Why I stopped having botox at age 46

The last time I had ‘botox’ (botulinum toxin) injected into my face was 5th May 2022. I had 3 areas done (forehead lines, vertical frown line/s and crow’s feet) and it cost £220 with a 2-week review included.

Line-smoothing, anti-wrinkle, muscle relaxant injections are terms most of us are familiar with and having tried botox (and another version of toxin; azzalure) three times over the last few years it really does work – my forehead was very smooth indeed.

At my very first appointment back in 2021, I was asked how much movement I wanted; part-frozen, fully-frozen, a tiny bit frozen, arrgghhhh – I opted for first one, part-frozen. The idea of looking fully frozen made me shiver. I have been accused of being cold-hearted in the past, but I didn’t want to look it! In all seriousness, I went for the part-frozen one because I didn’t want to look too, y’know, Hollywood, or too smooth. I also didn’t want people to notice I had paid to de-wrinkle my face.

I kept telling myself I had done this just for me. I only told a couple of people that I had been to see an aesthetic nurse and looking back the notion that this was a treat for myself now feels slightly weird. Was I doing it for me? Society? My husband? The camera? I still don’t know the answer, but I do know that much of my decision to get botox was because a lot of my friends were starting to get it. I didn’t want to be the only wrinkly one.

The other reason I had toxin injected into my face was because I frown a lot, I always have. You only need to see photos of me as a young child and the scowl was evident. When I was 24, a guy said to me as I stomped past him on a busy London street, “cheer up luv it might never ‘appen!” and I was taken aback. At that particular moment I was feeling good and was just on my way to get something to eat during a work lunch-break. That frown never really left me and I noticed it more and more as I entered my forties. I remember feeling quite shocked when I saw photos of myself talking or doing someone’s make-up, because this is when it really looked bad/obvious – actually I like the word obvious better.

At 40 I started wearing glasses (oh hi midlife and holding a menu at arms length) and my frown softened. Perhaps it was because I was struggling to focus that my frown became such a constant on my face, or perhaps it was the fact that I was not 24 anymore and ageing (and frowning) is a part of life. A bit of both I think.

Years of frowning has given me a vertical line in-between my eyes and I used to hate it. It is slightly off-centre which makes doing my eyebrows hard – I mean, where is the middle!? I sometimes catch sight of the reflection of my face in a window on a sunny day and I am fully frowning just like little Lucy did. Only now, there are more lines and slightly crumpled eyelids reminding me that I am 47, not 4, or 24 when I was satisfyingly wrinkle-free. As a friend of mine recently said to me “youth is wasted on the young” and he was, and is, correct.

I am now 47 and botox-free. My face moves and frowns as it should, which doesn’t mean to say I am fully comfortable with it – but for now I am staying away from the injectable toxins.

Here are the reasons why I stopped having botox at 46-years-old:

1. I started to feel like I looked like everyone else
2. I think nice hair is the best way to look more youthful
3. You can’t smooth your hands!
4. Society is obsessed with women looking smooth
5. Society is obsessed with women’s age
6. A high proportion of women are becoming obsessed with looking wrinkle-free
7. The cost (nearly £1k a year)
8. It wears off too quickly
9. Smooth forehead/baggy neck!
10. Botox often leads to more aesthetics – filler, toxin top-ups, profhilo and so on
11. I don’t want my girls (13 and 10) to think wrinkle-free is the way to go
12. I sat next to two 25-year-old women the other day and they spoke about botox and aesthetics for 20-mins including all the things they were going to have done and I felt a sense of sadness for them
13. My mother is 80 this month and hasn’t had any ‘work’ done and I think she looks lovely
14. I often do TV appearances and I have an expressive face – anti-wrinkle injections stop expression
15. After years of not being nice to myself (hello low-confidence) I now actually like the real me
16. A lot of women I know have botox and something in me makes me not want to follow the crowd
17. I am a trained make-up artist and clever make-up can temporarily hide lines and flaws
18. I am 47 and I actually think I look okay

I am not saying I will never have botox again, I might or I might not. All I know is that for now, it is a no.

I’ve written on the blog before about the botox I had for bruxism (teeth grinding/clenching) which wasn’t very good actually, but with the right practitioner I would try this again to relieve pain in my jaw. This would be for medical reasons rather than vanity ones.

I have to say that the person who did my anti-wrinkle injections here in Lincolnshire is very very good and I would recommend her to anyone looking for a trusted person. In addition to that, I do not judge anyone for their aesthetic treatments – I genuinely think that everyone needs to do what they need to do and no matter what that is, I won’t judge.

Have you had botox? Have you tried it and like me, decided to hold back for now? I’d love to hear from you.

Lucy aka Geriatric Mum

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