I'm no stranger to the Botox needle, and was excited to get to visit the famous Dr. Marc Armangue at Harrods Urban Retreat to get my most recent injectable top up. I'm aware that I don't NEED Botox as I'm below thirty years old (which is a guide, not a rule) but I have been concerned about some fine forehead lines for a while, and as I spend a lot of time in front of the computer I don't want these to develop any further.
Botox is very useful as a preventative tool as well as a wrinkle reducer, as by paralysing the muscles it stops lines from being created and studies have shown that over time the power of the frown muscles actually get decreased. My consultation with Dr Marc was very thorough - he took extensive background health checkups and talked about my concerns with my face.
He told me that the lines I was unhappy with wouldn't totally go as they were towards the corners of my face - and to inject there would cause eye drooping. However, by injecting the muscle further up you would get a knock on effect of having the corner lines be less pronounced and less used.
He started by marking the areas on my face and I settled back nervously into the chair. We were going to Botox the glabella (the part between the eyes) and the forehead lines and this involved a syringe and careful precise application. It wasn't painful but was not exactly comfortable (my pain tolerance is crying at waxing for your reference) and was over in less than 15 minutes.
Immediately after the forehead swells a little as the Botox is mixed with water which creates small bubbles under the skin that gradually dissipate (see image!)
I was given a list of instructions to follow post treatment - the most important one being DO NOT TOUCH FACE! Others involved sitting upright for at least four hours, no massaging of the area and not taking aspirin or ibuprofen for 7 days. I used to be told to try and make faces to exercise the muscle but Dr Marc said new studies have shown this is unnecessary so I was happy to avoid doing the clown face for the day.
The treatment takes around 7-14 days for full effect and two weeks later I was happy to see that my lines were completely gone. I love my smooth forehead and am really pleased with Dr Marc's work- he's my special secret surgeon that I'm sharing with you all.
Botox at Harrods Urban Retreat costs from £255 for one area and £400 for three areas.
