Aging is a whole new adventure in itself. Just when you get to grips with loving who you are and where your heart lies, the wrinkles start to appear. This is followed by the greys starting to show and it becomes all too evident that you are not 23 years old anymore. The funny thing is that you don’t realise it. It just starts happening and then one day you look in the mirror and you’re… let’s call it what it is: older. That’s when the question pops up: to botox or not to botox?
How you react to aging is entirely your own affair. I must admit I have been a little torn between acceptance and wondering where the f*** the years went. But the truth be told, it hasn’t really upset me, it’s only motivated me to be healthier, exercise more, do more yoga, meditate more, and take better care of myself and my skin. I’ve been happy in my 40-year-old skin and proud of my patches of grey hair, and while I have considered what it would be like to be wrinkle-free again, it’s not something that I would go to drastic lengths to achieve. Well, so I say now.
In my opinion, drastic lengths include any form of plastic surgery and botox. But that doesn’t mean that any other women faced with the same dilemma are wrong for choosing botox.
My husband said to me the other day that he doesn’t actually ever see how I’ve aged. He only sees me for who I am. What a champ! The only time he realises that I have a gazillion more laugh lines around my eyes is when he sees an old photograph of me a decade ago. It takes a moment for him to realise that we really are older. That life is ticking on. The same applies to me and my realisation or acceptance of the inevitable. Still, the question looms… to botox or not to botox?
Options For Reducing Those Wrinkles
I’m the type of person who thought that I would never even have a discussion about things such as botox. I’m just not that person. It was never an option or even a consideration. This is still true for me, but as I have ventured to an age where it becomes “useful” – for lack of a better word – I have encountered so many friends and acquaintances who use all manner of facial optimisation techniques to stave off the effects of aging. I am also completely floored at the amount of anti-aging facial treatments that have been brought to the fore, while I have been chilling out under my rock!
- Botox is probably the biggest and most popular one, I know people who are literally addicted to the effect it has on their skin. They are completely wrinkle-free but also looking permanently surprised or excited. Not sure I’m okay with that or with injecting poison into my skin
- Fillers are next on the list. I don’t find these as effective as the botox, but at least they allow the face to move. Of course, these in excess can also start to make you look less like yourself, ala Courtney Cox or “Bridget Jones”
- Laser treatment is the next big thing, which I find to be the least invasive. It definitely has an overall softening effect on the skin and it doesn’t appear to change the face in any way, except to make it look marginally younger
- Needling was the other one that I just discovered. Pricking the skin multiple times with needles at a rapid pace to initiate the repair process, which pumps collagen to the skin’s surface. I think this is what the DermaPen does, which was my other discovery. Really fascinating stuff, but these treatments leave you with tiny dotted scars all over your face for about four days
- Peels with fruit acids, crystals, or chemicals. This is the playing field that I’ve felt confident to stroll around in, and they’re pretty, damn wonderful. The wrinkles are still present, but the skin is buffed, freshened and revitalised, giving it a glow that screams health and vitality
As much as I research all of these options and consider what the effects would be for me, I also wonder why we get to a stage in our lives where we feel that it’s necessary to change.
Why do we need to look younger than we are? Why should we feel the need to pretend? Why do we not feel safe and secure to age gracefully… embracing each grey hair and laughing deeply into those laugh lines?
There is immense pressure on women to look younger, to stay in shape, to ensure their appearances are on point. And while I do love to be my best and I feel wonderful when I am at my peak, I don’t feel that it’s necessary to deny the fact that I’m in my 40s and I am only going to get older. This is me. I’m still exactly the same person… just older. I say this for myself, but I also fully respect a woman’s right to choose, without any judgment.
Anti-Aging With Yoga, Exercise And Heathy Eating
I know that my route to anti-aging is probably not going to leave me looking wrinkle-free, but I’m certain it will give me a better shot at longevity. It can be done, simply by treating your body as a temple and actively feeding yourself only the best, freshest, and most nutritious foods. Yoga is also an incredible anti-aging mechanism, especially if you’re committing to a practice filled with inversions that get the blood flowing into your face and filling out your wrinkles. But once those wrinkles are there… I don’t know that there’s much you can do to get rid of them except to follow one of the above-mentioned practices.
The peels and microneedling are an easy win for me, but I know they won’t reverse any signs of aging. I think they would probably help prevent further excessive wrinkles, but that’s about it. I would consider laser treatments as they seem like the least invasive, but how many of you do botox? I’d love to know about your experiences.
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