I tried botox at CosmetiCare …and I liked it!

I always said I would NEVER do any kind of plastic surgery or beauty-type procedure. Even non-invasive ones. Mind you, I said that when I was in my mid-twenty with no wrinkles, and when I thought I was fat… but was 40 pounds lighter than I am today.

Do you ever want to go back in time and punch yourself in the face?
Me too.

Moving on…
You may have seen on instagram, I was chosen to be a CosmetiCare Mom! I get to test some of their most popular treatments, then give my opinion.
I tried the HydraFacial first and it was amazing!! I noticed my deepest wrinkles looked more shallow for about 2 months. But I wanted to try something a little more daring.

Botox? Well, that’s daring. Let’s do it!

I arrived for my appointment terrified.
Like heart-pounding-out-of-my-chest terrified!!!
They have coffee in their waiting room and that helped.
Even though it is a “medical” spa, the waiting room is cozy, it could use some magazines though. I’ve never had to wait very long so they probably don’t really need them that bad.

I was so nervous when I was called into the procedure room, but my medspa provider, Suzanne Rogers, was so comforting and encouraging. Each staff member at CosmetiCare is so friendly! She has been doing this for 15 years (yes folks, that was my first question) and talked me through everything.

Suzanne warned me the botox shots would hurt a bit. But they were fast and didn’t hurt me at all. It felt a little like acupuncture, and only took a few minutes.

Now that I’m almost a month out from my CosmetiCare medspa experience I have no idea why I was so worried or why there is such a stigma on this kind of thing. Seriously. I have friends who started saving for their boob jobs as soon as they found out they were pregnant with their first child. A huge majority of women don’t bat an eye about going under anesthesia, getting cut apart, then adding implants. It might be an Orange County thing (and if it is, then it’s coming to your town in a few years), but sometimes it’s hard to spot a woman in her 40s without implants. And I mean, how many people are seeing your boobs? Padding would do the same thing. But, botox? Something you can do in minutes. Never! And a gazillion people see your face every day!
That doesn’t make any sense.

I also should be clear that I liked the way I looked before the botox. I don’t even care if that sounds vain. I know I’m not a super model (and I don’t want to look like one… I like food too much… but I would like to travel like a super model). I don’t think I needed botox or any kind of treatments, but it sure was fun!!

I’ll lay out my pros and cons for my botox CosmetiCare treatments of below:

Botox ($400):
Cons –
-I got poked and injected with a drug.
-My forehead felt numb for the evening.
-I can’t make my forehead wrinkle anymore. (Is that really a con?)

Pros – 
-The pokes didn’t hurt at all.
-It took minutes. (Less than a hour if you count waiting and drive time.)
-I can’t make my forehead wrinkle anymore! And because I can’t make my forehead wrinkle the lines on my forehead aren’t getting deeper and deeper every year.
-No injection marks or downtime.
-Lasts 4 months. (But I’ve heard it can last 6ish on some people.)
-It really works! Although it costs $$, since it works, it’s well worth it. More than the expensive wrinkle creams which don’t yield quick or effective results.

Final thoughts on botox – 
I loved it. I’m considering making it part of my “don’t-let-yourself-go” routine. It lasts 4ish months, but I feel like if I do it every year it won’t break the bank and will keep my wrinkles from etching deeper into my forehead as I get older. A preventative measure.

I can’t stress enough with both the botox and Juvederm, that it actually works! You know how you go to the gym to get skinny. You shell out a monthly membership and childcare, work your behind off hours a week, and eat organic kale, all in the hope that you’ll look better in your jeans… in 6 months. With these CosmetiCare treatments you shell out some money and in one hour you have your results. It’s the best. Ever.

With that being said (typed), if you go to some random place you might get a botched job, or have a bad experience. I highly recommend CosmetiCare in Newport Beach. Dr. Michael Niccole has run this family owned business for 33 years. They know what they are doing and you really feel like you are part of the family when you are there for your appointments.

Below are some before and after pictures of my botox-ed forehead. They were both casual and I’m making the same facial expression so you can easily see the difference. I’m so expressive with my forehead that make-up was starting to build up in the creases by the end of the day.

And I can still look surprised… just a younger surprised.

Here is us on the Tower of Terror at Disneyland.
Though I think the people behind us, not my botox, really steal the show!

Read about my Juvederm treatment at CosmetiCare too!