Fittingly Mad: Express Yourself with Botox?
There’s been a lot of talk this week, in light of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, about being comfortable in your skin. My buddy Dear even did a great poll on the topic. I’ve been taking stock in how I unconsciously view my body and my face – essentially ME.
So when I read the text in a Botox ad while flipping though a healthy life style magazine (how ironic), I got a little fumed. “It’s all about freedom of expression” read the text of the ad for Botox Cosmetic Botulinum Toxin Type A. I had to type the whole name out because I find it crazy that folks willingly shoot a toxin into their face.
“Freedoms of expression"…yeah, right. I can have my face paralyzed so it doesn’t move and doesn’t express any emotion. Got to stay wrinkle free to be beautiful. I had a facial recently (such a wonderful luxury I wish I could indulge in more often) and the esthetician an older woman with glowing skin, kept telling me that wrinkles were a normal part of aging, but exfoliation is to help the cell regenerate (your ability to exfoliate naturally slows down as you age – who knew??). It was so wonderful to hear from a “beauty expert” how wrinkles are normal, because they are. Look at Academy Award winning actress Helen Mirren. She is 62 and totally gorgeous and she looks her age. I doubt she would trade her ability to express herself (after all that is her craft) to delay, cover up, or numb a few wrinkles away.
So yes, Botox Cosmetic Botulinum Toxic Type A, I will express myself. I will keep my face mobile and my emotions visible. Helen is my role model for aging gracefully. We all age and we shouldn’t work so hard to cover it up.
