When building a skincare routine, whatever your age, it feels impossible to escape anti-aging messaging or the offer of 'preventative' measures. And while some of these products, like the best eye creams for wrinkles or the best facial sunscreens to prevent sun damage, will no doubt already hold a firm space in your daily ritual, others need careful consideration.
After recently having a masseter botox injection in her jaw, TV presenter Ashley James' face was left 'completely paralysed'.
“After about two days of getting it done, I realised I couldn’t smile,” she revealed in an appearance on This Morning. “My face was completely paralysed and it’s actually only just worn off [a few months later] so I can smile again.”
Ashley has the treatment specifically to help her stop grinding her teeth at night, but it is also used for aesthetics.
Dr Chloe Petrault, aesthetic doctor at ALTA MediSpa told us: "When performed correctly by an experienced medical professional, masseter botox is generally safe and widely used to treat jaw clenching, teeth grinding, and facial slimming. However, it’s important to remember that the masseter sits close to other important muscles involved in facial expression. If botox is placed too low or spreads to surrounding areas, it can temporarily affect those muscles - in rare cases, this can lead to partial facial paralysis."
Dr. Fadi Hamadani, aesthetic doctor and plastic surgeon added: "If you’re treating teeth grinding, night guards or dental splints are a non-invasive alternative. For jaw slimming, energy-based devices like Morpheus8 Burst or Forma can help to contour the lower face by tightening and lifting the skin. While they won’t shrink the muscle, they can give a more sculpted appearance without the risks associated with muscle relaxants."
During the same interview, Ashley also revealed why she uses botox for aesthetic reasons. “There is this sort of undeniable pressure with anti-ageing. The messaging is everywhere.
“I would always say when I was younger, ‘I’m going to grow old gracefully,’ whatever that means. But now I really support people’s choice to decide. Because the pressure is unbearable. We’re all consuming so many different images of people online.”
Ashley was also keen to point out how women are often told injectables like botox are 'harmless', with practitioners using terms like 'baby' or 'preventative' botox to diminish the very real risks people can face when having such treatments.
“I started because the messaging around me was 'the earlier you get it done, it’s preventative.’ They call it ‘baby’ [botox]. It almost feels like it’s this harmless thing,” she said. “And I always say now I feel like I’m in a bit of a trap. Because I actually don’t love getting these injectables and I feel really conflicted with it.
“I don’t necessarily like the way I look after it and obviously, in this case, I couldn’t smile,” she added. “So it really impacts me. But then I also feel like, since I started, I’m a bit trapped in it because I don’t like how I look without it, now that it’s worn off.”
The topic was one This Morning fans could clearly relate to. Quick to comment on Ashley's Instagram clip, one viewer wrote: 'You ‘fix’ one thing, then you get fixated with another. It’s so hard. We need to see more expression and texture on faces to ease the expectations women face as they age.”
Another added, “Everyone is absolutely allowed to do whatever helps them to feel most comfortable with themselves. I just wish we could change our relationship with ageing.”
Dr Chloe Petrault has a special interest in holistic health and integrative medicine. An advanced injector with over seven years of experience, Dr. Chloe has worked across South America and France, bringing a global perspective to her aesthetic practice.
Dr. Fadi Hamadani is a plastic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon. He completed his undergraduate studies (B.Med.Sc.) at the University of Western Ontario in London, ON Canada in 2006 and obtained his M.D. from the University of Ottawa in 2010. His practice concentrates on surgical and minimally-invasive facial and body cosmetic surgery.
