Botox: Yes or No?

Sometimes we may feel a little bit self-conscious about the way we look as we age. Procedures like Botox injections may seem enticing at first as a means of firming up your face and removing wrinkles and other signs of age; however, if you know me well, you should already know how I feel about Botox. My answer to whether or not you should get it is a resounding no!

My opposition to Botox is about so much more than the fact that it is literal botulism that is being injected into your face in order to kill your nerves. My stance on getting Botox is partially from a standpoint of it not being the safest or most effective way to fight signs of aging, yes, but it is also from the standpoint of knowing exactly how important our facial mobility, our facial expressions, and our visual aging really can be. If you’re thinking about getting Botox injections into your forehead, around your eyes, or anywhere else as a means of fighting signs of aging, here are some thoughts to consider.

If you are a child who grew up in any type of trauma—mild or severe—you heavily relied on facial expressions in order to understand what the tone of your household was. For many children of abuse, they need to be able to non-verbally sense whether a house is safe and comfortable or whether it is angry and volatile. When you get to adulthood, you may notice that being around adults who have gotten Botox procedures done and have no ability to visually emote makes you extremely uncomfortable. I myself noticed that I was subconsciously dumping friends of mine who had gotten Botox injections because my inability to read their faces made them unsafe for me. I lost some good friends before I figured this out, and now I often have to remind myself that my relationships with these people are a good thing and that they were safe for me to be around; however, all of that was hindered by Botox procedures and their effects on their faces.

In addition to making many people feel safer, facial expressions and visible emotions are a great source of joy in life. Those micromovements by your face can help trigger happiness in your brain. Without them, your brain may think that you are depressed or anxious, which can lead to more emotional turmoil in the future.

I challenge you to ask yourself what these fine lines and wrinkles really mean to you. If you’re truly after a more youthful appearance, a more natural way to go about it is through diet. Sugars attack the collagen you have in your body, so a diet high in sugars will eventually erode the collagen you have. Eliminating sugar from your diet can do wonders for increasing skin elasticity and giving you an overall more youthful appearance.

Ultimately, I encourage you to rethink your wrinkles. Lines on your face are more than a sign of age. They represent happiness, laughter, and a roadmap of a good, long life.