When I was a kid I remember saying, “I’ll never wear makeup!” Heaven knows why I would profess something like that, and my child-mind had no foresight to the amount of acne I was in store for, but I learned to never say never about matters of the face. That is to say, we all say we’re not worried about it until suddenly we’re worried about it. And while I’ve seen some botched Juviderm in my days as a cosmetic professional, and two very bad face-lifts done for cheap in China (shudder), I have to admit the results I’ve seen from Botox have been pretty impressive. But what is Botox anyway?
You might not like this. You know when canned food gets poisoned and the can swells up like mad and it’s treated like biohazard? That’s called Botulism, and it’s caused by the neurotoxin botulinum toxin, also known as Botox. It occurs naturally in fatty meats that have been handled improperly, but it also does a whiz-bang job of erasing the wrinkles between your eyebrows and on your forehead, getting rid of migraines, and even helping people with crossed eyes and uncontrollable blinking [via Wikipedia]. And, it goes without saying the porcelain faces of our favorite celebrities have been strategically Botox’d to give us delusions of genetic perfection for years, but aren’t there side effects?
Sure. Minor to major they range from irritation around the injection site to blurred vision, dry mouth, dysphagia (that’s when you have trouble swallowing), flu-like symptoms and other icky little inconveniences. Is it worth the risk? Vladimir Putin might’ve even sprung for some recently to improve his image (best of luck with that, sir), and truly, when done right, would we even know who has it and who doesn’t? I bet it’s a lot more prevalent than even we think. And at around $175-500 a procedure, it’s an easy thing for a celeb to spring for, but one could imagine springing for it on a regular person’s salary, too… you know, holiday bonus or something.
All of the stars pictured in the slideshow have admitted to using Botox.
So, Lovelies, is an injection of botulinum toxin fair game for keeping your face flawless? Do you think your opinion could change as you get older?
guest
No to botox. Why would I want to look perpetually surprised all the time? And personally, it’s just not worth it. The enhancement is only temporary. I wouldn’t want to risk long-term, permanent damage, would you?
rose / 937 posts
My opinion is that I am ambivalent towards its usage and its existence, but I highly doubt I’d use it. Not just because I am petrified of needles (even immunizations take a good 5 minutes of freaking out before I’ll let them touch me) but because no one in my life has ever done such a procedure. No one has had any cosmetic surgery. Many of them don’t even wear makeup. Plus, the whole ‘signs of ageing’ thing doesn’t bother me. Ageing does because it’s a petrifying concept, but its physicality doesn’t really bother me other than death. I guess because I’ve had to deal with hating my boobs, hating my body, hating my nose, and most recently hating my skin (bad acne, then scarring and red marks) and then learning to NOT hate those things, and in some cases actually liking those parts of me, it makes the whole idea of cosmetic surgery a bit silly to me. I’m okay with showing that I’m not perfect. That’s why I didn’t bother going back to foundation once my acne cleared up (had stopped wearing it in ’09 though, which was before the bad outbreak), since it’s just.. flaws. Everyone has them. And it’s not like all of that makes me undesirable to others. The only thing that cosmetic surgery achieves imo is allowing someone to feel desirable to themselves, because it’s their own opinions of their body that is making them choose that procedure (unless there are also health reasons). But, I’m not against it. I just know I’d never bother for it myself.
guest
I have never seen a person that had botox injections that I thought looked natural or even good. They all look surprised all the time. Growing older has had the opposite effect than I thought it would. I figured I would go more receptive to procedures like botox when I was older, but instead I am more against them for myself. When I feel I need it, I will start getting chemical peels and such at the spa, and then once those stop working to make me look “young” to society then oh, well. It will be time for me to move on to another stage in my life and since I can’t stop myself from aging I might as well just enjoy living.
guest
I might get it. I’m so used to people telling me I look younger than my age (I’m 21), I’ll probably freak if I don’t hear that anymore.
sunflower / 389 posts
Nay! Natural beauty deserves a comeback
rose / 791 posts
Nay. The ability to smile, frown and express surprise is a GOOD thing, people.
guest
Of course I am tempted to try the latest things to keep me looking younger. However, I don’t have the money nor do not desire to look like the Joker! I see how many older women look and they are stunning! I’ll take my chances and age as gracefully as possible.