Wingin' it JILL WING, The Saratogian May 05, 2002 Who would have thought when Sophia Loren began touting Oil of Olay face cream to combat wrinkles 30 years ago that someday we'd be injecting botulism into our faces to iron out the lines? A couple weeks ago in this very space I rambled on about the vanity of baby boomers and how we'll go to any extent to maintain our youth, or the illusion of it. Except for my one-time extravagance -- $17 for a jar of Kinetin -- I haven't been much of an advocate for extreme measuers. Besides, Michael Jackson is downright scary looking after all his makeover efforts. But then I had the opportunity last week to try the latest thing in wrinkle reversal -- Botox. What I won't do for a story ... The procedure's been plastered all over the news and on TV talk shows since the FDA approved Botox a few weeks ago for cosmetic use. The stuff is so popular, and apparently so safe, that people are having Botox parties, like Tupperware parties, inviting a doctor over to administer injections while the injectees sip wine and munch hors d'oeuvres. How bad can it be? That was my rationale, anyway, when I called Dr. Jean Buhac's dermatology office to schedule an appointment. "You're doing what!?" an astonished colleague asked. "Botox is botulism, you know. Food poisoning?" she said, to make her point. I knew that. But I wasn't eating the stuff. Just a syringe-full of it on my forehead. No sweat. Besides, I was assured by Dr. Buhac that the dosage is so small and the way it's administered -- right into the face muscle -- there is absolutely no shot, so to speak, of coming down with botulism. During the preprocedure medical history part, I confessed to Dr. Buhac that I was a sun worshipper -- that I spent six hours a day in the sun at Victoria Pool on any given Saturday and Sunday in the summer. "You do use sunscreen," she said, eyeing me like I was an alien, and not the foreigner kind. Not to worry, I reassured her. I told her how I started out slow, using an SPF 8 until I had a base tan and graduated down to an SPF 4. She, being a dermatologist and an advocate of using at least SPF 30 sunscreen at all times, was not impressed with my so-called "gradual" approach to tanning. I think Dr. Buhac could visualize a nice retirement for herself in my future face. We decided, despite the probable futility of it, to get rid of the slight frown lines between my eyes. The procedure takes about five minutes. Each stick of the needle -- there were five -- feels like a little bee sting. Immediately afterward, the area was red and irritated looking. But that went away in less than 10 minutes and, except for a few more holes in my head, you can't tell anything was done. According to Dr. Buhac, it takes four days to a week for this stuff to kick in and then it lasts four to six months. I'll give you guys the whole lowdown in a week or so. My staff thinks I have been stricken with mad editor disease. I wonder how they can tell. As they say in TV land, don't touch that remote.
Jill Wing is The Saratogian features editor. Recently Visited Products |
