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When I think of things that I might have to give up as the economic slowdown affects my personal budget, botox is not one of them.
I had planned to do a serious piece on the economy today. Serious times demand serious posts.
I was skyping with a friend on Monday morning and he shared that his mother-in-law's portfolio was chunk full of Lehman Brothers. I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to write about people who are shell shocked because of the sudden disappearance of financial instittutions that they believed were rock solid.
I thought about doing an analysis of the similarities between 1929 and today. There are some fascinating historic parrellels. I did the research. bloggers are blogging about it, like Elaine Meinel Supkis
But as I started doing my research,one word kept popping up--- BOTOX. It wasn't what I expected.Who knew botox is a major leading economic indicator ?
I really had no idea that in the midst of such dispair, the thing that people were most concerned about would be giving up their quarterly boxtox treatment.
In full disclosure I had a botox treatment once, It was not to reduce wrinkles but rather to relax some constricted muscles I have in my face as a result of a case of Ramsey Hunt Syndrome. Insurance covered the costs and it would have continued to cover my Botox treatments but I never went back for a second treatment.
While the botox definitely relaxed my constricted facial muscles, the botox also affected my vision.My botoxed face looked better but my vision was impaired.
In the end, I decided that being able to see well was more important to me than the vision that I projected to others. At the time I thought it was the most mature decision I had ever made.
Around 8 million women rely on botox to reduce their wrinkles. Many schedule their botox treatments every quarter and at a cost of $300-$500 that's around a $2000 hit to the bottom line.
So it is not surprising that as people decide what changes they have to make because of job losses, lost bonuses ,or shrinking disposable income, botox is one of the items that people are sadly saying they can do without.
I started going into New York to get my face shot up with Botox and Restylane.
This went on for a couple of years. If you looked at me carefully, I did look a smidge better. To paraphrase Nora Ephron, I looked a few weeks younger than I might have otherwise.
But that was then. Now I am nine months overdue for a visit to the dermatologist.
I'd like to tell you that I look the same, that the whole Botox-Restylane-filler phenomenon is a publicity stunt designed to raise funds for clever dermatologists; that none of that filler stuff makes you look better; that outer beauty is all in your head.
That would be a lie.
I look old and I look tired and I miss my Botox.
A couple of weeks ago, my husband had to see our dermatologist for real---he had a rash. He said, "Do you think I can get an appointment for this week?" Our dermatologist had previously been almost impossible to book.
"I bet she's not very busy anymore," I said.
My husband got an appointment the next morning.
Leslie of The Weighting Game is also obsessing about the high cost of Botox.
In this hard-knock economy, what option are available to a prematurely wrinkling gal who craves a taut forehead but still needs to pay the mortgage?
“We know people like Botox for many reasons, including the fact that it’s very elective. If your budget is a little tight, you can still enjoy the benefits - just lengthen then interval between shots. That may leave you with some wrinkles but it’s not the end of the world. Instead of every four to six months, come in every six to eight months. Make it a little treat. And instead of multiple areas, go from four down to two – maybe your forehead and the frown line between your eyes but take a pass on your squint lines. That can shave the cost a fair amount.”
On the derma network, the In This Skin blog is encouraging women to not completely give up their botox but rather stretch their appointments,
Some people say that it's a good idea to cut back on things like Botox and
