Nice man. We chat a bit. Then....suddenly I had this overwhelming feeling that maybe....just maybe....this wasn’t the right thing for me to do. Had I jumped the gun? The thought of injecting some form of poison into my system seemed to over-ride my horror of the wrinkle. I immediately question the doctor about the safety of this drug. He assures me it’s diluted and safe. In fact, he mentions his wife is a regular user of this concoction. Not one to waste time, all doubt flies out the window, and I give him the all clear. A few pricks under the corners of my eyes and I’m on my way. That evening I could feel the numbness. I look in the mirror and smile. Perfect. The corner of my eyes don’t wrinkle. This really is a miracle. I fall asleep on Cloud 9. No more “aging” visits.
The bright sun comes up the next morning. Ah! I’m refreshed. I make my usual way to the bathroom to start my day. A quick peek in the mirror. Everything looks OK. On to showering and dressing. I eventually make my way back to the mirror to put my make-up on. I smile. Wait a minute! Wait a cotton-pickin’ minute! Something’s different. Very different. What happened? My face is more paralyzed this morning than it was last night and it ain’t pretty. When I curl up my lips to smile, my cheeks feel as if they have 50 lb. weights resting on top of them. Not only is it a chore to smile, I look as if I’m really pissed off and forcing myself to look jolly. This isn’t what I ordered! Nobody forewarned me that I would look like “The Joker”! Now I know why those Beverly Hills ladies look so miserable – no smiling allowed.
I’m normally a pretty friendly person who spends my days smiling. It’s a natural instinct for me. And now, horror of horrors! I look dead in the eyes. I’m now having to suffer the consequences because of one wrinkle. This is where vanity takes you and it ain’t a pretty picture. I came to realize that the “wrinkle” wasn’t my enemy, “vanity” was. I never told a soul about the dilemma at the time. However, I was now the recipient of some very strange looks from friends, acquaintances, and strangers – both men and women – when I’d throw a smile their way.
I was told by my doctor that the Botox results would last 3 months.
Botox: Friend or Foe?
By: Jana Tether (View Profile)
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Comments
Hi Jana, Wrinkles come with age obviously, but it is up to us to accept them or not. I have been thinking of doing an upper eye lid lift and the thought of it scares me to death! Luckily I am almost 40 and people tell me that I look like I am in my late 20's. And luckily I have good genes. Regardless, the wrinkles are going to come and get deeper and longer. We cannot stop our chronological age. We are all going to age. It is the outlook of life that impacts our decisions as to even consider to go under the knife. Maybe I watch Dr. 90210 too much. Ooooof!!! But think of it this way, wrinkles and lines express our lives whether we live happy, sad, or mad lives. The way we eat, our environment, age, genes, and lifestyle impact the lines in our faces. Look up to my articles in the next week coming up, as I will be writing on an alternative natural method to facial rejuvenation.
hi - it's really interesting to read about the negative side of botox. it's too easy and tempting to get sucked into thinking that to say young looking you need to have botox, when in truth often it ofen just doesn't look nice. eyes are the most expressive parts of our bodies and we need to be able to smile with them.
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