What's your opinion on botox?

[fiddleswiddle]

I've never had it mainly because I'm terrified of needles, however there are some women in my life who have it and look great and others who have overdone it and now have no expression at all left anymore.

My question is really if you would ever have it and for someone afraid of needles like me, are there any other alternatives?

If I could afford it & needed it I would have just a bit & hopefully just keep it subtle.
But I can't afford it so that's irrelevant!

If you can afford it give it a go. I go through phases where I have it for a while then leave it a while. Currently in the having it phase. It doesn’t hurt. Maybe if your muscles are big between your eyebrows like mine are you feel a scratch but nothing more. If you do decide to try it you say you still want some movement during the consultation. I haven’t found any alternative other than filling deep eleven lines which mine aren’t but again that’s needles. The needles are tiny these days and it’s over in a flash.

I had my first one this summer (in my 40s) and it has brighten up my face. I am worried about over doing it and I don't understand those in their 20s doing it.

i love it.

it didn’t hurt at all and was done in less than 15 mins.

i would advise to go to some who is medically trained though.

i went for ‘the natural’ look so i can stil raise my eyebrows etc but just look fresh.

If you’re under 40 you probably don’t need it and if you’re under 30 then you definitely don’t need it. If in doubt, leave it out.

Once you’ve started having it, are you committing to a lifetime of it? (I’m aware no one is going to hold a gun to your head and make you have more, but it must be quite tricky to draw a line and say “I’ll just look wrinkled now.”, especially if your ageing won’t be as gradual as everyone else’s at that stage?)

Iv had it twice this year in my 11s and forehead. I absolutely love how it looks I feel fresher. My makeup looks better (I done actually wear much but it just sits better)
My husband doesn't know he thinks it's all the potions I use 🤣

I think it's amazing for migraines!

And zinc makes it last longer. I only need it done once a year 😊

Please explain 😁

My opinion is that no one needs it, and Tretinoin is much better. I am nearly 52 and won't ever be having it. I don't have any 11s.

love it. Look fresher and more rested with it.

I have good skin, very few “resting” lines but I have a lot of movement in my face and I have strong forehead muscles so I can look very “scrunched” (can’t think of a better way to say it), it relaxes my face and just makes me look so much fresher.

I use good skin care including retinol but the fact is even really good products cannot fix muscle placement or genetic features. Retinol will help improve the look of resting lines and skin texture but if you’ve got deep 11s because of your actual facial structure then even a bath full of retinol won’t help.

in response to PP - no you are not committed for life, Botox wears off in about 4 months so you ever manage some top ups as and when needed or you’d just let it naturally wear off and go back to how it was before

I've been having it, just a bit of a freshen up, smooth out my smokers lines & a few hyaluronic acid injections.
Just found out from the owner of the salon (who took a photo of the damaged box & contents) that my aesthetician has been buying cheap products from China and passing it off as top notch products & charging top notch prices.
I only found out on Friday so I haven't done anything about it yet, not sure what I can do yet.
It's left me feeling very uncomfortable.
There's a lesson in there somewhere, you need to be very careful, I thought I was, she came highly recommended, 20+ yrs experience, certifications framed on the wall etc.
Needless to say I won't be going back.
I think the aesthetic industry needs to be better regulated.

I use good skin care including retinol.

I think OTC retinol is of very little use. I use prescription Tret. You don't need "good" products, in my opinion. I only use Tret and an ordinary Simple moisturiser. Total skin care bill annually: less than £10. ( because I get my Tret overseas).

So interested in this as I thought exactly like @ReeseWitherfork , that you’re sort of committed once you do it and I can’t afford the financial commitment, rather than not being able to afford it at all, if that makes sense! I’m late 30’s and have always had a wrinkly forehead, would love to sort it out. I’ve yet to even find an SPF I get on with as they all make me break out in spots! So I’m fighting a losing battle.

Does it help nose to mouth lines?

The needles are absolutely tiny, very very fine.

You don’t have to keep doing it. Maybe you decide it’s time to stop, we are constantly evolving in our relationships with ourselves. If you stop, you’ve still frozen the muscle so it won’t have been able to move and do so much ‘damage’ for however long you had it for.

I agree under 40 seems unnecessary (though younger people would say it’s preventative and I do get that) but also think after a certain age subtle Botox isn’t enough and you have to have more and in multiple areas to stop your face looking mismatched (so smooth forehead and lots of crows feet or the other way round). That’s when it can go too far, fine if you like that tighter, slightly incongruous for your age look (though this is when people start to be able to tell). I think there’s a sweet spot for Botox between about 40 and 55, depending on your own genetic ageing process.

And we do all age differently and in different ways, eg some of us get jowly, some lined and pigmented, some have just one deep wrinkle they worry about, some look years younger than their age when they haven’t really done much (or gone at their skin with St Ives scrub and it still looks great). Imo no one can judge anyone for what they decide to do anti ageing wise because we all have different faces and genetics. Topical products like retinol can’t always deal with strong muscles like the number 11s. In an ideal world we wouldn’t care but it isn’t and many of us do.

The industry definitely needs better regulating. You want someone who really understands facial structure.

Frownies sticker patches are the cheap alternative.

Bansheeofinisherin

Do you buy it over the counter overseas? I'd like to give Tret a try

Love it. I use Tret too from Spain but no comparison.

Botox is so much better for making my skin look fresher.

I tried it for the first time this year for my 11s which made it look like I was permanently frowning. Really pleased with it, it has stopped that effect without me losing facial expression.

Not for me. Had cancer so am very dubious about putting unnecessary (to me) stuff in. None of my business what anyone else chooses to do with their body though.

I always think this is a weird objection.

If you begin dyeing your hair are you committed to it for the rest of time, or just until you reach the point where you're happy to go grey?

I love getting my Botox done. I haven't had it done since Easter and my crows feet know it, so I'm booked in shortly, and can't wait!

It just makes me feel a bit fresher, and my eye make up seems to go on better.

Yes, I get it from family in India, and they buy it OTC.

I am definitely jowly. But I will live with it.

No objection from me, merely a question. I don’t dye my hair but I don’t understand how that example answers the question. And that’s not me pushing for you to argue your stance, just to clarify it please? You’ve said you love getting and it can’t wait… so isn’t that you saying you’re committed to it now that you’ve started? No judgement on whether being committed to it is a good thing or a bad thing. Just that perhaps if you’d never got it then you wouldn’t know what you were missing?

I just mean that this comment always comes up on Botox threads and I don't really get it. Anyone can start and stop anything whenever they see fit, it goes out of fashion, they can no longer afford it.

There's a real fear that Botox is some sort of aesthetic gateway drug, and in my experience that's not the case.

I just like to look a bit less frowny (and it also helps with headaches as I literally can't frown) and getting rid of my crows feet makes me just look a bit more awake.

I might stop at some point - I only started last year - but at this stage I don't know why I would.

Maybe as the wrinkles around those areas advance it would become a losing battle but until then, bring it on, jam it right in my face 😆