Does Botox Make You Look Younger?

What Is Botox?

First off, botox is not a filler. It's a muscle prohibitor. I have seen lots of comments on Cheryl's appearance lately and many of them say 'Cut out the botox!' but it's not botox that's making her look so different. It's filler and lip injections to plump everything out.

Botox merely relaxes the muscles and stops or inhibits their movement. It does not plump the skin. It isn't like filler in any way. It doesn't stay in the system until it dissolves. It leaves the system but continues to have an effect on the muscles until that effect eventually wears off. It can take from 3-6 months to wear off completely. As far as I am aware there is nothing you can do to hurry that process and you can't have it removed or dissolved as you can with filler. Although if you do decide to have filler removed then it will be a pretty damned painful process. Courtney Cox is alleged to have had hers removed fairly recently due to the fact that she'd come to dislike it's appearance.

Let me make my position on cometic enhancement clear: I believe we should all be able to do whatever we want to make us a look and feel better. I have had botox injections in the past and have had no issue with doing so, even though my two best friends have very strong opinions on the subject and they didn't mind voicing them! The only reason I stopped is because I didn't like the discomfort and I've been working on other methods of looking young.

I had botox in my forehead and frown lines. It worked a treat but the injections were painful and I had a headache for almost two weeks after each treatment.

I don't believe that botox made me look younger though, not really. It just gave me a very smooth forehead that didn't move and looked a little unnatural, but I did love the fact that I had no lines on it and mine had always bothered me.

I'd say I'd been having injections for almost two years. In that time I'd decided to try and make my skin firmer by other means too. I began using Retin-A and glycolic acid alternately as well as micro-needling once a week.

These three things have completely altered my skin texture and elasticity. So much so that my last botox treatment was eight months ago. It's completely worn off and I no longer feel the need for it.

Amazing Beauty Hacks

Have you ever heard of My Perfect Eyes? It's designed to be used...around the eyes, But I use it on my forehead! It does a fabulous job of tightening the skin if you use it right. You can't wear an oil based foundation over it so I use a Bare Minerals powder and my usual foundation everywhere else on my face. Voila, the perfect non-injected botox forehead! I love it and swear by it but many people who buy it struggle to use it correctly and say they get a white residue. If you use too much or use it on skin that isn't completely clean then this will happen. It takes some practise for sure but the results are well worth it. I don't use it around my eyes though as I smile a lot and I find it doesn't help stop the lines appear when I do. It's better for puffiness around the eyes and smoothing very fine lines. I don't have puffy eyes and my lines only appear when I laugh or smile and they are a bit too deep to benefit from the serum.

Derma-roller - Micro-needling

You can pick these up very cheaply on Amazon. I never spend over £10 on mine. If you've never micro-needled before then go for a 0.5mm needle length. Use all over the face or on specific areas of concern. I use mine once a week on my forehead only as it does tend to dry out the skin for a couple of days. If you use it around your eyes then expect them to look worse for a few days so perhaps just use it once a month in more delicate areas. Derma-rollers are also great for scar tissue and cellulite!

Under-Eye Concealers

Use an illuminating concealer to make your eyes pop. Just a tiny amount though and not too far down onto the cheek area as this can end up looking a little insane!

Evie is a content writer and author from Bath in the UK. She writes fiction for young adults and women. Her latest book Wishful Thinking is out now. Lizzie French Is Missing is out in 2019.