‘Nobody needs Botox’, says cosmetic doctor, Dr Daniel Sister. ‘However, most women like to have it done when they start to see their lines getting deeper.’ He says that it is not always necessarily to do with ageing, but more with lifestyle. ‘Sitting at a computer often means that you’re frowning for longer, or if you’re outside for long periods of time you may be squinting more,’ he explains. ‘This can cause lines to develop faster and at a younger age’.
But how young is acceptable? ‘Most women tend to start in their 30s, although there are a few exceptions’, explains Dr Lowe. ‘Younger women with problems such as an irregular smile or drooping eyebrows can have these corrected’. Research also claims that is you start Botox early you can actually help prevent the lines from appearing in the first place.
This is all well and good, but where do you draw the line? In the States, doctors carried out 12,000 Botox procedures last year on teenagers, some as young as thirteen, but all reputable cosmetic doctors in the UK agree that this is far too young, including Mike Comins, cosmetic doctor and Medical Director of The Private Clinic. ‘I would say that the early 30s is a good time to start, and definitely not eighteen or younger’, he says.
So how do we know when we are ‘ready’ for Botox?
Botox can be extremely effective in reducing lines and wrinkles due to muscle contractions, such as crow’s feet, frown lines, and forehead lines. ‘Botox is for those lines that you can’t necessarily see when your face is still, but when you move your face, you can see them’, explains Dr Sister.
Botox can also be used for brow lifting, on the mouth to reduce fine vertical lines on the upper lip or to treat down turned mouths, lifting the jowl line, and neck lines. However, it is not suitable for reducing fine lines caused by sun damage, or lines caused by sagging skin (this is where dermal facial fillers come into their own).
Dr Sebagh favours using Botox below the jaw line from your 40s upwards. ‘The muscles in our neck can be very strong and cause sagging in our lower face,’ he explains. ‘By injecting Botox into this area we can help prevent facial sagging’.
How much is too much?
We’re all too familiar with the ‘frozen’ look, and those who have become addicted to the needle have been dubbed as suffering from ‘wrinklerexia’, after doctors reported that growing numbers of patients were bingeing on Botox. Some Botox-devotees have become so obsessed with their crease-free faces that they begin to see lines where there are none. Dr Sister stresses that if you don’t need it, don’t do it, and he regularly turns patients away. ‘There must be a limit and doctors must be trained to know when to stop to avoid the frozen look’, he explains. ‘I am much more into a subtle look, not like Nicole Kidman, and I turn clients away every week. You must do it for yourself, not for your husband, or because your friends are doing it’.
According to Dr Sebagh, the purpose of Botox is to paralyse the muscles we use sub-consciously. ‘The muscles we want to treat with Botox are the ones we use to frowning in our sleep or squint in the sun’, he explains. ‘We don’t want to touch the muscles that create our facial expressions’. Dr Comins agrees. ‘A good treatment should be subtle. Your face should look fresh, healthy and rested, and not ‘done’, and it should go unnoticed. If somebody mentions that your Botox looks great, then you have had too much’.
The latest trend in the world of Botox is ‘Baby Botox, a less-is-more approach that leaves the face looking relaxed, but mobile. Rather than simply diluting the Botox, it involves using tiny doses which are injected into the usual areas. The results are still very similar compared to when using a normal dose, but more movement is present and the effects do wear off more quickly (up to two months). The idea, says Dr Sebagh, is to allow facial movement without printing lines.’
Next week...The Perils of Botox and Find Your Botox Doctor
