I’m broke, what can take the place of Botox?

[FloodlightsOnTheSquare]

I’ve been getting my 11s, forehead, and crows feet done for about 3/4 years, usually every 7-8 months.

But now I’m broke, and my crows feet in particular are beginning to bother me, and my left eyelid feels a bit droopy and uncomfortable.

Is there anything that remotely compares? I can’t use tret, i have eczema and my skin can’t take it.

Does anyone have any ideas? Please?

Sorry about all the bossy ones OP. They don’t get it so don’t sweat it.

-gua sha or similar: won’t work wonders but can temporarily sharpen up a a jawline or two

-makeup: if you wear it, and haven’t yet tried this-adjust placement according to age/general droop. Accentuate away from those areas and generally focus on creating an illusion of lift. Erica Taylor on you tube is useful.

Anything else (IMO)would likely produce negligible results for quite a lot of work and more money so I personally wouldn’t go too far down that rabbit hole.

I do think that acceptance of a lower baseline of firmness is likely necessary here but appreciate that won’t happen overnight, and requires bolstering of confidence in other areas of your life - but we haven’t all transcended beauty standards like all the paragons of virtue on here 😀

Because it’s very damaging to women and particularly young girls, that people are saying that having wrinkles is ugly. It’s a terrible thing to say. Injecting shit into your face and normalising that, is telling others that you think looking older is a bad thing and something to be ashamed of. And it plays into the age old rhetoric that as women our value is built mainly on our youth. It’s terrible and we need to change things for the next generation.

I looked into it but this paper said: ‘Therefore, no effect of Argireline was found. Although Argireline presented with low toxicity, it demonstrated far lower efficacy than the botulinum toxin and, therefore, is deemed not to be an alternative treatment.‘

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10665711/

I don’t know how reliable the paper is and have not analysed it! But I decided not to buy any. It sounds harmless though.

My friend who uses botox always preaches how it’s important to ‘look after ourselves’ as we get older. What I never say is that for me, looking after myself means in part not injecting my face with chemicals, and looking great in other ways and having a healthier lifestyle etc. But I never say that, and just smile as she lectures me about botox!

OP I am all for making the best of what I have. And even at 55 I do like to look good (in non-botox ways). How about the Elf dewy setting spray? To give a nice glow after you have done your makeup?

This is gonna sound really silly. But I know when my Botox wears off (I have mine done every 12/14 weeks) if you have longish hair, I put my hair in a really tight ponytail. Gives me a bit of a headache but it looks good.

Also this

Not silly! It it’s good enough for Anne Hathaway…

Just don’t do it too often as the tension may weaken/break your hair.

It's great that it's working for you, the OP is a few years older than you and as you move to peri-menopause, it doesn't help to follow women who have just turned 30.
OP, rather than try the serum mimicking micro needling, consider a home kit. Even at nearly 60, I see the difference if I don't use mine. You would be fine with a pen, I got one from QVC, you can try their products for 30 days. I agree that at your age, nothing replaces botox for 11s.

Another thing-I get a lot of compliments on my skin especially as I’m old, but I think my lack of lines and sag is not just down to sunscreen etc but diet. I eat a lot of butter, nuts and olive oil and think they have kept it looking supple. What is your diet like?

By their logics, these posters shouldn’t think we need a
Beauty section at all? Why aren’t they on every thread fighting the “good” fight? There are lots of posters who are insecure about their looks in various ways. It only seems to be Botox and filler threads that draw this kind of vitriol. I haven’t even seen it on plastic surgery threads!

really good skincare and makeup is far more youthful than botox.

Well I've kind of developed my own routine which is mostly from the Eva Fraser book. What you need to do is to use your hands to stop any new lines forming. So for example, when you raise your forehead you need to place your hand on it firmly. When you're lifting up your cheeks you need to place your little fingers on your naso labial folds and your other fingers under your eyes and pull down a little bit so that the skin can't bunch up under your eyes. And also try to train yourself to stop frowning....it helps to keep away from annoying people! 😆

Besides that I'm now just using The Ordinary retinol (which I much prefer to tret as it makes my face a bit pink and stops me looking so pale) and Nivea blue pot. Oh and spf50 of course which is just the baby one from Aldi.

Yeah, I don’t give a shit to be honest 🤣

It’s my skin, my face, my body, my choice, my decision.

Yeah the Botox threads always become a massive clutching of pearls.

I had a tummy tuck and lipo some years ago and that only ever gets ‘you go girl’ but Botox is the devils work 🤷‍♀️

I believe it only works on dynamic lines and only if used daily. If you stop use, any effect stops with it. So nowhere near as good as Botox but will give some beneficial effects if used consistently to superficial dynamic lines. Details of this study summarised below indicates a difference from argireline:

scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=impact+of+argireline+on+dynamic+lines&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart#d=gs_qabs&t=1782641403335&u=%23p%3DZMqUbZ7WP1kJ

I haven’t tried it myself as I get Botox but for the price, for someone not wanting to go down that route, possibly worth a try.

Facial exercises work.

Fringe is too much faff and high maintenance.

just get Botox and make life easier for yourself, honestly!

I’m well into peri menopause which is why I posted it? I have been on HRT for a while

her recommendations are for anyone really

how old are you?
You are surrounded by chemicals, everything you touch, consume and breathe. And if you ever need emergency hospital treatment, good luck if you refuse chemicals.
By the way, Botox is used in medicine …..

Gin. Lots of it, for you and anyone who has to view your ravaged features.

Face tape for 11s at night. I started getting them 10 years ago and started using frownies and then generic face tape off Amazon. It slowly erased the forehead lines I had and I have no 11s at 57. I also use a Foreo Bear and that gives you a temporary lift. I haven't many wrinkles. I use Argireline from The Ordinary but it's not going to work on established 11s.

Don’t be silly. I’m talking about injecting non-essential chemicals into my muscle. Not drinking H2O. And medical use is different of course. There is a different risk benefit ratio.

Nothing will give you the same effect that you're used to. If you can't accept natural ageing then:-

Cancel all unnecessary 'nice to have' spending and save up for it.

Increase your income, do overtime, sell some stuff etc.