Millennials using Botox to hold on to young look, surgeons say
Some medical professionals say clients in their 20s and 30s are turning to the cosmetic procedure
Some millennials keen on preserving their youth are turning to Botox to smooth away hints of creases on their faces before they become more pronounced.
A recent survey of American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery members reported a surge in patients under 30 getting “preventative Botox.”
And it appears to be a broader trend. Toronto-based cosmetic plastic surgeon Cory Torgerson, whose practice focuses on the face and neck, said he’s “definitely seeing” it.
“The (millennials) are cued in to preventative maintenance and are engaging in injectable cosmetic pro- cedures more commonly in their 20s and 30s,” Torgerson said.
In a U.S. survey, 64 per cent of members reported an increase in millennial patients getting injectable treatments or cosmetic surgery.
The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reported that Botox treatments for people between the ages of19 to 34 shot up by 41 per cent between 2011 and 2015.
The trend doesn’t surprise Candace Shaw, a Toronto-based feminist and cultural commentator.
“We have such an image-driven culture and our careers and our lives are very image-driven.
“So, I can see why a lot of people, especially people who grew up in a culture where we have the Internet, we have Facebook, we have Instagram, are responding by saying, ‘well, I want to look my best and in this culture, my best is not having wrinkles,’ ” she said.
Gina Bourne, a 31-year-old OCAD student who also works as an executive assistant, said she started getting Botox when she was 29.
“(At the time) nobody I knew was doing it,” she said. “I had these lines between my eyebrows and on my forehead and I just had been feeling like I was looking a little tired for a while.”
Bourne did some research and found Botox, one of three products that stop muscles from contracting, pulling on the skin and creating wrinkles, was preventative, so she kept the treatments up. She thinks she’ll do it for the rest of her life, she said, barring any advancements.
“I definitely feel that it’s had a good result for me and I’m definitely happy with what’s happened,” she said. It feels smoothed out, Bourne said, adding she doesn’t look tired and doesn’t worry about going out without makeup on.
Dr. Sean Rice, a Toronto-based plastic and cosmetic surgeon, said many of his clients come in when they are “starting to see (wrinkles) and it’s kind of freaking them out,” he said, adding they use it as a prophylactic measure to “avoid getting wrinkles down the road.”
Rice, 51, and Torgerson both use Botox preventively to eliminate wrinkles.
“For me, I can really personally no- tice a big difference in the way my appearance looks between when I have Botox and don’t have Botox,” Rice said, adding he gets it on his forehead and the glabella, the area between the eyes.
Bourne says the cost can be prohibitive. She gets the treatment every six months at a cost of $440 per visit, though prices vary on the clinic and the size of the area being treated.
“I don’t think it’s too affordable,” she admits.
It’s not just the pre-creased millennial women who are smoothing the developing lines in their faces. Young men do too, just fewer of them.
Torgerson estimates about 25 per cent of his millennial-age clients are men, while Rice says about 40 per cent of his are men.
Part of that is the greater pressure on women to look young.
“On the one hand, it’s a shame that people feel the pressure, that young women in particular feel the pressure to take fairly invasive medical steps to avoid aging,” Shaw said.
“On the other hand . . . I can’t judge an individual for making a choice for what to do with their body.”
“I definitely feel that it’s had a good result for me and I’m definitely happy.” GINA BOURNE BOTOX USER