Let's Talk Midlife Crisis Podcast

12 Botox Alternatives

• Ashley and Traci • Season 2 • Episode 9

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Ever wondered why some people avoid Botox despite its popularity? In this episode, we promise to unravel the mystery and present you with a variety of skin-smoothing alternatives that don't involve needles. Drawing from a rich article in Women's Health Magazine and insights from renowned dermatologists like Hadley King and Dendi Engelman, we explore the world of peptides, retinoids, and growth factors. You'll hear about standout products like Medic 8 Liquid Peptides and BeautyStat Peptide Wrinkle Relaxing Moisturizer, as well as a luxurious retinoid option from Augustinus Bader. These are the powerhouse ingredients that could revolutionize your skincare routine without the prick of a needle.

Join us as we recount our own skincare adventures, from battling asymmetrical frown lines to hilariously experimenting with microcurrent devices. We dive into non-invasive treatments like microneedling, radiofrequency, and LED light therapy, appreciating the patience they require but also celebrating the results. We don't shy away from discussing the costs and benefits of laser treatments or the soothing effects of silicone pads and overnight collagen-infused masks. Whether you're a skincare newbie or a seasoned enthusiast, our stories and expert advice will guide you towards achieving a smoother, youthful complexion without Botox.

Sources: 
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/a61599698/best-botox-alternatives/

https://talikacosmetics.com/products/reusable-eye-therapy-patches-6-pairs-case


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Speaker 1:

Welcome to let's Talk Midlife Crisis. I'm Ashley and I'm Tracy, we're your go-to hosts for all things midlife, menopause and moments of pure mayhem, Whether you're navigating hot flashes, chasing new passions or just trying to remember why you walked into a room.

Speaker 2:

We got you. Every week we bring you tips, real-life life stories and expert advice to help you laugh, learn and thrive through this wild midlife journey. And we're on wdj yfm 99.1 every monday morning at9 am. So to all our atl listeners, thank you for in.

Speaker 1:

So grab your favorite drink and settle in for some laughs and insight. You're in good company.

Speaker 2:

Hey, we're going to talk about 12 alternatives to Botox for smoother, wrinkle-free skin.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I like this already.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's an article out of women's health magazine and it was it's. All of these tips are dermatologists approved, so I've never had botox. I haven't either.

Speaker 1:

No, I haven't had botox so I know people who have and they swear by it, um, and they look great. Yes, yes, but I don't know. I just I don't like needles for one right, and it just scares me like putting you know, this is so funny because it scares me to put stuff in my skin like that. Yet I'll try a million different skin products. I'll put it on my skin.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yes, so, but I have never done botox but I have most my friends, especially colleagues, um have done it, because they're all older women. But there's a lot of reasons why people can't do Botox. I have a feeling that I would not react well to it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you have a lot of reactions to things.

Speaker 2:

Sensitivity Right, you know, in my later years. But you know there are people that have muscle issues and Migraines.

Speaker 1:

It's supposed to help migraines.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and different things. And migraines. It's supposed to help migraines. Yeah, and different things, but the experts for this particular tips are Hadley King, md, from New York City, deanne Davis, board certified dermatologist in South Lake Texas. Dendi Engelman is a surgeon and board certified dermatologist at the Schaefer Clinic Fifth Avenue in New York, and Anar Mekalov and I probably butchered it, but is a board certified dermatologist and founder of Skin Tensive. So yeah, and one of the things that they recommend as an alternative is peptides.

Speaker 1:

Oh, our friend Paige has told us about peptides.

Speaker 2:

Our friend Paige talks about peptides all the time. They're in a lot of different products and different things that you can purchase.

Speaker 1:

And it's typically like a moisturizer. I think that you find them in, or some type of oil.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yeah, yes, that you find them in or some type of oil? Yes, yeah, yes. And so there are three products that are recommended, and one of them is Medic 8 Liquid Peptides, which is relatively reasonable cost $50. Oh yeah.

Speaker 1:

That's not bad.

Speaker 2:

You know, $50 to $65, depending on where you get it. You can get it at Walmart, amazon or at the skin store. So, and all of these products the links will be in the description of our podcast so you don't have to write it down. If you're driving, don't worry about it. And then BeautyStat Peptide Wrinkle, relaxing Moisturizer. That one's a little bit more expensive. It runs about $70, $75. You can get it at Macy's and BeautyStatcom. And then there's Sable Lab Okra Face Serum, which is interesting, and that one is about $75. And it's available at SableLabsco, which makes me think it's european probably um, but yeah, they're all reasonably priced.

Speaker 2:

Retinol sometimes has a negative effect for me as well, um is and the spfs. I can't do any of that kind of stuff, but I'm interested in trying some of these products okay um, and then there's retinoids yeah, that's another one Paige has told us about.

Speaker 2:

A holy grail of anti-aging ingredients. It's derived from vitamin A and it's like retinol. It's and its prescription cousins are powerful ingredients that help stimulate collagen producing enzymes to make new collagen that improves elasticity and firmness. Oh, I like that. Yeah, I do too. I do too. And this one is Dr King recommended, and the product that is recommended here is Augustinus Bader the retinol serum. Oh, you get it at Sephora.

Speaker 1:

At.

Speaker 2:

Sephora, it's a little bit more expensive.

Speaker 1:

That's pricey.

Speaker 2:

It's pricey $ pricey 375. I wonder how much botox is. I know that it's pricey as well.

Speaker 1:

I don't think it's even that expensive, though I don't think. I mean, I think it depends on how much you get.

Speaker 2:

That's how they decide right, so yeah, it could be like 10 or 15 dollars per unit, but you need 20 units or something Right exactly. And the next one is growth factors, which are naturally occurring proteins found in your body to help wounds healing process. Oh, and they're known to increase collagen and elastin, thicken skin and improve tone and texture texture wow, yeah, interesting. I wonder if that would work for my arms I have.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's a good idea skin and so I bruise really easily and I have been searching for so long for a product that helps that. I'm wearing long sleeves right now because it's fall, thank goodness, but in the summer it's very embarrassing to have right all of those bruises. And if nothing else shows your age, bruising skin, thin skin embrace the age embrace your age. I'm trying, I'm trying um, but there are a couple of products here that are recommended. Dr Diamond's Medicine, instafacial Plasma Bioactive Growth Factor Serum.

Speaker 1:

Wow.

Speaker 2:

That's a mouthful.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

And it's $200 at.

Speaker 1:

Looks like Dr Diamond Medicine and it's M-E-T, a-c-i-n-e. Right Medicine, right Medicine.

Speaker 2:

Medicine.

Speaker 1:

I don't know.

Speaker 2:

Okay, and SkinMedica TNS Advanced Plus Serum, and this is available even at Walmart but at Amazon and Skin Store as well, but again, it's pretty pricey.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, these are both in the hundreds About $300.

Speaker 2:

Right, but if you can use it more than once, yeah, I mean, I wonder Often you just use a little drop of it, right, and I wonder how long it would take to see results.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

I'm definitely one that looks more for instant results. I know you put it on and then you look in the mirror. Yeah, we you?

Speaker 1:

put it on and then you look in the mirror. Yeah, we all want results right away. But, yeah again, it could probably take four to six weeks to really see results and you would think that it would right.

Speaker 2:

Logically, you would think that Antioxidants. They recommend antioxidants such as vitamin C, which brightens up dull skin, dull skin, dull skin. It reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. I found a serum and I use Meaningful Beauty.

Speaker 2:

They finally came out with a vitamin C serum. I absolutely love it, really Absolutely love it. They have a melon serum that I like as well, but the vitamin C serum I also noticed I was having dark age spots on my face right and meaningful beauty had a different product for that which I was using, but the vitamin c serum kind of takes care of everything, helps with wrinkles and I've also noticed the diminishing effects of my dark spots, your complexion, wow on my face.

Speaker 1:

That's amazing.

Speaker 2:

So some antioxidant products that are recommended. There's Paula's Choice 5% Vitamin C Sheer Facial Moisturizer. It has an SPF of 50. So I wouldn't be able to use this one. Spf doesn't bother you, it's $45 at Sephora. And then there's also Sunday. Riley's b3 niacinamide serum yeah and that is also reasonably priced at about 65 at sephora. But you can also, as I mentioned, utilize uh, cindy crawford's meaningful beauty. If you're interested at all, you can buy a single product or you can buy multiple products and they send them to you every 90 days.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's nice and you pay like $100 a month, right, right, for three months or whatever. It's not quite that much, but it's. I think I pay like $65 for three months for and I think I get like five different products, but you can buy them individually. So, um, radio frequency microneedling oh yes, we talked about this before we have talked about it. I haven't done it yet. I so want to do it.

Speaker 1:

I gotta try it.

Speaker 2:

I do want to try it, I just haven't had the time. But they're saying microneedling alone may not give you the exact results you know to botox, but it is helpful to smoothing and even skin and stimulating collagen production, which can help. It's funny I have more wrinkles on my frown lines on my left side of my face than I do anywhere else and they're increasingly more as time goes on. But I think it's interesting that it's on the left side of my face. At one time my old boss told me it's because from driving and the sun coming in. Oh wow, I never thought of that. I never did either. And then someone else had told me it's because of how I sleep.

Speaker 1:

I was going to say, and I sleep on that side of my face, I think that that's something I've heard as well where it depends on the side that you favor when you sleep. Um, micro needling, too, is something that you won't necessarily get results from, like they said right away. It could take a few different sessions to see results. I, however, I did notice some results. I only did it the one time, right um, I should do it again because, like I said, I saw results and I can only imagine if I did it, you know.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 1:

Not even regularly, but maybe just like a couple times a year twice a year, 100%, 100%.

Speaker 2:

And so the radio frequency. Apparently, you know it helps improve skin texture, firmness and minimize wrinkles, as well as pores. I've never had an issue with pores. I don't feel like I do, but I don't use them.

Speaker 1:

I don't very often, but every once in a while I'll notice that they're a little more open than normal, right, yeah?

Speaker 2:

I just feel like, yes, I'm fortunate in that aspect and this one, I've actually thought about going. I had an appointment and then I canceled it when I had a gift card at one point. But LED light therapy.

Speaker 1:

The red light. Red light, yeah, red light.

Speaker 2:

It's popular.

Speaker 1:

For a lot of different things.

Speaker 2:

Therapy tools that emits light that can work wonders on the skin. So another thing that I'm dying to try but just haven't done it. It boosts collagen and elasticity and in turn, will improve your firmness. So smooth and smooth and improved texture over time. I guess everything outside of Botox takes time which Takes time, which is fine. I'm in it for the long haul, right. So I just want to find something that works well for me, that I don't have a reaction to.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

And this one is different. I haven't heard of microcurrent before. Oh, I haven't either. Yeah, love your new face as much as we do. There are microcurrent devices that can give botox like effects to your face and they work by using small electrical pulses to stimulate skin cells and muscles and it helps to lift and tighten. I'm pulling on my face to lift and tighten the face. Um, with continued use, you'll see noticeable improvement in skin texture and firmness. Now I actually maybe I have tried this one, because I've tried a gazillion products and I probably have this under the sink in my bathroom oh my gosh.

Speaker 2:

But there was something that I had purchased and you kind of put this gel on and it kind of does a little like zapping kind of experience and you and it tells you how to use it on your face, like you pull it from your chin upwards towards your ear but, yeah, it's this little thing and it does this little zapping thing and it has a dial on it so you can turn and you haven't tried it?

Speaker 1:

no, I tried it. I used to use it. No, it didn't hurt. It took a minute to get used to the feeling okay, and and you haven't tried it. No, I've tried it.

Speaker 2:

Oh, did it hurt? No, it didn't hurt. It took a minute to get used to the feeling Okay, and actually I hadn't even thought about it until just now, because it's been years ago, way before COVID, even that I had purchased it. But, like I said, it's probably just buried underneath my vanity in there and I don't know, because a couple of years ago it wasn't as bad as it is now. So I do need to dig it out.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you do and try it again.

Speaker 2:

I'm just curious, yeah, and you plug it in, but yeah, and I feel like that's probably what they're talking about here.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

And then, of course, there's lasers, so it's one of the most effective non-Bot treatment and they're used to target the deep layers of skin to stimulate uh the production of collagen and help resurface the skin. They smooth the skin and improve overall appearance.

Speaker 1:

It's been my experience that lasers can be pretty spendy yeah, so, but I think I mean, like laser hair removal we've talked about can be kind of pricey, right, right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, and I love it. I went again last week and talked to the girl. She's like oh, I met with you years ago when you came back.

Speaker 1:

Oh, she remembered you. What's your?

Speaker 2:

problems now? Yeah, well, she didn't, until she looked at my file, okay, and I was like, well, you guys said I had to come back in for maintenance and that's why I'm here. It's actually been way before COVID. So four years and you know, it's just the chin hairs and the mustache. I just needed to go away, but they're very, very nice. And Simplicity Laser, which isn't in every state across the country, but they are in quite a few states. But they set you up on a monthly payment plan as well.

Speaker 2:

Oh that's nice, but it usually like 18 months right in order to complete it. So I don't think you're ever too old to do it, but I just think it's funny. Now that I'm older, the hair on my legs doesn't grow as often yeah, mine's, you know it just doesn't grow, everything comes out of my face, so kind of it's reasonable um in today's world.

Speaker 2:

So, silicone pads. Oh, okay, yeah, a non-invasive option to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and keep the skin smooth from creases that can occur while you sleep. I do sleep on my face.

Speaker 1:

I sleep on the sides. Yeah, I sleep on my side. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So, and these pads help prevent water loss and they lock in moisture to the skin to be better hydrated, better at repairing itself and produce collagen.

Speaker 1:

So Wow, so that's probably like those. You know you can get those silicone like under eye pads, like things like that.

Speaker 2:

Well, and I actually have these face masks from TikTok shop.

Speaker 1:

Oh gosh, you and your TikTok shop.

Speaker 2:

I know, I know, but seriously, and they're not expensive. They're maybe $20 and you get five of them in there. But they're face masks and you put them on at night before you go to sleep and you know you have eye cut, eye cutouts on your nose and your mouth, which I didn't realize at the first round. But I use now the eye cutout patches on my eyelids.

Speaker 1:

The first my first box.

Speaker 2:

I didn't do that, but I think the second time I purchased it I saw the person, the influencer, using it that way and I thought, oh well, yeah, but the funny thing is they're white and you put it on and I was thinking because I sleep on my face like how am I gonna sleep with this on? Yeah, but you put it on your face and it's white and you wake up and it's clear. Oh yeah, but it's collagen, it's all collagen.

Speaker 1:

So wait it's. Is it actually a sheet mask? And then, like, then you take it off in the morning. Oh interesting, yeah, yeah, so, and it.

Speaker 2:

So, and it didn't move it didn't move. No, so I fell asleep and I woke up and there it was and it was all clear, and I took it off and I did see a noticeable difference.

Speaker 1:

Wow, I did see a noticeable difference.

Speaker 2:

But it's funny that, yeah, you can sleep with them on, even if you sleep on your face, I think after the first few minutes it just kind of sets in uh huh, I can't explain it, but sticks to you, it sticks to you.

Speaker 1:

and then there's always chemical exfoliants, oh, and I've shied away from those because it takes a long time for you to peel and heal yeah, my mom did one of those chemical peels and she noticed a slight change, but not enough to do it again and it was expensive. I think she paid like $500 for it. Yeah, it's pretty intense. They do take off several layers of skin Right. So, like you said, the healing process is a few days. You're very red. You can't have any sun exposure.

Speaker 2:

Not at all.

Speaker 1:

And your skin, and probably not go into public because you don't want to be right, well, and you do kind of like, I guess you you know, in the process of healing your skin looks flaky and like almost like it's healing yeah so yeah, it can be. I mean it's, it's pretty intense, but I I've heard great things about it.

Speaker 1:

Um, my mom, she said like again, she saw you know a difference, but not enough that she's willing to spend the money again so and you know it probably as you do it, if you do it more than once, start to see better and better results, exactly exactly, and apparently there are over the counter products.

Speaker 2:

Oh, exfoliating the skin? Um, that, I would assume, would be just a little less evasive.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I have an exfoliator that I use not even once a week, maybe every other week.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so we're to look for? Dr King recommends looking for products with glycolic acid and alpha hydroxy acids, which I've heard of alpha hydroxy acids, but that clears out your pores and helps improve your tone and your texture. And then there's the naturopathica 10, like colic acid and aloe vera resurfacing pads that sounds interesting yeah, so if you want to try any of those, as opposed to an esthetician doing a full-on, you know, chemical peel, that might be an option yeah, exfoliating is always good and you know you can look at the box and find out what the downtime is, so it might be a little bit better.

Speaker 2:

I know back then, when I was actually considering it, I worked in the office and I just didn't have that time span and who wants to take a vacation? Just so you can. You know, peel your face, peels, so peel your face off.

Speaker 1:

Peel your face off and then there's fillers.

Speaker 2:

I thought this was interesting because I think of fillers the same as I think of botox right, you too, so I always heard from my friends that do it like botox is from your eyes up right Like you do it on your forehead and stuff, but then from your eyes down are fillers.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I have a friend that did under eye filler under her eyes, oh, and she loved it. I don't know if she's done it again, but she loved it. Or lip fillers.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, people do lip fillers. Oh my gosh, that cracks. Me up. Cheekbone yeah, oh my gosh, that cracks me up. Cheekbone, yeah, yeah, but I so. But fillers, you know it's not for me, but it might be for you. It's another anesthetic treatment that requires a needle. It's a gel-like substance injected into your skin that can help you achieve Botox-like results, and I've heard you can actually get it removed too.

Speaker 2:

So, people have done lip fillers and then decided to take them out, their lips to be that big anymore. So, or, and people, I could be wrong. A lot of celebrities female celebrities have used them and then they have a a very unappealing look yeah after a while. So and I don't think that they realize less is more yes, yes and just you know natural as much as you can. Yeah, kind of natural.

Speaker 2:

But yet there's vanity in all of us. So we want to look our best, right, if not just for ourselves, right, yeah. But when I look confidence, yeah, yeah, um. And then sunscreen, which is very, very important um, I can't wear it because it affects me.

Speaker 2:

I have some kind of a bad reaction to it even the organic kinds, but they are recommending a lightsabers tinted activated sunscreen, spf 33. At one point when I was younger, I remember hearing like there's only SPF is only good to a certain degree, right. Anything after that is just advertising.

Speaker 1:

Right Marketing so.

Speaker 2:

I'm not sure what that is. 33 seems like a reasonable number.

Speaker 1:

I think that's pretty common for skin care, like face. Usually it's, you know, like 35, 40. Right, but I mean I see a lot that say 50 and more. But I've you know my skin doctor I guess I could call her Paige. Yes, she says that what I use is fine.

Speaker 2:

Okay, good, so I stick with it yeah, and the beauty of this is a lot of these tinted um sunscreens can act as if it was a foundation yeah, yeah, that's what mine is a moisturizer house.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and it has the spf in it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, the one that they're recommending is la roche passe and phelps uv hydra sunscreen spf 50, so they're recommending an spf 50. It's relatively inexpensive. Posse UV Hydra Sunscreen SPF 50. So they're recommending an SPF 50. It's relatively inexpensive, at $40. And it's available at Ulta and La Roche. Posse Skin Care.

Speaker 1:

I use mine every day. I just, even though our UV is really low this time of year, I just you know my face is exposed to the sun every single day, anytime I walk outside. So I think it's really important to, because you know you don't really think about sunscreen unless it's summer, right, but that's not true. And there's one thing that a lot of people don't think about the tops of your hands. The hands, yes, yes. So that's where I'm getting my sun spots oh my goodness oh my goodness.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, well, you know what's funny.

Speaker 2:

I do put my vitamin c because I'll have it on my hands when I put it on my face and then I'll rub it into my hand oh yeah, that's brilliant on the top of my arms for my uh, my thin skin bruising there.

Speaker 2:

But those are the 12 um top recommendations for Botox alternatives. And I also want to mention a product that I purchased recently the eye patch therapy. I need to try mine, still by Talika, it's T-A-L-I-K-A and I heard it first from Drew Barrymore, okay, and she was raving about these, rave, rave, raving about these, and, as we've talked about on all of our skincare episodes, that I have bags under my eyes now and they're constant. They never go away and I think it's just a sign of old age. But she raved about them and it's supposed to be good for bags under your eyes and it's supposed to be good for bags under your eyes. And I say it's supposed to be good because when I did try it, I don't feel like it helped with the bags under my eyes. So when I did look for it, everybody was like, if you go to Talika T-A-L-I-K-A and also the link will be in the description of the podcast so you don't have to worry about writing it down. But when I went to their website, they were all sold out.

Speaker 1:

And so what?

Speaker 2:

is funny to me is I start like my heart starts racing a little bit, and the harder it is to get, the more I want it Right. So I Google searched it, and Google searched it and I found a company, ecosmeticscom, and they have them. So I was also able to receive a 25 discount. Oh, that's nice shipping, wow, um for that. However, the funny thing is is I paid for expedited shipping oh gosh, even though the regular standard shipping was free.

Speaker 2:

I paid to have it expedited. I don't recommend doing that. It still took me about 10 days to get it I don't know how quick it could have been without that but, um, but she highly recommended these and I use them.

Speaker 2:

It also comes with a little silver. It's almost like a powder case. You remember the oh cute? Yeah, okay, so it has that, but in each patch. So the box that I have, it came with six um of the eye patches and the little, uh, silver cosmetic case, if you will. But each of these patches you're supposed to be able to use three times.

Speaker 2:

Oh, they're reusable they're reusable so what I use the little silver container for is I've already used it and I put it in there and then I put it in the refrigerator okay right. So, um, but I did notice quite a bit of a difference under my eye, and I also know, just not the puffiness, right okay the crow's feet okay, night and day, because you know their eye patches. So outside of the eye patches you could see the crow's feet.

Speaker 2:

It was very interesting, you could definitely see where the eye patches were, but not the um bagginess. But again, I'm so sensitive to things and they did kind of have an odor to them, so I don't know if that's what caused you know me not being able to get rid of the bagginess.

Speaker 1:

I'll do my review after I try it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah you'll have to do your review and let us know what you think. But again, t-a-l-i-k-a, that's the tip of the day for these eye patches. Highly recommend them they so when I purchased them from e-cosmeticscom, and there's a starter kit, which is what I got, and then they have the refills, which don't come with the little, yeah, silver cosmetic case. It was about 68 dollars okay, and I think that was with expedited shipping, right where, but I did get a discount off of them.

Speaker 1:

So if you go, direct to the website.

Speaker 2:

They're a little bit more, but again, you can use each one at least three times. So I think it's reasonable and they definitely seem to work and I remember using them, thinking Drew don't let me down, don't let me down. Don't be swayed by money to recommend a product that isn't really going to work for me just because you're getting paid for it. And I actually like them. I think they work. I don't know how much better they work than any other patches, but I definitely think that they're worth a try.

Speaker 1:

Well, that wraps it up for today. Thanks for joining us on let's Talk Midlife Crisis.

Speaker 2:

We hope you got some laughs, a little inspiration and maybe a few new ideas. If you loved today's episode, hit the subscribe button so you can never miss an episode. And, hey, share the love. Send this episode to a friend who could use a good laugh and some midlife wisdom.

Speaker 1:

Please also connect with us on social media at let's Talk Midlife Crisis and let us know what's on your mind. We love hearing from you.

Speaker 2:

Until next time, keep thriving, keep laughing and keep embracing every crazy, wonderful minute of this midlife adventure.

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