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Botox Addiction
Botox has been dubbed the "lunchtime facelift", loved by women – and a growing number of men – for its miraculous ability to erase wrinkles and restore youthful good looks.
But the concern is that once you start keeping the unwanted effects of ageing at bay, you will not be able to stop, according to research to be presented at a conference this week.
Botox is the No1 non-surgical cosmetic treatment
The first study of its kind, carried out by a psychologist and plastic surgeon, suggests that four in 10 people who use Botox have a compulsion to do so repetitively, prompting fears that it is addictive.
Although the effects of the jab are virtually instantaneous, they wear off over the course of four to six months, meaning that top-ups are needed to maintain a wrinkle-free complexion.
Some plastic surgeons report that users come back to demand more injections at the first signs of a slight facial crease, well before the time it takes for Botox to wear off.
Although the safety profile of Botox is excellent, experts warn that there are no long-term studies of side-effects, leading to fears that "Botox addicts" could be running unknown health risks.
More than half of regular Botox users said they felt a lack of control over the natural ageing process without the jab, with a similar number admitting that Botox made them "feel" younger too.
Botox, which is the brand name for botulinum toxin-A, a nerve poison and the same bacteria that causes botulism, a very serious form of food poisoning, is the number one non-surgical cosmetic treatment in Britain.
Mintel, the market research group, estimates that more than 100,000 treatments are given in Britain each year, with a year's supply of Botox costing about £900.
Dr Carter Singh, who has a degree in psychology and is based at Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, and the consultant plastic surgeon Martin Kelly, of London Plastic Surgery Associates, are due to present their full findings at the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons conference in London on Friday. The study aims to help plastic surgeons to spot the signs of "Botox addiction".
Dr Judy Evans, a plastic surgeon at the Nuffield Hospital in Plymouth, said: "People come to have Botox because they are worried about ageing and then they get told they look younger and healthier by their friends and family, so they do actually start to 'feel' younger. They rely on Botox to help them achieve that feeling."
Gemma Numan, the wife of Gary Numan, the pop star, has spoken of her addiction to cosmetic treatments.
"I have regular injections of Botox," she said. "When I have had one treatment, I can't wait for the next. Every minute takes me nearer to my goal: looking better and feeling happier. Without it, I feel ugly, unsexy and unlovable."
However, Dr Daniel Sister, an anti-ageing specialist of Beautyworks West clinic in Notting Hill, west London, doubts whether Botox is addictive.
"If you have Botox every three months, the muscles that cause the lines will be kept weak, so you need inject only a smaller amount. If you compare two people at the end of the year, one having Botox every six months and one every three months, they will probably have had the same amount of Botox.
"There are different opinions on what is right but I doubt that this is truly an addiction."
