Absolutely true… Botox is a brilliant preventative measure.
My Botox story:
The ‘B’ word! Scary? It shouldn’t be! If so, you’re not in the right hands. Painful? No, and I’m a wimp!
Lots of people are getting it but nobody likes to talk about it. Culture of shame? I don’t think so, why should you tell people the reason you’re looking so smooth!
I have had wrinkle relaxing injections since I was 19. That’s 7 years… do your maths (And I wonder why I STILL get ID’d at my age!) But, I know what you’re thinking, Botox? At 19? That Sam Ward is mad… however I am not alone! Over 6.7 million Botox procedures are estimated to have been performed last year, making it the most common minimally invasive cosmetic procedure used by both men and women. The reason why it’s so popular? Because it works!
Thanks to my Grandad Harry, god bless him, I would have inherited a couple of lovely vertical lines in between my brows, the older I got, the more I frowned, the more they were becoming noticeable. They HAD to go. Welcome to the amazing World of Botox Sam!
When my Botox wears off, I can honestly say, I now don’t notice any lines, just more muscle movement. If I hadn’t had Botox to prevent a Grandad Harry forehead, I would without a doubt look more like the lovely lad.
I have a top up treatment every 6-9 months combined with an extremely religious skincare routine. Something that my friends and family know me so well for. My bathroom is an array of ZO products, they’re literally my babies. Skincare to me is so important. I believe it should be to everyone, even you guys out there! I’ve not once missed an opportunity to wash my make up off at the end of the day, even after a couple of wines.. oh okay, or a bottle. But guess what? Not a wrinkle in sight.
In simple terms, think of your skin as piece of paper, the more you crinkle that paper, the more lines will be there. The less folding and crinkling, the smoother the paper will be.
Wrinkles on the face can be divided into two distinct groups. Those caused by repeated action of a muscle pulling on the skin, and those more related to loss of facial volume with age. Lines in the first group include the ‘Grandad Harry’ (aka ‘angry 11’ in the cosmetic industry) frown lines between the brows, ‘crow’s feet’ around the eyes, and the horizontal lines on our forehead we get when we raise our brows. Botox acts by interrupting the communication process that normally occurs between nerves and muscles. The nerve thinks it is sending impulses to the muscle but the muscle, in essence, can’t “hear” what the nerve is telling it to do, and doesn’t tighten. If the muscle can’t contract, it can’t pull on the skin that covers it, and the wrinkle disappears. Botox is not usually effective for wrinkles in the other group, which are usually best addressed with various fillers to restore the lost volume, this is why Botox is generally used in the upper 1/3 of the face.
I don’t, for one minute, regret going down the route of injectables so young, some people would be horrified, which I can understand. I have many clients that are against injectable treatments which is perfectly fine. It’s your face, your body, your morals. There are many other routes to go down and of course, without surgery. This industry just mesmerises me!
The most important point I will make, is to ensure you have these types of treatments done by an experienced practitioner who will say ‘no’ when it’s not needed. Our fab Doctor, a surgeon based in Newcastle, frequently turns people away whom he feels wouldn’t benefit from the treatment which is very important in this industry as he also does a lot of corrective work.
Botox has a remarkably safe history and was FDA approved to use for cosmetic purposes in 2002, however, there are many inexperienced injectors out there which is, unfortunately, why we see these frozen face and surprised look brows horror stories in the media.
I have not done this blog to entice young girls or boys into having injectable treatments, it’s merely to give people a better understanding about why I started so young and what it’s all about.
It should always be a case of your friends and family notice you look ‘well’ but they can’t quite put their finger on why. Unless you’re like me and you tell the World…I wonder what Grandad Harry would say with his old fashioned ways!
And remember, less is more… always! Grow old gracefully, and look the best you can for your age. If you need a little helping hand in doing so, we’re here to help you.
Sam x