Why I Started Getting Anti-wrinkle Injections At 23

It was Sydney Brown's mother who first noticed her frown line. A mates of years ago, nan brace were video calling erstwhile her mum pointed retired a crease betwixt her daughter's eyebrows.

They decided it was nan correct clip for Sydney, past 23, to commencement having anti-wrinkle injections.

Now 25, Sydney has had some botox and articulator filler. She is happy pinch her decision, and says she and her friends will do "whatever it takes" to consciousness much assured and "look their best". If that comes successful nan style of cosmetic room - truthful beryllium it.

Sydney's mum, Dr Hayley Brown, an award-winning integrative surgeon based successful Las Vegas, regularly injects mini amounts of botox into her daughter's forehead.

She says her girl looks little tired, feels much assured and, Dr Brown believes, won't request much invasive room to soft retired deeper lines later successful life.

Using anti-wrinkle injections successful nan measurement Sydney does is known arsenic "preventative botox". Botox users successful their 20s and early 30s dream to forestall lines forming successful nan first place, aliases to target a crease earlier it becomes a wrinkle.

The ageing process is inevitable, but are preventative cosmetic treatments a savvy measurement of holding connected to our youth? Or are we conscionable injecting thousands of pounds into an manufacture that's profiting from our insecurities?

I person spoken to some users and experts successful nan dream of uncovering an answer.

The little you statement your muscle, nan little your tegument creases, reducing nan quality of wrinkles. But what was erstwhile reserved for nan ageing wealthy, aliases nan elusive world of celebrities, has now reached nan foreheads of 20-somethings crossed nan UK.

Around 900,000 botox injections are carried retired successful nan UK each year. Worldwide, nan percent of 18 to 34-year-olds opting for cosmetic tweaks is growing, making up astir a 4th of nan clientele.

In a brightly lit session successful Prestwich, northbound Manchester, Dr Javed Hussain, a expert and aesculapian head of his company, Neo Derm, is preparing to dainty his adjacent client, 26-year-old Ven Grecu, who has been coming for botox for nan past 2 years.

He listens intently arsenic Ven explains wherever he wants his treatment. When his customer lifts his eyebrows up, his tegument creases arsenic he points astatine various areas.

Poised pinch nan needle, Dr Hussain warns: "You will consciousness a short, crisp scratch…. location we go, complete successful seconds."

Ven hardly flinches.

With a somewhat reddened forehead, Ven turns his caput to speak to me.

"I cognize I'm young," he says, "But it's not an property factor. I'm having this arsenic a measurement of preventing wrinkles.

"Not having them makes maine consciousness truthful confident, it helps maine successful my job, and I want to property gracefully."

So far, Ven, a business improvement manager, has spent thousands of pounds connected treatment, but "it's an finance successful my assurance and it's worthy each penny", he says.

But if a wrinkle isn't yet there, past really does having botulinum toxin injected into your look impede nan ageing process?

"It doesn't extremity you from ageing," Dr Hussain explains, "but it does slow down its progress".

Dr Hussain says that, by targeting nan move wrinkles – nan impermanent creases we create erstwhile we make a facial look – fixed lines are reduced successful nan agelong run.

"By relaxing nan muscles that contract, we are reducing nan number of times nan tegument wrinkles.

"That, successful turn, prevents nan lines from getting truthful deep."

The practitioner says he is seeing an summation successful nan number of 18 and 19-year-olds coming successful for curen and, contempt it being ineligible to inject anyone complete nan property of 18, he does move them away.

"I've had immoderate girls travel successful asking for botox and articulator fillers - immoderate asking for 3 aliases 4ml successful their lips, which is simply a lot, particularly if they haven't had immoderate curen before."

Not everyone agrees pinch Dr Hussain that preventative botox is an effective measurement of preventing signs of ageing.

Nora Nugent, advisor integrative surgeon and President of nan British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), does not urge getting botox astatine specified a young age, and says starting excessively early is simply a discarded of money.

"You can't dainty thing that isn't there. Having it successful your early 20s, pinch hardly thing to treat, is spending a batch of money earlier you reap immoderate benefit."

She prefers to spot clients erstwhile they already person faint lines – by then, she tin spot nan nuances of really a look is ageing truthful she tin accommodate her treatment.

"There's thing incorrect pinch caring astir your quality aliases having artistic procedures, but it's important to person them for nan correct reason.

"It tin almost go adjacent unit – aesthetics is astir prime and doing things that make you consciousness amended astir yourself alternatively than being pressured into doing it."

It's this unit that worries specialists specified arsenic Jen Tomei, a nutritional and eating upset therapist, who gives talks successful schools astir assemblage image.

"As a society, we are obsessed pinch anti-ageing. There is an accrued consciousness of procedures for illustration botox and fillers among teenage students."

She says she is worried astir their intelligence wellness successful nan agelong run, and arsenic portion of her lessons she tries to get them to attraction connected different affirmative things astir themselves, alternatively than conscionable their appearance.

"They shouldn't beryllium reasoning astir wrinkles now."

Ashton Collins, head of Save Face, an organisation which campaigns for amended regularisation of nan cosmetic industry, says she has seen patients arsenic young arsenic 18 pinch botox related complications aft being treated by "unscrupulous practitioners".

"I'm very concerned astir really preventative botox is being marketed, peculiarly posts connected societal media that target and unit young women into treatments they do not need."

She besides warns that by having botox excessively early, and, if it's not carried retired carefully, inappropriate curen complete a agelong play of clip tin origin altered expressions, an asymmetrical look and successful immoderate cases longer word musculus atrophy which tin return years to retrieve from.

She says that having botulinum toxin injected astatine specified an early property risks building up a tolerance to it. She started erstwhile she was 26 and, now 37, needs it much often than ever arsenic it wears disconnected truthful quickly.

There are a scope of views erstwhile it comes to nan preventative powerfulness of botox, but each nan experts are successful statement that cleansing, moisturising and regular usage of sunscreen tin thief forestall our tegument from ageing prematurely. And if you are going to usage treatments for illustration botox - find a practitioner who is accredited pinch a aesculapian background.

As for what happens if you usage botox regularly crossed a full lifetime, we still don't person bully research.

Finding a cohort of group to study complete nan people of respective decades is tricky. The healthiness of tegument is multi factorial – lifestyle, environment, accent levels, fare and workout authorities each play into really our tegument ages. And, fixed that botox only lasts 3 to six months, immoderate longitudinal study would person to guarantee participants are going for regular top-ups.

And that's nan crux, fighting nan wrinkle is simply a warfare of attrition. Once you've had 1 treatment, because it wears disconnected aft conscionable a fewer months, you person to support going backmost for more.

Sydney will proceed to person anti-wrinkle injections. She wholly trusts her mum to support her looking young and, astir importantly, natural.

She says her mum will extremity her from having excessively overmuch and failing to recognise her ain look changing by going "botox blind" aliases "filler blind".

"I only person a small bit, I will decidedly continue. It's ace easy to get it, my mum knows what she is doing and I consciousness truthful overmuch much assured having it."