Botox and eyebrows are the two top beauty obsessions of the 2020s. In our post beauty obsessions brows and Botox we ask: Where does our love of brows and Botox come from and why is it so important to some of us?

I’m not sure when I first heard of Botox, but I do remember how surprised I was to hear someone I happened to know was using it. She was pretty and not even that old. She was in her early 30s and didn’t need it. What on earth was she doing with Botox? How desperate!

But that was then and today it seems everybody is at it, injecting their faces, hands, knees, wherever, to fight off signs of ageing. I was once offered Botox in my jaw to stop tooth-grinding at night – it made sense but thankfully I declined. There are other ways to combat teeth grinding and I’/d rather deal with those problems.

But hundreds of thousands of women, and some men, in the UK alone resort to the needle for everything. It’s our cure for all sorts of problems when in fact, in my view, it doesn’t fix anything for very long – it just covers up things.

Beauty obsessions and anxiety – brows and Botox

Botox administrators ask clients, before the procedure, if they suffer from anxiety or depression, says columnist Zoe Williams in an interesting Guardian article “How Britain fell in love with Botox. The implication being that some people think botulinum toxin (as is its full name) is the answer to every problem.

The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners have instructed members to check that patients aren’t seeking Botox for reasons of poor mental health. Because, as Zoe points out, the beauty fixes only prey on people’s insecurities.

At the same time they raise standards and expectations which only serve to make people feel insecure in the first place.

Eyebrows seem to have a life entirely of their own

The same goes for eyebrows. These days eyebrows seem to have lives entirely of their own – almost independent of the person’s facial expressions. Sometimes, the brows appear to have been painted on, sitting there threaded, trimmed, painted, brushed or greased greased and completely unmoved by emotion felt by the person.

That is why some actresses/actors won’t do Botox because it prevents them from doing their job which is to show emotion through facial expressions. A permanently frozen expression on their face isn’t going to win them many Oscars…

Readers who follow this blog will know we’re not great fans of invasive beauty treatment. However, surgery is a great help and relief in cases of accidents or medial conditions where features lost can be restored.

Beauty obsession brows and Botox – and the funny looks

But the vanity industry has gone too far, in our view. The “baby Botox” generation – the under 35s are looking increasingly similar. Same eyebrows, same lips and noses…. But, if it ain’t broke which it is unlikely to be at the age of just 35, why fix it?

What does help our confidence is the huge number of adverts and magazines promoting extreme treatments. Looking at the very young models appearing in the surgery ads can hardly have been using the whatever needle they are paid to promote – in those cases the adverts are making mischievous promises.

In my view facelifts rarely makes someone look better – it only makes them look odd…

But check out Zoe Williams’ article on the subject in The Guardian here – it’s a cracking read. Quite objective. She’s keen to try and make the most of her treatment, and her piece is a highly intelligent study of her experience under the needle. It will make you laugh!

Hello! – Yet another magazine dedicated to our ever increasing beauty obsession

Even the glossy Hello! society magazine is muscling in on the act: one edition of the magazine features an “Aesthetics Guide”. Pages and pages of “skin tightening” treatments like Kim Kardashian, laser precision pigmentation treatments and “tweakment stacking”.

“After treatment, the skin will feel warm for 15 to 60 minutes, with mild redness and swelling that can persist for up to three days. Patients should wear a moisturising physical sunscreen and stay out of the sun for at least 48 hours.” Why go through such things?

There’s a piece on Jane Fonda’s “facelift regret” although it also says “cosmetic surgery in good hands can restore or enhance and have a positive impact on wellness”. Well….

And here’s our Hello! favourite claim: “Botox trailblazer. Meet Dr Jean Carruthers, the woman who pioneered the cosmetic use of botulimum toxin and changed the face of, well, lots of people.” Oh dear.

Or maybe this article is our fave: “What it feels like to have a frozen face. It’s like your emotions are fighting with your face to get out. It’s hardly painful, but feels intrinsically wrong.”

This Hello! supplement on how to blow thousands of pounds and waste precious time on changing your face and fighting the un-winnable ageing process is without doubt something I’ll check out and write more about. Will keep you posted….

I never tire of saying forget the needle and stuffing your face with strange potions – fill you skin with still mineral water and sensible gels and moisturisers instead. You’ll end of looking old one day – but you won’t end up looking weird!