To Botox or to Notox? That is your question

Botox. Fillers. Big news. Right?

My writing today comes from a place that I’m not really sure of. I’m irritated (this is not unusual) but I don’t know why (this is unusual) so I figured if I write about it then it’ll all work out

My choice these days is to not have Botox or fillers but recently I’m getting the feeling that people who choose to have it almost feel sorry for us that don’t. Like we’re missing something wonderful in life.

Let me tell a little story……….

2010, aged 36 I had my first experience with Botox and it wasn’t too unpleasant. A few wee pricks with a needle, a couple of tiny wee bruises and Bobs your Uncle. Fast forward 2 weeks and my face was pretty much frozen, I couldn’t lift my brows or frown and when I smiled not a single crows foot appeared. I believed it looked fine, I didn’t have any forehead lines, furrows between the brows or crows feet at that point anyway so I didn’t look any different. At least when I looked at myself in the mirror with a straight face I looked the same.

Nobody asked, nobody commented (with the exception of my eagle eyed grandmother cause that one misses nothing) so I thought amazing, it is a preventative measure for future wrinkles and I love it. I carried on having it once a year for a few years after that without giving it too much thought and I certainly didn’t tell very many people which I started to realise really meant I was secretly a bit ashamed.

Why ashamed?

In my family I am surrounded by outstanding females, 2 grandmothers in their 80’s my mum in her 60’s and numerous aunts and female family friends who are amazing mentors to me. They are beautiful, exceptional women who are elegant and whether they think it in their own thoughts, in my thoughts they appear to be comfortable with the ageing process. My tendency has always been a natural approach to the beauty industry so what was I doing? I was being a big huge fraud so I was

This realisation came in the year of my 40th birthday and I decided to stop with the needles. And I did. Except when I changed my mind around my 42nd birthday because the bit between my brows was becoming really obvious and of course I believed this is now deemed unacceptable so I did it again

And boy am I glad I did. Something wasn’t sitting well with me. Firstly, who says it’s unacceptable to have the number 11 in between your brows? Where has this notion come from that you can’t have a wrinkle on your face? I was 42, not 22 and I started to realise that I am in fact happy getting older. Secondly, I looked at a photograph of myself and the word that flashed into my mind was DEMON. My god lassie, you look demonic, I thought. Smiling but not really smiling cause I had no smily lines or expression in my face and that, I did not like

I made a fully conscious decision that day to never ever ever freeze my face again and this time I stuck firmly with that decision and I feel the need today to shout out to all the other conscious decision makers out there

If your conscious and measured decision is to use Botox and fillers and you love the results (there are lots of fantastic local practitioners doing amazing work) then I say good on you for doing what’s right for you. If your conscious and measured decision is not to have Botox and fillers then I say good on you for doing what’s right for you

Do you see?

Do it/ don’t do it. Your choice for your lovely face

So why the irritation?

Because I’ve had Botox and I’ve had Notox I feel equipped to tell you something. NOTHING CHANGES. I was still the same me, the same worries, the same fears, the same heart, the same soul, the same character, the same everything. So why are we vindicating each other for our facial cosmetic choices?

When I hear conversations such as “she’d look so much better if she had a top lip” or “you can get rid of that frown line with Botox” or “oh my god have you seen her face, it is frozen” or “her lips are ridiculous now with that filler” I think to myself, shoosht now

It doesn’t matter to you what I do with my face or what anybody does with their faces. We are not divided by our choices to inject or not to inject. We are entitled to do exactly what we deem fit for our very own faces

There must be millions of women and men living in this aesthetic obsessed world that make choices based on shame from others. Screw that to the moon and back. Have a frown/don’t have a frown/have a wrinkly forehead/have a plasticky shiny one but whatever you do make sure you are happy with your choice

Now go, comrades and laugh about the ridiculousness of us human folk that we care so much about what someone else’s face looks like and for crying out loud - STOP IT

Love to you all and your perfectly lovely faces