Simone Gannon: Expert advice on botox and whether it's safe in the long term

Whatever your opinion on aesthetic treatments, their rising popularity and role in many a beauty routine cannot be denied. In the first in a series of conversations on preventative ageing, I speak to four leading experts about the most popular one of all; botox.

Botox wears off within 3-4 months, and you slowly return to your normal baseline

Social media has contributed greatly to normalizing the conversation around non-invasive nips and tucks. The phrase ‘she’s had work done’ has mostly been replaced by ‘I wonder who she goes to?’ And that’s if they even notice, thanks to advancements in the field. ‘Doctors have refined the use of anti-wrinkle injections to be undetectable to the untrained eye.’ says Dr Louise Smyth, Founder of Kins Skin Clinic. ‘The popularity of botox never really decreased; the results have just become less noticeable to the general public’.

Hasn’t that always been the goal? To look more rested and more fresh without any great (visible) fanfare? ‘Absolutely’, says Dr Edel Woods, Founder of ORA Skin Clinic. ‘It’s less about changing how we look now and more about trying to look and feel like ourselves for longer.’