Brand Girl™

I think it’s pretty ironic that my first visit to a doctor since my quasi move (a.k.a extended stay) into the Los Angeles area would be a dermatologist. It seems the move itself, definitive or not, was more of a physical shock than my being could bear and its stresses were showing up everywhere. Like on my cheek. I was seemingly out of sorts, and like the number of pink Uggs boots running rampant in LA, out of control. But unlike the population of pink on the west coast, I could control that pesky pimple on my cheek. That sucker needed to go. So I called a local friend, quasi agent and she pointed me to her boy in, of course, Beverly Hills.

Dr. Beverly Hills was not as concerned about the removal of the lonely zit on my face as he was taken back by the three lines embedded in my forehead. I kid you not. It reminded me of the scene in Something’s Gotta Give when Jack Nicholson’s character, Harry, flinches when he sees a woman, a) his age, b) naked, and c) for the first time. Seriously. Once regrouped, my Harry with a face that was as wrinkle free as a balloon, went on to tell me that he has been botoxing since the age of 26, (he’s barely 30 now) and that I should seriously think about starting soon, after all, “… Botox is a drug, it can do a lot, but it can’t perform miracles.”

No, Botox® Cosmetic can’t perform miracles, but it is a drug and like threading, a slow but growing habit. “Botox injections are the fastest-growing cosmetic procedure in the industry, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). In 2001, more than 1.6 million people received injections, an increase of 46 percent over the previous year. More popular than breast enhancement surgery and a potential blockbuster, Botox is regarded by some as the ultimate fountain of youth.” Having read that, you would never know that Botox Cosmetic in simplest terms is a poison that paralyzes the muscle group into which it is injected, thereby preventing that muscle to move and – wrinkle. It has an effectiveness of lasting 1-5 months, and with constant upkeep, you can basically freeze your face. I guess 60 could really be the new 40, one day, for a price.

I floated my new fascination with the drug over dinner at the Spotted Pig in NYC with a client, a few years younger but not without her own wrinkle issues. “But, it’s poison,” she says. “How can you consider putting poison into your body, on purpose? Who would do that to themselves?” Pause for emphasis. “Oh, waiter? We’ll have another round of Grey Goose and tonics.” Poison, indeed.

Are we a society of procedure junkies or is it just LA? To host a Botox party or not? When do you draw the line or have them erased? I don’t know. It’s a personal decision and one that affects your health, so know before you shoot. As for me, I’m currently content on studying other’s people foreheads and sticking to a topical regimen that includes a daily smothering of Ocean Potion® despite its less than glamorous packaging, and the occasional dabbling of Renova. This all, at the advice of my NYC dermatologist, Dr. Lisa Airan, (a.k.a the Anti Aging Queen), who by the way, ultimately popped my zit.