To think about botox

Botox is very common and, when used in moderation (a few times a year), it typically doesn’t make you look "haggard" when you're older overuse or excessive treatments are usually the cause of that unnatural look. If you stick to small, well-placed doses, it can soften lines without freezing expression, but always consult a qualified professional to discuss long-term effects and alternatives. At 32, preventative Botox can help delay deeper wrinkles, but maintaining skin health is just as important.

I choose it because it makes me happy to see my face looking a certain way. Its the very opposite of sad for me. Its a pleasure. I think its putting women down when anti treatment women speak as though they alone are party to some great insight about attitudes to women's appearance and industries making money off the back of it as though we're a bunch of unenlightened half wits who never realised that before. Speaking personally I am highly aware of all the issues around it. I know that society despises women's aging faces, that this is to do with patriarchy and that the 'right' thing to do for womenkind is to throw it in the bin and be loud, proud and wrinkled. But...I don't want to. I want to do my bit for equality, to support women in my work and voluntarily, giving my time and money to that. AND I want to like what I see in the mirror. On balance I'm OK with that.

I've had botox in my 11s for 25 years. I'm 55 now and can say without arrogance or delusion, I don't look even slightly 'haggered'. The things that result in that unfortunate description tend to be related to sag and deep lines. Botox has no effect either way on sag, and has a preventative effect on the formation of deep lines. This is because it prevents you making the repetitive movements that over the years crease the skin. Even when my botox has worn off completely I have only very slight 11s as I've bypassed a lot of frowning over the years. I'm fact I only tend to bother ever 18 months or so now for my migraines.

Know someone in late 20s who’s been having it for years - she’s stunning anyway and can’t tell any difference but apparently that’s the point now - do it young enough so that you never get the lines anyway?!

i think it’s crazy at that age. At almost 50, it’s a different story!!

Ok @MidnightMeltdown 😁

FWIW I never thought I'd get it at all; then I turned 43...

I'm in my 30s and no way would I have that shit injected into my body.

When I'm in my 50s I might change my mind. I think if your face is dropping anyway, then it matters less if there are adverse effects - but I wouldn't do it in my 30s or 40s.

My mum was moaning to me about people who have Botox, when I told her I'd had it the previous month.

She still moans but for judgy reasons not aesthetic ones.

You really can't always tell...

@xsquared exactly this. There is good Botox and bad Botox.

Critics tend to be those who have never had it and don't understand what they are looking at/for. A work colleague was mid rant about 'Botox' and I asked her to give me examples of people we knew who looked bad. She gave me a list of celebs who all had, had excessive filler. This is a totally different product. Only one example was of bad Botox which was a deliberate unnatural look (eye lift) which can be completely avoided.
She nearly fell off her chair when I told her that I'd been having Botox for 15 years. When done properly it really shouldn't be too noticeable.

@Littlemisscapable you maybe need to switch up the product that your practitioner uses. For example Botox (the brand) isn't great for me and wears off quickly. Azzalure lasts almost 6 months. It has a wider dispersal rate and the dose used is lower.

My injector is a plastic surgery nurse too and is amazing. When Botox (the brand) wasn't working for me, we tried a few different brands until we got it right.

@Anotherparkingthread you misunderstood, or I expressed badly. DD's skin is flawless without Botox. I'm quite sure the skin of her 26 year old friends is perfectly fine without it too. It seems such a waste of money and angst.

Do you know ow anyone in real life who has had Botox?

Until fairly recently, I didn't think anyone I knew did, but I was surprised to discover 4 women in my department who did, and merrily chatting Botox during a rare department lunch together.

My not knowing may have something to do with Botox not being obvious if it's done well. The oldest one im her 50s just looks more polished and her skin does look smoother and fresher. One of the younger ones in her 30s, I'm afraid to say I can tell she did something to her face when she came back from Mat leave, as it looked tight and shiny, and her eyes seem to have got smaller. I thought it was rapid weight loss to begin with.

I’ve had Botox for years but sometimes with gaps and in the gaps I just look like I did before if that makes sense?
Most people are shocked when I tell them I have Botox as it’s very light touch- on MN everyone thinks people who have it are walking around with frozen faces and shiny heads but not everyone has the same amountor practitioner
I really like it- I just look fresher

What's natural? Frown lines caused by years of worry? Lip lines caused by smoking? Forehead lines exacerbated by sun damage?

@LastNightMyPJsSavedMyLife

First of all, I haven’t chosen it. I’ve never had Botox or fillers in my life. But it I do choose it, why does that depress you? Would it depress you if I subjected myself to strong chemicals at a hair salon or nail bar? Why do you judge other people like that?

@Bohomovies

It's IS sad. It's depressing and it's neither passive aggressive nor putting women down.

You choose it fine but why?

I had my lip corners done last time and it is transformative!

Ugh, this is so condescending. I hate it when people use the word “sad” in this way. It’s so passive-aggressive and it’s a way of putting women down.
Botox and fillers are a choice. Just as having a perm or having hair dyed or nails done is a choice.

I had my frown lines done again the morning. I've also had some in the area just below my lip corners, so I don't have that miserable downturn that seems to have crept in in the last few years. Love it.

It's flawless because of the Botox though lol. Botox does more then elevate wrinkles, it prevents the formation of dynamic wrinkles which we get as we age from using certain muscles like forehead lines from raising eyebrows. I have had lip flip in the past, when I laugh my lip turns under making my smile gummy When I laugh or smile really hard. When I have the lip flip my lip doesn't lift so my smile looks better as my lip stays more relaxed, it looks more natural and makes photos where I'm laughing look a million times better. Some people have jaw Botox to slim their jawline down if the muscles are very pronounced there, or because the jaw clenching causes tooth pain or headaches.

It's really misunderstood, people often think that Botox is just for againg but it can do all kinds of things. The same as most people think filler = duck lips. It's just not the truth.

Mine looks natural, I just don’t look cross.

If friends tell me my skin looks great, or ask me what skincare I use, I tell them but always include that I have Botox.

At least 10 of my friends and colleagues now see my practitioner (which means I get a discount 😄). So they are all insecure. Or maybe, like me, they are really vain and want to look as good as they can.

People being somehow offended by others’ choice to have it puzzle me.

@LastNightMyPJsSavedMyLife I tend to agree. But you will get lots of replies from posters saying theirs looks natural and their friends have just commented that they look 'well' or 'rested' or 'fresh'. The problem with this is that friends by their very nature are polite and kind and aren't going to blurt out 'gosh have you had some work done?'

It is so sad that women are supporting an industry that preys on and profits by the insecurity of women.
It does not look natural. At all. Your natural face is what looks natural. When we look in the mirror we do not see our faces as others do, we focus on one are at a time and scrutinise it.

The whole Botox/filler's appearance is a spectrum from the 'little bit' to the distorted face and what it creates is a 'look'. No matter how little or how much you have you have the 'look' to some degree or other.

It is not a natural, fresh look, it's a look that makes you look like every other person that has it done. The sad thing is that it is women driving this. Someone once send 'Trends are for the anxious' and they were spot on.

Some people metabolise it reallly quickly: I can get 5/6 months but my friend gave up as hers didn't last more than about 4-6 weeks.

@Littlemisscapable that's awful that it only lasts for 8 weeks, have you gone back to the practitioner or even tried a different one or a doctor rather than a nurse if that makes a difference? I like that it gradually begins to work, way more discreet unlike fillers (which I've also had) which are immediate but I also love that too 😆