When young girls throw a party together, it's not uncommon for them to glam each other up a bit.

As those girls grow older, a new social custom addresses their beauty needs: botox parties.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Douglas Halliday will perform botox injections at a party Tuesday hosted by the Make & Take Gourmet in Auburn. Though a public botox party is unique to the area, Halliday and his staff have been performing them at salons, restaurants and private homes for about 20 years.

With a $100 coupon to Make & Take given to each participant, Halliday believes both his practice and this local restaurant will benefit from the boost in business.

“(Patients) get to meet my staff and find out the other services we offer, then they get to sample the Make & Take,” Halliday said. “It's kind of unique.”

Botox is a protein that, in small amounts, can prevent the contraction of muscles and thereby dull wrinkle lines and decrease the physical manifestations of aging. It is most commonly injected between and below the eyebrows, the forehead and the corners of the eyes to not only erase existing wrinkles but prevent the development of new ones.

With more than three million procedures performed in 2006, botox is the most common cosmetic procedure in the United States. About 90 percent of those patients are female.

Halliday feels botox is also the easiest of those procedures. The main risk of a botox injection is ineffectiveness, he said. In 2 percent of cases, the procedure fails to produce any noticeable difference in appearance and a stronger or different dose of botox is necessary.

“Occasionally you get a patient who doesn't like the look, but that's short lived,” Halliday said.

The procedure itself takes about 10 minutes and involves little pain. Halliday uses a 30-gage needle that lacks sting, and the location of most injections in low-sensitivity areas like the forehead means little discomfort. Even in a party atmosphere, all procedures are performed in a sanitary environment under entirely safe conditions - with gloves, rubbing alcohol and sterilized needles.

Following the injection, patients are free to shower, exercise or go to work without any downtime.

“People want results, and they don't want risk,” Halliday said. “They want something quick and easy.”

Because botox only temporarily seizes the muscles at the site of its injection, new injections are needed every four to 10 months to sustain an age-lessening appearance.

Halliday feels eight to 25 people is the ideal range of guests at a botox party in order to preserve sterile conditions, yet also create an enjoyable atmosphere. With some prospective patients ready to commute to the Make & Take from Syracuse, Halliday is confident the Auburn party will amass a strong guest list and play out without a wrinkle.

“It's getting more word of mouth,” Halliday said. “Botox is still on the rise.”