To ask your alternatives to Botox?

[Wrinkleyoldbag]

I’m nearly 40 and my face in the last year seems to have crumpled like a crisp packet!!
The wrinkles and lines across my forehead are now extensive and don’t disappear when my face is expressionless!
I have a needle phobia so Botox just isn’t an option for me!
Ive tried expensive brands (La Roche posay, Estau Lauder, Elemis) and cheaper (the ordinary, boots own, etc) with no real change.
I’ve used retinol and mandelic acid, which helps with skin tone and glow, but no change to wrinkles!!
I use spf everyday, but I think it might be too late as the damage is done!
I’ve looked at LED masks but I don’t think it the science behind really stacks up for at home use.
Is there anything I can try/use to make a difference, or am I destined to keep this crumpled face?? TIA.

OP, get to work with a large pot of real Vaseline at night, this fills in the lines and wrinkles, sleep on your back with a rolled pillow beneath your neck if possible,
drink water, eat raw carrots and oranges, take a multivitamin, keep us posted !

Lots of sex with a much younger man. Excellent for the skin.

Also plenty of oily fish 😊

think you missed out an essential instruction there, Tammy !

OP, get to work with a large pot of real Vaseline at night, this fills in the lines and wrinkles

And what happens when she washes it off the next day?

Her face will be well moisturised and hydrated ao will look better. If she wants to she can use a tiny amount of coconut oil (dryer than vaseline) to smooth them again, under foundation if she likes or without. It acts like a thick primer, but tonnes cheaper.

Bovine Collagen from Hunter & Gather has transformed the texture of my skin: prz.io/BGzr0YzIl

A SMILE
AND KINDNESS
WILL BRING WARMTH AND LOVE.

Cheaper than botox.

That sounds good going forward (although it'd give me blackheads) but it's not going to do anything for the OP's heavy wrinkles, is it?

Just get the surgery. Don't bother with fillers and Botox. Have a good surgeon to stitch it all back in to place and then be happy.

Well I can only speak for myself but I do find a smear of coconut oil fills in my crows feet a little. It's cheap, it's natural, it's harmless, so one of the least controversial ideas on here I'd have thought. But like all the other suggestions OP can try or not as she sees fit.

I've worked in beauty for over forty years. No botox.
Spf, a good exfoliater and eat oily fish.

I would also recommend a good strong lipstick with a lip pencil. Most people I know who look younger have good teeth. A pretty lipstick is a youth bringer.
I'm one of the oldest people still working in my industry. I've had no tweakments.
I also don't drink anymore. Booze will put ten years on you.

There are absolutely no potions or lotions that can mimic Botox. And trust me, I've tried them all. I pay £600 to have Botox twice a year but use a fully qualified doctor with 15 years experience of aesthetic injections.

I cannot believe the risks some women happily take with their 'Oh, it only costs me £75 for Botox with Jade-Mae at The Beauty Rooms'. And, yes they always look like they've had budget Botox because their faces resemble an Easter Island statue. There's no fucking way I'd let a beautician (who likely never even got GCSE Biology) anywhere near my face with Botox.

I'm 54 and even with Botox I still look like I'm in my 50s and I'm perfectly content with that. But good Botox makes me look fully rested, even when I'm not. And it actually saves me money because I was spending far more a year on stupidly priced creams and luxe facials.

I have noticed a significant improvement in my skin since starting to eat lots more fibre, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables. Whilst also cutting out caffeine and alcohol.
I eat nuts and seeds everyday as well as around 10 fruits and veggies and wholegrains most of the time.
I'm vegan and also enjoy these foods so that helps a lot!

Never tried any expensive creams etc so can't comment on those.

I did get rid of those two lines in-between the eye brows by having a regular yoga practice as the breathing exercises help me to relax my face.

If only I could get some decent sleep I'd probably look 10 years younger! 😂

I would love to wear a strong lipstick but always, always end up feeling like a Pantomime Dame. I look like the lipstick is wearing me rather than vice versa.

My colouring is 'Soft Summer's apparently with low contrast between hair, complexion and eye colour. So any strong lip colour looks too vivid. What would you recommend, please?

👆🏽👏🏽

Microcurrent facials, I've had them for years (luckily my practitioner is a friend and I get it super cheap) .
I'm 59 but regularly get told I look 10 years younger, I'll take that :-)

I hate lipstick (the feel as well as the look) and I like wine.
I’m 60. Don’t give much of a fuck whether I look it or not, though I think I look younger as it goes (others say the same). Part of that is genetics. Part, I’m sure, is that I’ve never worn much in the way of make up, and none at all for the last 10 years.

Vaseline at night over your usual creams and serums. Don't gain and lose weight.

Yea there's a massive spectrum between wrinkled and overdone hollywood faces. Subtle botox is brilliant, I don't look eternally grumpy anymore. Not trying to look younger, no-one looks younger. Just less tired and grumpy.

All of this.

Botox, if done well, is such a subtle but incredibly refreshing procedure.

The people that you know have had it done, have had too much, too often. That’s what gives the frozen look, with the shiny/waxy skin. I assure you, you won’t look like that from well-spaced out appointments and starting small with how many units you have (try 10 units in your forehead to start).

The needles are so, so fine, you can barely feel them, and most practitioners will offer you numbing cream anyway so it’s painless.

For general skincare maintenance, I agree with the other posters mentioning Tretinoin. It’s prescription only, but you can get it prescribed through a dermatologist on Skin & Me or Dermatica if you don’t want to go through your doctor or don’t already see a dermatologist. There’s really nothing else as effective as that.

Other than that, water x 10000, double cleanse, moisturise and SPF.

Completely agree about the alcohol free vegan whole food diet. My diet sounds similar to yours. I've been following this for about 5 years, and at 55 look younger than I did in my 40s. Although I say it as shouldn't, my skin glows.

And I’m 60, drink alcohol and eat meat and fish. I look younger than my years and have no real wrinkles at all.

I am envious of my husband and his amazing beard. He can basically hide his whole face, lines an' all with hair. Another advantage men have over women. Absolutely no fair!!!!

I would love to be able to sleep on my back but for some stupid reason I always wake myself up having bitten my tongue!