WHY I'M ADDICTED TO BOTOX....

There‘s nothing wrong with looking your age , or with looking old, for that matter - except that few of us delight at the idea. Our mothers tell us that we should learn to accept ourselves as we are, to embrace our changing faces and figures as the years march on, but given the current national preoccupation make that, obsession , with looking young ,it‘s easy to understand why most of us are willing to try just about anything to look 'good for our age.'

 

The Ageless...Nicole Kidman

Many forty something celebrities such as Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Anniston, Kim Catrell and Linda Evangelista have admitted that they use Botox to stay young and I can‘t blame them; honestly girls, I think that it is a miracle worker. I know that many of you spend small fortunes on expensive face creams that really live up to their outlandish claims but Botox - unlike my last boyfriend- always delivers on its promises.

Ever youthful...Jennifer Anniston

At 41, I‘d do just about anything to look better. After all, I‘ve had colonic irrigation to cleanse my insides, skin tightening to banish the lines under my eyes, Restylane injected into my face to plump out my skin, and microdermabrasion to give my skin a sandblasting exfoliation. I‘ve even had Isolegen, a process where cells are taken from behind your ear, cultured in a lab and then injected into your face. Just show me a method of limiting the ageing process and I‘ll be there before you can say fountain of eternal youth.

A friend of mine thinks using Botox is all about vanity or self-loathing. I disagree .My Botoxed friends look great. They are normal, functional women who have simply found a great way to keep the years at bay- after all we go to great lengths to care for our teeth, so why neglect our face? I got my first Botox jab in 2005, a year to the day after my father passed away. I‘d been crying myself to sleep every night and I thought that I looked sad, miserable and old; I wanted to do something to give myself a boost and, basically, erase a year of sadness.

I was, quite frankly, astonished at the results and I‘ve been having Botox about once a year ever since. Why? Because I think it is one of the best nonsurgical anti-ageing treatments around. As do millions of others across the globe. Short of having a facelift - Botox really is the quickest way to stop the clock. When I first wrote about Botox, almost 6 years ago, it was one of those extreme beauty treatments that Hollywood celebrities were getting done and it received a lot of bad press. But what about all those freaky looking celebrities with crazy frozen faces- I hear you ask?Ok, here‘s the skinny.

Less is more. Too much botox makes your face look frozen and expressionless....

From a fake tan to a face lift - any treatment is only as safe as the practitioner using it, the unattractive expressionless look that so many celebrities have is because they‘ve simply had too much injected into their foreheads. With Botox, less really is more, so the trick is to underdo it if you want a really natural looking result. The best surgeons aim to leave a couple of light wrinkles as this gives a far more natural look. An experience practitioner will take a look at your face and inject a little here and there - ultimately giving your face a lovely balanced and youthful look; your face won‘t look frozen and your eyebrows will still have some slight movement.

'Good' Botox , like Angelina Jolie's looks as if you havn't had any...

Having Botox injected isn‘t scary. If anything is frightening, it is the simplicity of it. These days, you can walk in off the high street, have a treatment that hardly hurts, and return to the office with only barely visible tiny pink bumps that mark where the needle went in. I love the effect Botox gives me and I plan to continue to use it as part of my beauty regime. So I am always a bit surprised at people‘s reactions when I discuss my treatments. Some tut-tut; others just look puzzled and presume I‘m a little mad.

Rachel Zoe...looking younger every day.

Which brings me right back to where I started lying on a surgical bed, at the beginning of March. 2010, having my latest Botox injection? There was no anaesthetic ñ just a little dab of sterilising solution - and the doctor gave me 15 injections between my eyes, along my forehead and by my eyes, to target my crows feet. I didn‘t even flinch. It was painless and I soon had five teeny blotches that lasted for about 10 minutes. I was free to put on make-up and left after 20 minutes.



Me.  Botox certainly helps to keep the wrinkles at bay!



I wrote this exactly a week later and I could feel a slight numbness at the top of my forehead. The horizontal lines were less pronounced, and when I raised my eyebrows, my whole forehead didn‘t wrinkle up. My eyebrows created a sort of V-shape with smooth skin filling in the triangle. My family noticed a huge difference and my sister, who‘s always been totally against Botox, was flabbergasted the difference it had made; it nearly killed her to say it but she thought the results were 'fantastic‘.

But I‘m not exactly the only one giving myself a little help. At fashionable parties or launches I am surrounded by glamorous women their 30s and 40s. They are immaculately dressed and well-groomed and, most strikingly, have remarkably wrinkle free faces. Celebrities vehemently deny having Botox ñ but isn‘t it strange how they all seem to have the foreheads of 17-year-olds?

Botox Facts:

How does it iron out wrinkles?

Botox works on wrinkles that develop where muscles contract frequently. It doesn‘t correct lines caused by the sun or sagging skin caused by age. Temporarily paralysing facial muscles and preventing expressive contractions makes the area look less wrinkled. The areas where Botox works best are in the upper third of the face - frown lines, forehead creases and crow‘s feet. The effects last between three and six months, depending on the individual.

Does it hurt?

Botox is injected into the muscles and treatment takes 10 to 15 minutes. There is no anaesthetic. Because the needle is very fine, most people report only minor pain. There may be bruising.

 What is it?

Botox, which is a trade name, is a prescription drug used in a medical procedure, so only go to a clinic or surgery where a qualified doctor injects it. Dysport is another, slightly stronger and widely used form of the botulinum toxin but when I used it I looked really frozen . Many doctors use both, depending on the muscles treated. Ask the right questions.

How long has the doctor been injecting Botox?

The longer they have used it, the more experienced they are. Less is more Going back for a top-up is better than looking like a death mask for three months. Get to know your face. While you can "freeze" the negative (angry frown lines), expression lines on the forehead and around the eyes look better when just
"relaxed"

                      

Will I be left with any marks?

It can bruise, too, but generally, expect nothing more than tiny mosquito bite marks, which can be covered with make-up.

How long does it take to work?

It takes 3-10 days to work, and in the early days, expect some mildly strange sensations, as some muscles work less while others feel as if they are working more.

What else do I need to know?

Flying, or lying down (going to bed), soon after treatment may encourage the Botox to migrate - yet another reason not to go to an evening Botox party.


How long will it last?


 Botox should last for at least three months, but we all metabolise it at different rates - sunbathing seems to destroy it faster.

How much does it cost?

 Although the prices vary from clinic to clinic - the average cost of Botox is £170/ e250 Per area. Keep in mind that you will probably need more than one area treated.


Any downsides...


OK - I'm going to do my very best to explain this. The muscles that botox freezes are actully the same muscules that hold your eyebrows up. If you use Botox long term these may weaken and your eyes will look more 'closed'because your eyebrows will have droped. Mmmm - another good reason to use Botox in small amounts  .

Recommended Clinics in Dublin, Ireland.




I would definitely recommend  Dr Laloo in Cosmedics in Phibsboro.  He secialises in The eyebrow lift and other impressive techniques using botox.




Dr. Házem Kahlout at the Castleknock Cosmetic Clinic. The clinic where many of Ireland's celebrities get treated. 

Renaissance Laser & Skin Clinic Howth -DR Michele Caraher . Lovely woman - amazing results!

"Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty" - Coco Chanel

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