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Natural Botox: What’s the Best Anti Wrinkle Product?

Natural Botox.  You’ve googled it, right?  Hey, we all have.

You probably found pretty quickly that there is no natural injectable that works like the famed anti wrinkle treatment.  By “natural” I mean from the earth with no toxic side effects.

Botox is a protein found in the botulism toxin – yes, the one that causes food poinsoning.  If that’s not yucky enough for you, it also comes with the risk of several not-so-pretty side effects; pain, headache, nausea, permanent frown, droopy eyelids, and that weird perma-surprised expression.

Still, watching the Emmys and seeing women several years older than you with completely smooth foreheads makes the prospect tempting.  This year’s Emmy intro by Jimmy Kimmel was even based on the Botox craze.

A while back I set out to experiment with some different forms of wrinkle-reducing.  First up, the Biobliss patch.  This is a forehead-sized sticky patch that adheres to your wrinkly forehead and smooths those stubborn lines.  How?  Biobliss contains special ingredients said to help soften lines and has a unique little button which, once activated, causes the patch to heat up.  The heat is supposed to expedite the absorption of the ingredients.

My patch never really got very warm, so there was that aspect.  I thought maybe mine was defective, but my friend tried one also and hers didn’t heat up either.  After an hour’s wear I removed it and, ta-da!, saw no fewer wrinkles than pre-patch.  A total waste of time and my forehead was sticky.

Next, I received some Frownies.  Have you heard of them?  These little stickers have been floating around Hollywood for decades.  The 1940’s answer to Botox.  The idea is simple and so are the ingredients – Kraft paper and vegetable starch.  To apply, smooth out an annoying wrinkle with your fingers and apply the dampened Frownie.  Leave on for a few hours or overnight.  I thought I’d go for it and slept with them on.  They feel a little weird, like having an actual sticker on your skin, but not bad.  It helps to get them slightly wet to peel off of skin.  The result:  no effect on wrinkles whatsoever.  I heard that Rashida Jones uses these.  I’d love to know her trick.  Maybe she just doesn’t have any wrinkles yet?

Then I noticed that Dr. Oz was touting a mixture as a natural alternative to Botox.  Since he actually treats his own patients with real Botox I thought the mask may provide some real results.  It is a simple mixture of banana, yogurt and honey.  While I have spent quite a bit of time researching and testing out natural anti-agers I thought maybe I had simply missed something with these ingredients.  Not so much.  The mask made my skin look happy and healthy, but did nothing in the way of reducing lines.

Like I said, I’ve tried many natural anti-aging products that are both nontoxic and deliver results.  But we have to keep our expectations within reason here.  Sure some creams and serums help to minimize the appearance of lines, but they are not going to erase wrinkles completely.

The best defense against wrinkly skin is a healthy diet filled with fresh produce and healthy oils.  Staying hydrated, exercising regularly and trying to stay happy are also good for your complexion.  As we age it is a good idea to add more moisture to our skin care routine.  Maybe switch from a gel cleanser to a cream cleanser, or add a facial oil under your regular moisturizer.  Next week I will share some of my favorite natural anti-aging products with you.

Lastly, if you do decide to go the Botox route please be sure to see a reputable doctor with lots of experience using the treatment.

[Image: tkamenick at Flickr.com, Creative Commons license]

Written by Liz Thompson

I am an organic beauty expert, writer, and mom of two young environmentalists who can already spot a toxic product when they see one. Read more about me at Organic Beauty Source.com, and find me on , Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.

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