Ten years ago, when I was 16, I noticed my first wrinkle. When I smiled, my skin wrinkled along a stubborn line that stretched purposefully from the corners of my eyes to my temples.
It disappeared when he relaxed his face, but he took it as a disturbing sign that the inevitable aging process had already begun.
A couple of years later, I noticed another line starting to develop. Then another. I now have six or seven “crow’s feet,” depending on how wide my smile is, as well as several horizontal lines on my forehead. I become obsessed with them when I look at the radiant photos.
I used to watch this process with fascination, rather than horror. But now, at 26, I’m ready for those wrinkles to stop multiplying. And I definitely don’t want them to start showing up when I’m not smiling.
I am well aware of how superficial this makes me seem. After all, Shakespeare wrote, “With joy and laughter, let the old wrinkles appear.”
I know my wrinkles aren’t fully formed yet, as they dissolve when my face doesn’t move. But what if I could have a life full of laughter without the evidence being written on my forehead?
One step forward Botox. Until a few years ago, I considered it an ill-advised treatment reserved for “older women” that could leave you with a frozen and quite surprised expression. But after seeing a lot of people my age who have had them and honestly, they look great, I changed my mind.
The operator Clara Gaspar initially opted for Botox to counteract crow’s feet.
Botox injections among 20- to 29-year-olds have increased 28 percent since 2010 (model image)
Now, despite my parents’ howls of disbelief, I have decided to take the plunge
I’m not a beauty addict. I’ve never had any other work done, just an occasional box of hair dye and an extensive skincare routine, but Botox worries me less than other ‘touch-ups’. The injections are much less invasive than dermal filler, which involves injecting hyaluronic acid into the skin or lips, or surgery. And the Botox disappears.
Botox has been on the market for three decades (since before I was born) and was initially marketed primarily cosmetically to women over 50. Now, however, shots among people ages 20 to 29 have increased by 28 percent since 2010.
Last year, it was revealed that girls under 18 were traveling to Wales and Scotland to receive Botox injections after the treatment was banned for under-18s in England in 2021. Almost a million people of all ages receive injections of Botox in the UK every year.
Some may wonder why young people without wrinkles want to stick needles in their faces. They will blame extreme vanity or intense insecurity.
But to them I say: try to grow with Instagram in your pocket. In an age where leaked photos and clever plastic surgery make it seem like the signs of aging are optional, it’s no wonder that I, like many of my contemporaries, feel the pressure to stay ahead of the ravages of time.
We have grown up believing that it is normal to change things you don’t like about your appearance. Do you think you are too fat? There is a hit for that. Nose too big? Get surgery! As for Botox, it can only erase fine lines, not deep wrinkles, so why wait? This is why so many women my age choose to do it before those tell-tale wrinkles appear.
Aesthetic clinics have taken advantage of this new trend and offer ‘Baby Botox’ (smaller doses injected into a greater number of points on the face) that avoid the legendary ‘frozen’ effect.
Unlike dermal filler, which can last for years, the toxin disappears in three to four months with no long-term effects. AM Aesthetics founder Alex Mills Haq, who has clinics in London and Belfast, says she has seen a significant increase in the number of young women seeking to receive “preventive Botox”.
“It’s also more available than ever and, for the price, delivers excellent results,” he says. Some women in their twenties have deep laugh lines. Or younger women look at their mothers and can see where the wrinkles are going to appear.’
Botox is not cheap. Injections in one or two areas will cost between £200 and £300, meaning if you start having Botox at the age of 30, roughly every three months, it could cost £1,200 a year. If I stick with it until I’m 70, I’ll have spent around £50,000. It’s a high price to pay, but not enough to put me or, indeed, my friends off.
Emily, 27, has already bit the bullet. She always admired her perfectly smooth skin, but she wouldn’t have imagined that she would have undergone any “touch-ups.” And that’s exactly what she attracts.
Emily, a communications consultant, started receiving Botox on her forehead in early 2022, when she was 25 years old. She explains: “My friend, a nurse, had just trained in cosmetic injectables to earn some extra money. She did it for about half the standard price for three areas. I only paid about £150.
‘I now receive 12 forehead injections every six to nine months, at the same time as I get lip fillers, to prevent fine lines, furrows and crow’s feet from appearing.
‘The first few times I had forehead surgery, I noticed that my eyebrows had fallen quite a bit; It seemed like she was permanently bored. Now I request that they not inject it immediately above my eyebrows, but a little higher, to have more movement.
‘I’m open about it. Most of my friends get Botox or fillers, so there’s no judgment. Although I try to hide it from my mother, she hates cosmetic surgery.
Clara says: ‘I’m very aware of how superficial this makes me seem. But what if she could have a life full of laughter without the evidence being written on my forehead?
“In an age where leaked photos and clever plastic surgeries make it seem like the signs of aging are optional, it’s no wonder that I, like many of my contemporaries, feel the pressure to stay ahead of the ravages of time.” says Clara.
When I first mentioned my Botox plans to my parents over dinner, it ruined the evening. “But you don’t have wrinkles.” . . You don’t need it!’ my dad shouted.
They seemed to think this was the start of my journey to looking like someone from The Only Way Is Essex. For weeks afterward, they sent me text messages containing articles about the dangers of Botox, such as headaches, frozen faces, and swelling.
But the fact is that women my age know a lot more about adjustments than our parents. They look at certain celebrities who have had all kinds of fillers, surgeries, and botched Botox and say it looks horrible. But you never hear them complain that Olivia Colman, Cindy Crawford or Brooke Shields (who have admitted to having Botox) have put themselves through “too much work.”
When applied subtly, Botox can look perfectly natural. And all those serious newsreaders (and men!) and TV anchors they adore? They’ve probably had it too, they just won’t admit it. Generation Z icons, like pop stars Ariana Grande, 30, and Selena Gomez, 31, are “keeping it real” by admitting to their fans that they’ve had Botox.
However, older generations don’t object simply because we might end up looking “weird.” They also think that the very notion is self-indulgent and empty.
I agree, but what can you expect from a generation weaned on social media, Love Island and photo editing software? We see ourselves constantly: on Zoom, Instagram, FaceTime, TikTok. . . self-inspection is endless. Of course, we notice every growing imperfection. Especially when compared to pixel-perfect Instagram filters.
At every turn we are sold the idea that our appearance is malleable, that we can infinitely improve what nature has given us. I’m not immune to this.
Of course, part of me believes that I don’t need to change when I’m in my twenties. I certainly have no plans to undergo more “extreme” treatments like surgery. But Botox is very easy.
Then there is the subtle brainwashing. In the process of researching Botox treatments, I clearly generated a completely new algorithm and every ad on my Instagram account is now a “before and after” shot that hits beauty clinics near me.
While I like to think I can see through the app’s attempts to exploit my insecurities, I’m sure it’s subconsciously tempting me.
If you think that’s worrying, the next generation, ‘Alpha’, born between 2010 and 2024, seems to be even more concerned about their appearance. Such is the obsession among ‘tweens’ with anti-aging skin care that in January the British Association of Dermatologists warned that the active ingredients in some of these products made for adults, such as exfoliating acids, can cause allergies or eczema on the skin. younger skin.
Meanwhile, there are those who say that Botox is far from the harmless, reversible “touch-up” that my generation believes it to be.
According to a study by University College London, only 32 percent of those who administer cosmetic injectables are doctors. Another 2021 study found that one in six who have had facial Botox suffer from complications, ranging from bruising and nausea to headaches and “frozen” features.
I admit, horror stories are unpleasant. Last year, Love Island contestant Faye Winter warned her fans that a botched injection left her feeling “horrible”, urging them to only receive Botox from medical professionals.
The reality star, 28, said she used ‘someone cheap I found on Instagram’ ahead of her appearance on the dating show in 2021, and it left her unable to move her forehead for months.
Perhaps most frightening of all, some studies show that too much Botox too soon can cause premature aging. Patricia Wexler, MD of Wexler Dermatology in Manhattan, told Vogue that “if you put too much Botox on your forehead for many, many years, the muscles will weaken and flatten,” adding that it can make the skin appear thinner and loose.
It’s true that my generation are the guinea pigs of Baby Botox: we won’t know what the long-term effects are until it’s too late. However, I’m ashamed to say that any worries pale into almost insignificance every time I notice those pesky lines around my eyes.
If it’s about looking great now, paying later, so be it. Furthermore, every day a new study or article warns me that my obsession with Diet Coke, sedentary work, or phone use are shortening my life expectancy. What is an injection besides all that?
So, sorry mom and dad, Botox here I come.