Ten years ago, at the age of 16, I noticed my first wrinkle. When I smiled, my skin crinkled along one stubborn line that stretched determinedly out from the side of the eyes to my temples. It would disappear when I relaxed my face, but I took it as a disturbing sign that the inevitable ageing -process had already begun. A couple of years later, I noticed another line beginning to develop. Then another. Now I have six or seven ‘crow’s feet’, depending on how wide I’m grinning, as well as -several horizontal lines on my -forehead. I fixate on them when I look back at beaming photos. I used to observe this process with fascination, rather than horror. But now, aged 26, I’m ready for those creases to stop multiplying. And I definitely don’t want them to start appearing when I’m not smiling. I’m well aware of how shallow this makes me sound. After all, -Shakespeare wrote: ‘With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.’ I know I don’t have fully formed wrinkles yet, as they melt away when my face isn’t moving. But what if I could have a life of laughter without the evidence being writ large on my forehead? 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, rather startled -expression. But after seeing plenty of people my age who have had it and honestly look great, I have changed my mind. Now, regardless of my parents’ howls of incredulity, I have decided to take the plunge I’m not a beauty junkie. I’ve never had any other work done — just the occasional box of hair dye and an extensive skincare routine — but Botox feels less of a concern than other ‘tweakments’. The injections are far less invasive than dermal filler — which involves injecting the skin or lips with hyaluronic acid — or -surgery. And Botox wears off. Botox has been on the market for three decades — since before I was born — and was initially largely marketed cosmetically at women over 50. Now, however, injections among 20 to 29-year-olds have increased by 28 per cent since 2010. Just last year, it was revealed girls younger than 18 were travelling to Wales and Scotland for Botox injections after the treatment was banned for under-18s in England in 2021. Nearly a million people of all ages get Botox jabs in the UK each year. Some will wonder why on earth young people without wrinkles want to stick needles in their face. They’ll blame extreme -vanity or intense insecurity. But to them I say: try growing up with Instagram in your pocket. In an age where filtered photos and clever plastic surgery make it seem like the signs of ageing are optional, it’s no wonder that I, like many of my -contemporaries, feel the pressure to pre-empt the ravages of time. We have grown up -believing it’s normal to change things you don’t like about your appearance. Think you’re too fat? There’s a jab 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 are opting to get it before those age-betraying wrinkles have made -themselves known. Aesthetics -clinics have tapped into this new trend, offering ‘Baby Botox’ — smaller doses injected into a larger number of points on the face — which avoids the fabled ‘frozen’ effect. Unlike dermal filler, which can last for years, the toxin wears off within three to four months -without long-term effects. Founder of AM Aesthetics Alex Mills Haq, who has clinics in- London and Belfast, says she’s seen a -significant rise in the number of young women looking to get ‘-preventative Botox’. ‘It’s also more widely -available than it ever was and, for the price, gives you great results,’ she says. Some women in their late 20s have deep frown lines. Or younger women look at their mothers and can see where they’re going to develop wrinkles.’ Botox isn’t cheap. -Injections in one or two areas will cost between £200 and £300, which means if you start having Botox at the age of 30, every three months or so, that could cost £1,200 year. If I stick to it until I’m 70, I’ll have spent close to £50,000. It’s a high price to pay but not enough to put me off — or, indeed, my friends. Emily, 27, has already bitten the bullet. I always admire her -perfectly smooth skin, but I wouldn’t have guessed she’d undergone any ‘-tweakments’. And that’s exactly what appeals. A communications consultant, Emily started getting forehead Botox in early 2022, aged 25. She explains: ‘My friend, a nurse, had just trained in cosmetic injectables to earn some extra cash. She was doing it for about half the standard price for three areas. I only paid about £150. ‘Now I get 12 injections in my -forehead every six to nine months, at the same time as lip filler, to stop me from developing frown lines, furrows and crow’s feet. ‘The first few times I got my forehead done, I realised my eyebrows had dropped quite a lot — I looked a bit like I was permanently bored. Now I request they don’t inject it immediately above my brows, but just slightly higher, so I have more movement. ‘I’m open about it. Most of my friends get Botox or filler so there’s no judgment. Although I try to hide it from my Mum — she hates cosmetic surgery.’ When I first mentioned my Botox plans to my own parents over dinner, it ruined the evening. ‘But you’ve got no wrinkles . . . You don’t need it!’ cried my dad. They seemed to think this was the -beginning of my journey to looking like someone off The Only Way Is Essex. For weeks -afterwards, they sent me texts containing articles about the -dangers of Botox — such as headaches, frozen faces and swelling. But the fact is, women my age know much more about tweakments than our parents do. They look at certain celebrities who’ve had all manner of fillers, surgery and badly-done Botox and say it looks awful. But you never hear them complaining that Olivia Colman, Cindy Crawford or Brooke Shields — who’ve all admitted to having had Botox — have had ‘too much work done’. When done subtly, Botox can look perfectly natural. And all those female (and male!) newsreaders and serious TV -presenters they worship? They’ve probably had it, too — they just don’t admit it. Gen Z icons like pop stars -Ariana Grande, 30, and Selena Gomez, 31, ‘keep it real’ by admitting to fans they’ve had Botox. The older generation don’t just object on the grounds we might end up looking ‘odd’, -however. They also think the very notion is self-indulgent and vacuous. 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 . . . the self-inspection is endless. Of course, we notice every burgeoning imperfection. Especially when comparing ourselves to pixel–perfect Instagram filters. At every turn we are sold the idea that our looks are malleable, that we can endlessly improve the hand nature has dealt us. I am not immune to this. Of course, a part of me believes I don’t need to change myself in my mid-20s. I certainly have no plans to undergo any more ‘extreme’ treatments like surgery. But Botox is just so, well, easy. Then there’s the subtle brainwashing. In the process of researching Botox treatments, I clearly generated a brand-new algorithm and every advert on my Instagram account is now a ‘before and after’ shot flogging aesthetic 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 from 2010 to 2024 — look set to be even more preoccupied with how they look. Such is the obsession among ‘tweens’ for anti-ageing skincare that in January the -British Association for Dermatologists warned that active ingredients in some of these products made for adults, such as exfoliating acids, can provoke allergies or eczema in younger skin. Meanwhile, there are those who say Botox is far from the -harmless and reversible ‘tweakment’ my generation believes it to be. According to a study from University College London, just 32 per cent of those administering cosmetic injectables are doctors. Another study from 2021 found that one in six who’ve had facial Botox suffer from complications, ranging from bruising and -nausea to headaches and ‘frozen’ features. I’ll admit, the horror stories are off-putting. Last year Love Island contestant Faye -Winter warned her -followers that a botched injection left her feeling ‘horrendous’, -urging them only to get Botox from medical professionals. The reality star, 28, said she used ‘somebody cheap who I found on Instagram’ before 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 too much Botox too soon can prematurely age you. Patricia Wexler, MD of Wexler Dermatology in Manhattan, told Vogue ‘if you do too much Botox on your forehead for many, many years, the muscles will get weaker and flatter’, -adding it can make skin appear thinner and looser. Admittedly my generation are the Baby Botox guinea pigs — we won’t know what the long-term effects are until it’s too late. Yet I’m ashamed to say any concern pales into near-insignificance every time I catch those pesky lines around my eyes. If it’s a case of look great now, pay later, so be it. Besides, every day a new study or article warns me that my Diet Coke obsession, -sedentary job or phone use is shortening my lifespan. What’s an injection on top of all that? So, sorry Mum and Dad, Botox here I come.
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