As you know, I am 100% against aging gracefully. It’s an all out war on aging – at least the signs and symptoms of it. That said, I also think there is a way to age elegantly without looking plasticine.
I have friends of all ages that swear by botox. No judgment. I tried it…ONCE. I splurged on a treatment just before my major milestone birthday mmphf years ago. Did it smooth my “11s” out? Yes. Did it lift my brows? Slightly, yes. Did I love it? Nope. And here’s why…
Botox freaks me out.
My general trepidation with botox is that I’ve seen good injections and I’ve seen some TERRIBLE injections. It’s partly strength of injection, skill of the injector, and the underlying muscle structure of the injectee which is subtly different in all of us. Bottom line – it feels like a crap shoot to me.
I am an expressive person (read: I make a lot of faces). When I’m reading, you can see my emotions run across my face as I read (so I’m told). I have a naturally downturned mouth (read: RBF). When I talk I need the use of my hands and most expression muscles in my face (bad habit, I know!). With Botox I discovered my expressions turned into “rabbit nose”, that unfortunate set of lines across the bridge of the nose. Come to find out, I hate them even more than the 11s, at least on me.
Crap shoot + cost + rabbit wrinkles + frequency = pass for me.
Goodbye botox.
Just because I personally have not embraced botox does NOT mean that I like wrinkles on my forehead, crows feet by my eyes, or lines etched between my eyebrows. Heck no!
I lived with them in semi-harmony for a while. Then one day a year ago (thanks pandemic stress!) I looked up in the mirror at my 11s and I couldn’t take it anymore. But I really didn’t want to do Botox again. Then the skies parted and Instagram’s disturbing ability to read my mind came through and offered up a Frownies sponsored ad!
I ignored it.
I ignored it for several weeks.
What a bunch of ridiculous and absurd bunk! I wasn’t born yesterday. You can’t just adhere things to your face and smooth out your skin. Puh-leese!
A month later being bombarded with advertising met by many eye rolls, in a fit of late night weakness, I caved and ordered a box. (Spoiler alert: I ended up ordering more and got the range of their products!)
What Are Frownies?
Frownies (the original) are these unassuming little pieces of paper. They have a skin-friendly, water activated adhesive on one side and paper on the other. My inner skeptic ridiculed me. But my curiosity took over and on they went. I wore the every night for the first month.
Woah. That first morning after I wore them, I soaked them off my forehead and BAM! Smooth. It was impressive. Holy moly!
At the end of 30 days, I was astonished.
How Do They Work?
Frownies, like Botox, immobilize your face…while you wear them. It’s like a lightweight cast on your skin. This allows your muscles to relax and get a little lazy. It’s temporary botox. Your face gets used to NOT moving and just…kinda stops.
Example: I tend to scrunch between my eyebrow when I concentrate. After wearing Frownies, I realized my face doesn’t jump in that pattern anymore. I have to really THINK about pinching my forehead together. How cool is that?!
Once I went through one box, I ordered them again and included some other products. I’ve tried Frownie patches from both boxes. They are the same thing but in different shapes – or you can cut out your own. The Frownies site recommends placing them in an overlapping pattern. Just activate with a bit of water (I use water in a spray bottle) and place it on your skin. The separate shapes ensure you can personalize a layout that best suits your needs.
I overlap them in the patterns below based on the shape of the Frownies. These are my two go tos. The left comes from the larger square box which also works well for crows feet. The triangle shapes on the right come from the original box which is smaller. They both work equally well for me.
I tested these on my sister and they work well on her too. She has thicker skin than I do. As a result she doesn’t have many wrinkles but the few she has are much deeper in the skin. I noticed a difference after the first day she used them. However, she confessed later that she stopped using them.
The Cons
The results are real, but there are downsides for some people.
- You have to use them. This might sound trite and obvious but the advantage to an injection is you don’t have to think about it once it’s done.
- They look a little “odd”. You may feel a bit ridiculous wearing them in front of others. They aren’t sexy and you might find a partner looking at you a bit askance.
It’s not a deterrent to me, but it did stop my sister from using them to get the maximal benefit.
The Bottom Line
I’m still using them every other day or when I feel like it. I still see results and the residual immobilization is keeping the deeper version of my 11s away. I would definitely recommend you check them out if you want the results but not all of the things that come with botox.
Would you try them?
