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.

All of this. So true.

I am in a similar position to you op, though it's not the wrinkles that bother me, more the fact that the lower half of my face seems to be sagging and I have lost my jawline! Realistically nothing but a face lift is going to fix that, and I have no intention of doing something so drastic for vanity reasons.
I am trying to work on accepting myself and doing my best with decent skincare, make up and healthy diet but the truth is I still look in the mirror and despair at the sight of my face!

I think this will be my solution when my lines get deeper! 😂

Thank you. The very first thing my doctor said to me was 'I won't be making you look younger. But I can make you look fresher and like you've just come back from the best holiday of your life.'

And that's all I wanted.

O no! well.. sleep on your side alternate nights, on a pillowcase you can hotwash

If it's the fear of needles stopping you with botox, I'd rethink. I have a serious needle phobia too but botox needles are nothing. 1 out of 10. Like plucking an eyebrow hair. You can hold ice on the injection site if you really want to but you really don't need to. Everyone will tell you it's absolutely fine and they're right!

You mention you've used retinol - is that over the counter retinol or tretinoin? Tretinoin is way stronger and does seem to make some difference and has some scientific basis - it helps with sun damage and can soften wrinkles by stimulating collagen. However you have to be patient, it takes six months to a year to see effects. It's also dead cheap from online pharmacies (mine costs about £5 a tube)

But expensive branded creams will make zero difference apart from making your skin feel nice.

Tret is not a lotion or potion; it's proven to work in the long run.
Retinol is useless.

Self confidence.

Honestly, I think botox is ridiculous.
We are supposed to grow old.

Thank you all for your input and suggestions.
I will definitely look into Tretinoin further, I thought it was only available on prescription for acne, where can I find a reputable online seller?
The point about if all the different creams worked no one would have Botox is very valid, and one that hadn’t really occurred to me before.
I know I should just accept how I look now, it seems to of happened suddenly, which shocked me to be honest!! and my bloody husband who is older than me, seems to look younger all the time! A few grey hairs but no wrinkles and he works outside year round!

Dermatica is a good online supplier for tret. Or if you’re in Spain/Portugal in the near future it’s cheap over there. And you can get away with no prescription.

Careful what you wish for! 😮

Where do you buy Tretinoin from? I’ve used over counter retinol and it hasn’t made a difference!

I'm 62 and the only real lines I have and are deep and annoying are top of my nose and vertical ones between my eyes- any great solution for those that don't involve Botox??

I have a tret prescription from Klira.
I'm
Really happy with the results so far.

Botox and fillers are the only things that work but you need to be very subtle and find a very good practitioner. I aim for "slightly less knackered" rather than youthful.

Stop frowning or raising your eye brows

Exactly the same here and it's why I chose my practicioner because she didn't promise to make me look 10 years younger. Probably because she's a medical doctor and understands how human physiology and physiognomy actually works.

Those are the perfect lines for Botox.

Tretinoin improves skin for not only softening lines, exfoliating old skin and revealing the new, it boosts collagen for springier skin. It's an insurance against the future too.
I wish I'd started years ago.
If you start, please take some before pictures and compare every six months.

@PiggyPigalle I'm reticent as i have one eye that's already got a very slight droop - and had some nerve damage in my forehead - weirdly post covid- otherwise I would have been there!!

What % Tret do you use?

I've used tret for about 4 and a bit years now and really pleased with what it's done for my skin

People do look smoother when they use Botox. Probably best just to destigmatise lack of smoothness given that Botox is very expensive and so many people just look their age, but botoxed. 😵‍💫

Any time now, your eyes will go to shit and the wrinkles will be a distant memory.

Speak to Arraminta above, she's being going to a Doctor for botox for years she says. He/she would advise. whether you'd be suitable.

My sun damage isn't suitable for botox as it's on my cheeks.