THE STING

Fashion commentator, Sujata Assomull shares why she considered giving Botox a shot.

I remember being 20 years old and hearing that a relative of mine had some plastic surgery done, it seems she used the excuse of having a deviated septum to have her nose fixed. It made it sound like you were going under the knife for medical reasons and not for vanity. At that time the very idea of plastic surgery just to look better was quite ridiculous to me.

Cut to turning 30 years old, and suddenly botox had become the new conversation point. Was this the right age to start, some of friends thought so and went in for the treatment. There were those who looked fresher and those who looked like their faces needed to be defrosted. As someone who cannot stand the thought of taking a blood test, let alone an injection, the idea of botox was immediately ruled out for me. Plus I could not understand those who couldn’t just let themselves age gracefully. I mean it’s not that I did not indulge myself with regular facials, massages and clean-ups, but that was enough. It seemed to me botoxed women had a very shallow view of beauty and themselves. I could never imagine my mother even considering any invasive treatment; she never even dyed her hair. I admired her salt and pepper hair, glowing skin with a few wrinkles that added character and that was how I wanted to age.

Then last year I turned 40 and while I have never had anything more intensive than a photo facial, I did make inquiries into “baby botox”, and also some other non surgical facial treatment. Though I never did more than making a few phone calls, the fact is my “holier than though” attitude has changed. Not to say I agree with Renee Zellweger’s recent makeover, but perhaps you can still age with grace and have a little bit of help to ease the process. After all I dye my hair which means I take “chemical help”. So who knows maybe one day I will “touch my face”. I doubt I would look at surgery, but I no longer have an allergic reaction to those who decide that they want to go under the knife.

It is a personal choice and women should be allowed to make this decision without society’s judgement. Just remember that ageing gracefully is always a better option than having skin that looks ironed out with lips that remind you of Jim Carey in “The Mask”. And there can be nothing uglier than losing the ability to smile with your whole face.

*The author is the ex-launch editor of Harper’s Bazaar India. To follow Sujata on Twitter, click here.