as plastic surgery, thread lifts, white injections, and botox injections.
Botox injections are known for anti-ageing treatments. Botox has several benefits, like reducing or eliminating fine lines and wrinkles in the outer corners of the eyes, between the eyebrows and forehead, shaping or improving facial appearance, and treating split ends and thin and damaged hair.
Botox is a drug that weakens or paralyzes muscles. It can reduce skin wrinkling and help treat some medical conditions in small doses. Botox is a protein made by botulinum toxin, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. This is the same toxin that causes botulism. Although botox is poison, it can benefit beauty when appropriately used by professionals and in small doses.
However, recently, social media has been busy discussing Botox injections. The botox injection itself has several things that need attention, from the way it is made and the ingredients contained in it, because there are several critical points contained in the Botox injection which can come into contact with ingredients indicated as haram.
What is the law of botox injections for Muslims?
The Botox injection contains glutathione or a skin whitening ingredient, a type of peptide or protein containing long-chain amino acids. This peptide bond contains ingredients, such as peptide and cysteine, which are sourced from animal-derived materials or can be produced, which can be indicated to have the potential to come into contact with haram materials, such as pork and its derivatives. Meanwhile, in botox, a liquid contains toxins or poisons produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria so that they are not toxic.
Botox, in its manufacture, is made of protein derived from toxic bacteria. Clostridium botulinum bacteria, when mixed with food, is very harmful. However, when used as an active ingredient, the ingredients for botox are harmless. Media for growing Clostridium botulinum bacteria in its manufacture can use microbiological media. The critical point of microbiological media lies in the nitrogen source for the nutrients for bacterial growth, which may come from meat extract, peptone hydrolyzed meat, and other ingredients. This meat that needs to be traced does not come from pigs.
Fatwa of the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) Number 01 of 2010 concerning the Use of Microbes and Microbial Products, one of which states that microbial products from microbes that grow on unclean growth media, if the microbes and the media can be separated, then the law is halal after being purified.
“Syar’i purification (tathhir syar’an) is carried out through production with a minimum mutlaq water component of two qullah [equivalent to 270 litres], which is lawful. Meanwhile, microbes and microbial products from microbes that use pork as a growth medium are illegal,” explained Dr. Ir. Mulyorini R. Hilwan, M.Sc., Halal Audit Quality Board LPPOM MUI.
In addition, botox injections usually contain solvents, which are likely to have the potential to be non-halal because they come from human blood serum or human serum albumin. This is stated in the MUI Fatwa No. 26 of 2013 concerning Halal Standards for Cosmetic Products and Their Use. It states that cosmetic products containing ingredients made using genetically engineered microbes involving pig genes or human genes are illegal.
By fulfilling these things, botox injections are permissible according to MUI Fatwa No. 21 of 2020 concerning Botox Injections for Beauty and Treatment. Mentioned that:
1. Botox injections that are used for beauty and treatments such as overcoming wrinkles by tightening the muscles on the face, correcting asymmetric facial contours (eyebrows and forehead), repairing scar tissue, overcoming skin redness on the face, and oily skin on the face are allowed under the following conditions :
a. not for purposes contrary to the Shari’ah.
b. using halal and holy materials;
c. the actions taken are guaranteed to be safe;
d. not harmful to self, other people, or the environment; and carried out by competent and trustworthy experts.
2. Botox injections that cause harm (dlarar), fraud (tadlis), dependency (idman), or unlawful things are haram, saddan li al-dzari’ah.
Let’s be wise in making a decision, especially in consuming something. As Muslim, it would be nice if we could sort out the good and bad things or actions. This included in the term of Botox injections. (ZUL)
