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.

I do this, I smiled at an overweight scruffy woman whom looked familiar and it turned out to be me in a shop window mirror.

Fresh air, eat properly, exercise, regular skincare routine, sunscreen, lay off the booze and fags, bare minerals make up works for me now, learn how to put it on! Sleep.

Good haircut, cheerful smile, clothes colour that suits your skin tone. Shoulders back, look tidy.

Interestingly I go to a doctor too.

@Arraminta i checked with my friend who is a :summer' light eyes, blonde hair. 434 madmoselle Chanel.
She wears a nude lip liner with it.

Personally I like Bobby Brown or Mac.

@PiggyPigalle I have worked myself up to 0.025% but only twice or thrice a week.

I think the problem with Botox as you get older is that a smooth forehead plus slight sagging (that happens to us all) can look a bit incongruous. And it’s a tell tale sign of Botox no matter how good a doctor you go to. The top of the face doesn’t match the bottom.

You really have to be very cautious with Botox the older you get.

I wouldn’t worry about this at 40. I didn’t start until 43 and then had it sporadically (with very good doctors). But at 48 I’m trying other things - I may have a light dose next year but no more than once a year if that. And I don’t like it until about 2 months in!

That's a good result!

I'm hoping facelifts get cheaper 😆

Drink lots of water.
Don't smoke at all and don't drink much.
Eat a good diet.
Keep out of the sun.
Get lots of sleep.
Have good genes.

Me too! I genuinely think either acceptance or a facelift is the answer. And the few celebrities that look good have just had a very good facelift.

The guy I’ve been looking at starts at £40k. Sob.

I dont actually like the Jennifer Aniston supersmooth look so am happy as I am.

The women I know who all think they look amazing with botox really don't. I don't mean that in a nasty way, but it's obvious that they have it. No one is looking at them and thinking they look really well/young/line free, everyone automatically thinks 'you've had botox'.

Thank you so much. I will check that out x

I honestly wouldn't even consider going to someone who wasn't a doctor or a dentist.

Diet is important. Seeds are particularly good for skin and hair. Packed with anti oxidants, healthy unsaturated fats and vitamins.

I concur. It's so difficult not to notice it and I secretly always feel that people's faces look much worse with aesthetics and a bit sorry for them. Fillers more so, I guess. They just look so bloated. Each to their own I guess. If you're healthy with good genes and look after your skin you're fairly likely to age well.

Of course you mean that in a 'nasty way'! A woman has posted that she thinks her results are amazing, and you've jumped on her post to tell her that women who think they look amazing are wrong. And 'no one' thinks they look good. You have no idea what pp looks like, or what 'everyone' thinks, but you took the trouble to try to plant the idea in a woman's head that she doesn't look as good as she believes. Why would you do that?

If someone with botox and fillers looks like they've had botox and fillers, then they've used a poor practitioner :)

This confuses me. Presumably you look different after? Or why bother? So anyone who knows you can see there’s a change. What else could have caused it?

I'm not being nasty, I look like a sack of shit myself. Overweight, increasingly apple shape, very thinning hair thanks to menopause. I'm not "jumping on" to tell the poster she looks awful, she said she has amazing results from botox. I know other women who say the same thing "Oh you wouldn't know I've had botox!" when in reality you really would. Save your money, grow old gracefully, it's such a privilege.

I've left it too long to edit but apologies the amazing results poster, I was not trying to run you down, more encouraging anyone who feels they need to inject their face with chemicals to love yourself for what you are

Exactly this. I had botox twice a year from 32 to 50. Haven't had it now for 3 years. With no escaping my ageing looks, a smooth forehead would just look wrong now.

I used to use Frownies years ago and I thought I might try them again but the updated version of scar sheets.

I think they're getting more expensive! Dr Dominic Bray was around £25k about 5 ish years ago. He's now more like £40k+.

Worst results for me were a dr and a dentist. A very well known dr too. Best were a nurse, who I used for years.

I feel much better about myself since I have decided not to have any surgery, fillers or Botox. Just because I've made the final decision so I don't need to be stressed about it any more. I saw two women chatting away with fillers/Botox recently in different places, and whilst both looked ok when not speaking, the second they spoke their faces looked odd even though both looked glamorous. I realised that in my profession, my face being expressive and mobile is very important and that's exactly what I don't want to mess with. Celebs- it's up to them.

Things that make me feel better about it all are: looking at my lovely mum who never had anything done and wears no-makeup, but is charismatic, attractive and I can't imagine her life would have been better in any way by looking different.

Additional things: the Vaseline trick is a great one, back of the hands, neck overnight, it doesn't last but it's good stuff, collagen tablets which I take for joints anyway, fringe to cover up forehead, good primer (I like the Hourglass one), smile a lot, hang out with similarly aged people and have a good time so you care less.

This 👆🏻 I'm fascinated in Teams meetings by the weird looking filler and Botox faces I see, it's quite distracting! Not one of them looks any younger, just the same but with work done, it's like an advert for their low self esteem. Even worse on younger people who aren't even trying to look younger, not sure what look they're going for! I've a colleague in her 20s when I get a hand over in the morning I'm always expecting something shocking has happened as her eyebrows are so high but no, it's just her 'brow lift' and Botox. Pursed mouth is because of her lip filler. Worrying that most communication is non verbal yet facial expressions (or lack of them) are giving the wrong message.