Botox or no Botox?

Vanity is everywhere. 

Go Be Lovely Candle can be found at Anthropologie.
My scent pick is the Coconut Milk Mango. 

Southern California is particularly vain. I grew up here so in a way I am used to it. An ordinary morning at the grocery store you are bound to see a woman with all of the following enhancements:

• Beautiful perfectly shaped and sized breasts
• Long eyelash extensions
• Smooth forehead
• Plump lips
• Manicured nails
• Tan skin
• Shaped brows 
• Highlighted hair
• Hairless bikini area
• The list goes on…

Physical appearance is valued very highly. Not only do people spend a lot of money improving their appearance they also work-out a lot and eat healthy. Single ladies have some serious competition when it comes to finding a man! I think I was really lucky to meet Mike when I was 23. Looking good then was much easier (and cheaper!) than it is today.

Years later I try to keep my vanity in check. Looking 23 again sounds really great in theory but in practice it isn't what I want to spend time or money on. So far, I have avoided most of the beauty enhancements available. My hair is turning grey and I am letting it be. I shared more about that here.  I do get my nails done pretty often and really enjoy the time relaxing and the pretty results. 

One beauty enhancement I really do want to do is Botox. My forehead lines and brow lines are already deep and I am young. In college, my roommates would post Botox ads on my bulletin board. Rude! My face lines in that area started early from the way I use my facial muscles. The way I express myself. It is something that just happens. Botox seems like such an easy thing to do with limited risk. The results are instant and the effect lasts long enough, but not forever.

I am very tempted. Then I think why would I risk putting any sort of foreign substance into my head? Into my face? Into the area where my brain is? Scary! For vanity. Botox doesn't appear to be a smart choice.

Yet, even with that logical evaluation of the situation, I still want Botox. I would love a smooth forehead.  Maybe if I do it now, I won’t need to do it later? Maybe I can prevent these lines from getting worse? I shared this with Mike recently and he just sort of rolled his eyes at me and was like “Really?”

Many women I know do this and don’t tell their husbands. I’m not sure if the husbands see the change and just ignore it and don’t say anything or if they don’t even see it. I wonder. This is something I couldn't do without talking to Mike about. Mike isn't adamantly against it but I think he sees it as a waste of money and silly vanity.

Hmmmmm.