“I went to visit a dermo ”
My six-year-old son has been waking up at 5.30am for weeks. This is often after his 20-month-old brother has gone back to sleep after chatting at 3.30am. And it might be on the heels of my binge-watching TV until 1am.
This is not to complain about my life. It’s just to say that I’m often tired! And I look it. I’m low-maintenance when it comes to beauty. I don’t have a dermo on speed dial. I don’t exfoliate much. The eye creams in my cabinet are quite full. Some days I forget to moisturise. Mostly I just don’t have the time.
Lately I’ve considered something cosmetic, like fillers or Botox. I’ve never been for or against them. Then my husband said he’d tried ‘Brotox’ (a version of the wrinkle relaxer marketed to men). I looked closer: his brow furrow crease was gone. I was jealous.
Which is why I find myself at the dermatologist. “To help you look more awake, there are a couple of things we can do,” he says. “Soften these lines that form on the sides and between your eyes when you smile with a bit of Botox” – which relaxes muscles and smooths out wrinkles – “here, here and here, and between the brows.” ( Yes, please!) “And blend the lines under them, the tear troughs, with filler to plump it up.”
I’m nervous and excited. I’m not scared of needles, but I’m worried about looking weird. The injections take 10 minutes, and it’ll be 14 days before the filler settles in.
At first my face feels odd. But in just 14 days, the sensations end. The crease between my brows barely remains – same with the wrinkles around my eyes when I smile. People notice, but more importantly, I feel better. I get why people spend all this money (sessions start at R6 000) and make it a regular thing. And I have no guilt. My joy is unapologetic. Who knows? Maybe by the time my first visit wears off, I might be getting real sleep.