While there are a variety of interventions and procedures available to us, I firmly believe that skincare should suit you and no one else. We have peels, lasers and other procedures that harness our body's natural healing abilities to help address skin concerns. If you (and your doctor) feel that fillers or injectables are the right step for you, go for it! Some people use these to preserve their features while others use it to enhance them. The latter can become tricky in this age of social media and issues like body dysmorphia can cause us to quickly spiral into uncanny valley.
A person who doesn't look like a person...because their face doesn't move naturally = uncanny valley.
However, I decided to get Botox when my teeth grinding was getting severe enough and I couldn't sleep comfortably with a night guard. Turns out that you can't just get a portion of a syringe so I figured, why not...let's get a sprinkle of Botox throughout the rest of my face.
Oh, boy...am I gonna look super weird?
Turns out we only notice bad Botox...good Botox doesn't actually freeze your face. You can still make movements and your face still has crinkles and folds, like actual human skin. I got 10 units throughout my jaw and forehead and was surprised to see that my face looked like me...and not a version of me that looked like it had been in a wind tunnel.
But...a needle to the face? Bet that hurts
Admittedly, I was surprised when my dermatologist said she would not be numbing my face. Yes, the needle was small but I certainly felt it going in. It was far less painful than a flu shot but still a bit odd. Still, I am glad there was no anesthesia so I could feel whatever my face was going through.
What about crazy side effects??
Yes, this is very real and when my dermatologist offered to inject my nasolabial folds, I declined because I was worried about injecting near the arteries that were so close to my nose and mouth. You can have a bad reaction and it can cause drooping like what happened to the poor lady below.
One eye was completely droopy and the other was open way too wide! This is why you need to go to an experienced injector and why I still cannot wrap my head around Botox parties...it just seems too casual. Luckily, I did not have any side effects except for pinpoint redness at the injection site that just looked like bug bites or small pimples.
Does your face go numb?
So, my jaw was the most noticeable but I believe this was because I had the most units there, 4/10 were in my right cheek since I chewed more on that side. Inside, I could feel my cheek go lax and it felt a bit pushed out...like how it feels when you bite the inside of your cheek. I had read that there was a slimming effect in the jaw when you get botox in the masseters but I couldn't tell if it made a difference. It did help my headaches and sore jaw so I can appreciate that. It also seemed to give my face a bit more of a hollowed, contour look. This could just be me overanalyzing things but it didn't seem to have a negative effect!
My forehead had a few static wrinkles on it that remained a few days after and I figured that the damage was too far gone for Botox to fix. However, after 4 days, I noticed that there were no lines visible between my eyes or on my forehead. This was completely expected because I had read that people got baby Botox to help prevent wrinkles and here it seemed to reverse fine lines...just from a few days of not using that muscle.
Will you do it again?
At a certain point, there is only so much topical ointments and serums can do. If you have more significant damage, then you will need more appropriately scaled interventions. Luckily, Botox has been around long enough that there is a wealth of research to back its efficacy and dangers. For me, it is something that I can sprinkle in and ideally replace some of my less effective products but is not necessary at this stage. The improvement was very minor in my case and I think it most of that can be credited to a solid skincare routine. However, it is fun to see something work so much more immediately whereas a skincare product might take several months and you can't always be sure if it is working!
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