ROSIE GREEN announcing her secret 20-year Botox journey, her 'horror demonstrate' frozen encounter catastrophe… and the 12 game-changing guidelines each girl over 45 MUST know

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I have never taken heroin, but a friend who has told me you can never replicate the first hit. I think the same is true for Botox.

I was 32 when I began my botulinum toxin journey. I know this date to be accurate because my son was a baby and the next-level exhaustion of having a newborn shockingly and suddenly showed up on my face. Motherhood had aged me on fast-forward. I had lines etched across my forehead. I had crow’s feet.

Back in the early noughties, Botox wasn’t common in the UK. It was veiled in secrecy and people who had it either kept schtum or were mocked for being vain. As a beauty editor, I’d had some out-there treatments, but this felt like crossing the Rubicon. My then husband disapproved. Everyone disapproved.

I had it anyway.

I went to see the OG Botox injector Dr Sebagh on Harley Street – the go-to guy for beauty editors and celebrities. He was brusque and had little time for my wittering about needing to look ‘natural’ or else risk divorce. I was in and out in under half an hour and found myself dashing for the safety of John Lewis’s haberdashery department wondering what on earth had I done. I looked no different.

Then on day three or four I woke up to find my face transformed. I looked fresher. Like I’d guzzled a lake’s worth of water and had daily facials for a month. People asked had I been on holiday? What new cream was I using?

Of course, I wanted more. I didn’t go back to Sebagh but to another doctor and, reader, it was a horror show. My forehead was frozen, my eyebrows comedically arched, I couldn’t smile properly. I felt ashamed and stupid. I swore off Botox forever. Then, two years later, I had my daughter and once again felt desperate for some rejuvenation.

I’ve had it two or three times a year ever since. In that time, it has got better, as those injecting it have changed technique and now understand its capabilities.

Salmon sperm, exosomes and peptides might currently be the beauty buzzwords, but dermatologist Dr Sam Bunting says Botox ‘is still one of my most useful tools. It helps someone look their best without looking like they’ve had anything done.’ (Caveat: this is true in the right hands, in the wrong ones it looks anything but natural).

How has it changed? ‘In the early days it was a blunter tool,’ says Dr Bunting. ‘We used higher doses and there was a tendency to chase complete stillness. The craft now is the opposite of freezing. Lower doses, preserving movement and expression.’

Everything you need to know about Botox

I go to Dr Vicky Dondos at Medicetics and these are her tips and tricks for anyone aged over 45 who’s considering trying it:

1. The aim isn’t to eradicate wrinkles, but to look less tired or grumpy.

2. Today’s approach involves lower doses but distributed differently. Before we did zones, now it’s all about a full face of Botox and, as we get older, having it in the lower face is really useful.

3. You can counter the ‘sad face’ effect by having Botox in the DAO, the facial muscle that pulls the corners of the mouth downward as we age.

4. There’s a top-of-the-nose trick. When there’s restriction of movement in the eye area from Botox it can cause creasing at the top of the nose. Injecting a little more in this area tempers this.

5. Always have less Botox in the forehead. As you get older too much here can create a waxy appearance and skin texture gets too smooth in comparison to the rest of the face. Plus it can flatten the brow and you end up looking more tired.

6. Sagging eyes can appear worse with a heavily Botoxed brow. This is because it creates a heaviness that weighs the lids down further.

7. Botox can make a turkey neck look less crepey by restricting the contraction of the vertical bands that come with age. But you also need to address skin quality. So it is important to combine Botox with optimising your skincare.

8. Focus less on ‘11’ lines. We’re not looking to block movement in this area, the glabella, as you still want to show empathy. If you’ve had Botox for a while you won’t have deep lines here anyway.

9. Strategically placed Botox can achieve a brow lift – but approach with caution. Go too strong and you’ll end up looking angry,

10. Do less on the crow’s feet. If the skin under the eye is losing quality, too much Botox around the sides might emphasise those changes. I use it in the higher crow’s feet and just under the eyebrow tail for that subtle, you-can’t-put-your finger-on-it lift.

11. Botox can counter a ‘crone’ chin. The chin muscle gets stronger as we get older, pulling the chin up, so relaxing it back down with Botox is a stealth move. It can also smooth out a ‘cobblestone chin’.

12. Botox in the jaw muscles can have a slimming effect. Grinding, clenching or tension can make the face look ‘squarer’. Slimming down these bulky masseter muscles can highlight cheek contours and make nose to mouth lines less prominent.

Check your doctor is registered with the General Medical Council at gmc-uk.org

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The eyes have it

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RoC Derm Correxion Eye Repair Dark Circle Cream (£34.99, boots.com) has retinol to counter shadow- induced hollowness. 

Clarins Double Serum Eye (£64, clarins.co.uk) uses caffeine to reduce bags and niacinamide to brighten. 

Meanwhile Elemis Pro-Collagen Future Restore Eye Serum (£95, elemis.com) boasts the same opal skin algae complex that powers its best-selling serum to produce results in days.

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