Botox goes public

Published on Thursday 30 November 2006 12:33

FOR a while, it was all done on the hush-hush. You had to know the right people, the right places, and then manage to get yourself an invitation - and of course promise never, ever to talk about it.

But in the past five years, going under the needle in an attempt to save face has come out of the closet. No longer does having a Botox injection to keep the wrinkles at bay mean turning up at a New Town house and getting a quick going over by a doctor flown up from London for the night.

Nowadays being Botoxed can be as quick and as public as picking up a crevette and rocket sandwich from Pret a Manger in your lunch hour.

It's all thanks, of course, to Mr Botox himself - Edinburgh University graduate David Pyott to be precise. The 53-year-old is the man who revolutionised cosmetic surgery and introduced the world to wrinkle-free foreheads courtesy of muscle relaxant botulinum toxin which is now loved by celebrities around the world.

And as it doesn't mean weeks of recovering from a face-lift by a plastic surgeon, it's been taken up by thousands of normal men and women.

"What you can do with Botox you could never do with a facial," says Transform Medical Group's Scottish aesthetic nurse and practitioner, Margaret Coyle. "It's much more effective and it's a very quick treatment, which starts working within hours.

"People see the stars being treated with it and see the results, and that has had a hand in its popularity. Plus there's a lot more information about it, so there's more awareness and it's deemed more acceptable."

Margaret has Botoxed more than 2500 men and women in Edinburgh and Glasgow since she began in 2001. She adds: "By the time people come to see us, they're very well informed and know just what they're about."

Louise Nolan, 42, a beauty therapist from Tollcross, started having Botox on her forehead and around her eyes two years ago and has top-ups every six months. "I do see a difference - my skin is fresher, softer and smoother, and the lines have visibly decreased.

"I decided to try it because I'd heard so much about it - celebrities are having it done plus women are reading more and more about Botox and it's much more acceptable. Also because of the industry I'm in, you have to look your best - you have to look youthful."

She adds: "I still look 42 - I just look a good 42. Botox will never not make you look your age - it merely enhances what you've got and makes a few corrections."

Women - and many men - are now used to a dramatically higher standard of maintenance than they were in the past, and Botox devotees are getting younger and younger. "The thing about Botox is that no-one really notices that you've had any work done," admits Thursa Gawthorpe, 25, from Saughton. "It's a very quick fix - you can be in and out within ten minutes.

Thursa first had Botox at just 21 and has top-ups every three to six months. She explains: "It was for prevention, really. The basic principle is that if you can't screw your face up you can't give yourself wrinkles.

"I had very mobile eyebrows and even then I was starting to develop deep expression lines. Considering I was 21 - it was quite worrying. We're not allowed to get old these days.

"The result was fabulous - my lines dropped out across my forehead and between my eyes. People didn't really notice a difference, which is what I wanted, as I still wanted expression - I just wanted to get rid of those lines."

So why not a facial? "I find this is far more convenient - not even ten minutes and I'm done. It costs me 370 but to get the same effect from a facial I'd be looking at a course of ten costing around 500. Botox is instant."

Quick and easy though it is, and however enticing the idea of getting rid of the wrinkles, care is needed.

Dr Andrew Markay, a dermatological surgeon, lectures around the world on the latest advances in non-invasive procedures such as Botox. He has worked with the Government on the 2005 Expert Group Report on the Regulation of Cosmetic Surgery by the Department of Health, and he offers a word of caution.

"People see Botox as a product rather than a treatment process at their peril," he says.

"It is like a precise surgical placement of a medical product, which requires both anatomical and aesthetic considerations - the results are very operator-sensitive. 'Cosmetic facials in the lunch hour' and 'Botox parties' do have sad tales attached to them now that every beautician/nurse/GP and 'cosmetic physician' seems to be injecting the stuff."

The answer, if you are not to end up as one of those sad tales, is to do your homework and find a medical "artist" with knowledge of facial anatomy, not an amateur coming at you with a syringe. It could make all the difference.

And with the apparent acceptance of non-invasive cosmetic treatments comes the mass increase in clinics in the Capital offering to perfect us. Cosmetic clinics, beauty salons, dental surgeries and even gyms can now - if they have a qualified nurse or doctor - offer to relax and "freeze" wrinkles with Botox, and even alter the shape and position of certain features, such as the eyebrows.

Oh, and while they're at it, they can plump out and fill out facial contours with strategically placed filler injections, zap blemishes and scars with lasers, and peel back time with acid.

So where should you go to get the needle in your lunch hour? At Celeste Beauty Spa in Leven Street cosmetic doctor Rita Rakus, known as the London Lip Queen, flies up every two months or so to offer Botox and Restylane injections at the clinic. It's a bit more expensive than nipping out for a Shapers sandwich, though, as prices start at about 250.

Medicalternative, in Hawthornbank Lane in the Dean Village, also offers a range of cosmetic treatments, including Botox, Restylane, Sculptra, chemical peels and microdermabrasion, performed by experienced doctors and nurses. Prices start at 215 for Botox, and everyone gets a free consultation to discuss needs and queries before they decide whether a cosmetic treatment is for them.

And the price includes a free follow-up appointment a week later to check the results. Extra injections, at no extra charge, will be given if necessary.

Dr Victoria Dobbie, who works for Face and Body, offers Botox from 199, and has a number of clinics around the Capital, including Moi on Comiston Road, U-Beauty on Roseburn Terrace and Zen Lifestyle on Teviot Place.

Or head to Bupa Murrayfield and have one of the team of experienced plastic surgeons such as Awf Quaba or Ken Stewart perform the anti-wrinkle injections, which start at 150 - without a snip.

"Botox has become so much more popular and accepted, by both men and women", agrees Dr Lyndsey Myskow of Medicalternative. "It's now okay to have it, especially as you can look more youthful and have fewer lines from facial expressions in a matter of hours. And most importantly, it's been around for so long now and is available in so many reputable clinics that everyone can see for themselves that it's safe."