Botox: How I Have Wrinkles and I Don’t Care

I am not a huge fan of plastic surgery and I have been quite vocal about this in the past. Last night I saw a very beautiful woman, she was probably about my age, 34. I actually couldn’t really tell because she had obviously had quite a bit of work done to her face; not major surgery, but lots of botox and fillers and some collagen in her lips.

I live in an inner-city village in Sydney, it’s very urban and there’s a great mix of people from yuppies to junkies, from urban mums to hookers. It’s awesome. On the corner of my street there is a big beauty salon which tells me that I can pay them $600 and they will inject my face with chemicals that will make it freeze, so that it appear that I have smoother skin, fewer wrinkles. Apparently this will make people think I am only 25 instead of 35. And if you are a woman or a man, one of the best compliments you can get is to be told that you look younger than you are.

Why would I want to look younger than I am?

Honestly, I have a few wrinkles. I first noticed these at age 28 and I have to say, I liked them. I know that sounds weird. I kind of liked this very clear evidence that I was growing and changing and getting older. “I have gotten older!” they said to me, “Look at me! I exist and I am ageing!”

There’s nothing wrong with getting older; it is not a moral failure. In fact, as a woman I find that my opinions are listened to more now that I have passed the 30 milestone. I am a grown-up now. I have bills, a wrinkles and responsibilities. But I still occasionally sit cross-legged on a train station with a back pack shovelling fries into my mouth while texting my girlfriends and reading English gossip pages. I am not dead yet.

The problem I have with botox specifically is how stupid it is. I am aware that I have wrinkles and these make me look old but I’ll be damned if I am going to chase my wrinkles around my face with a $600 needle hoping this gives me happiness and confidence. When will the needles end? When would I stop? At 40? At 60? When I have white hair and liver spots?

I have to let you read this great article I found on a recent show about plus-sized beauty pageants. The show was called There She Is, and it was a documentary.

“The winner is reflecting on her one-year reign as the American Beauties Plus Pageant winner and expresses disappointment that the red carpet hasn’t been rolled out in honour of her victory like she’d envisioned. It’s a genuinely heartbreaking moment after following the stories of two very lovely contestants who both admit they’ve struggled with self confidence and the negative judgements of others. It appears the stamp of approval offered by winning the pageant hasn’t brought any of the inner peace they’d hoped for (which isn’t that surprising given its focus on the outer). I feel like it’s an instant many of us, no matter our size, have experienced, that point when you realise chasing beauty is a quest with no actual true endpoint of ‘Yay, I’m finally fine!’”

If you would like to read the rest of this excellent article by Nicole Elphick here is the link.

There is no end point to beauty. Yes, it’s true I am being very “judgey” here and I have to acknowledge that in some cases treatments like botox are generally harmless and give people a confidence boost. Why should I care what people do with their time and money? As you know (if you have come to this blog before) I get quite upset at needless materialism, especially vacuous pursuits like filling an entire room with Hello Kitty crap.

I never bought the whole, “Plastic surgery gives me confidence” line but even I have to admit that there are some cases where it is essential, such as kids born with cleft palates. And who am I to judge if somebody is really unhappy with their nose and one simple surgery can make a huge difference to their lives? Why should I care if a pretty lady at the end of my street wants to pay $600 to have poison injected into her face?

OK – I think I will get off my soap box now. All this judging of others is making me tired. Please share your opinions with me if you care to – I would love to know what you think about botox and plastic surgery.

Photo by kurichan+ thank you!