“It’s like its own community,” says Emily Boehm, 31, Botox enthusiast and Senior Social Media Manager at Wheels Up. Spreading at a rapid pace, Botox makes its way through friend groups and social networks, gaining popularity and finding a permanent place in the beauty industry.
Botox, a drug designed to temporarily weaken or paralyze muscles, was once a luxury good used by the elderly to stave off the natural processes of aging. By injecting small doses of Botox into wrinkle-prone areas; the forehead, jaw, and smile lines, one could be transported back into their prime. Now, Botox has expanded to reach younger audiences of adults– alluring consumers with a new promise of preventative aging.
“I started doing it, right for my 30th birthday, as my birthday present to myself,” says Boehm, who spent a total of $1200 on her first appointment of Botox and lip filler. When it comes to Boehm’s face, the look matters more than the price, “I love a deal, but I will not do a deal on my face. I want to pay the money,” said Boehm. In her appointment, she received 20 units of Botox skillfully and articulately injected into different areas of her forehead, which created a glassy youthful appearance, almost immediately.
Boehm got small amounts of filler, a synthetic hyaluronic acid, injected into her top and bottom lips to give them a plump and fuller shape. To Boehm, getting lip filler is like entering a secret club of fellow cosmetic injectable users, “when you get filler on your lips, everyone knows that right away your lips are so small and you freak out. Then the next day, they’re swollen and you’re in luck– they’re perfect. Then they start to go down because the swelling goes down, and you’re like, I’m gonna go bigger next time.”
Boehm’s experiences with Botox and filler have turned her into an ardent fan saying, “It’s the same thing as, if you’re wearing an outfit that you feel really good in. It’s the same thing where it just gives you confidence. And people can say it’s silly, I don’t really care.” To Boehm, gaining self confidence is a massive benefit of cosmetic injectables– which helps her excel and grow in important areas of her life, specifically in her work.
Dr. Michael Kennis, founder and CEO of Velour Medical, a luxury cosmetic concierge brand, understands that for many Botox is more than just a cosmetic procedure, “It’s like buying yourself flowers.” When clients enter Velour Medical, “it’s their time to be in the chair to work on themselves,” says Dr. Kennis.
For others, Botox is a communal event. It’s an opportunity for friends and family to get together and have their procedures done amongst each other. “It makes it like a social fun activity where everyone gathers, and they gossip and have a cheeseboard and wine,” says Dr. Kennis. Every June, Velour Medical hosts a Pride Party for people in the transgender community to help restructure and reshape facial features with Botox and fillers. “We throw this party and then people from that community reach out to us and I feel like we become one of the kind of go to’s for that community,” says Dr. Kennis.
Even people who aren’t active Botox users can see the charm. Emma, 30, founder of a Medspa startup, has always preferred to keep her skin natural. “It was not on my radar, and I still don’t anticipate ever getting any of those procedures just like personally, but you definitely start to see the appeal,” says Emma.
Through working in the MedSpa industry, Emma has seen firsthand how expansive the cosmetic injectable market is. “You also realize how it is kind of like… contagious,” says Emma describing Botox as a viral effect. One person gets it done, and they tell their friend, who tells their friends, which eventually creates this colossal network of Botox users. “It was something that never intrigued me, and now it’s like oh wow, the whole world is getting this shit done,” says Emma.
Despite the high demand, many people refrain from pulling the Botox trigger due to its hefty price tag. Caitie MacCourtney, operating room nurse, recently began getting Botox last year in 2022. “What stopped me from doing it a little earlier is the price of it. That was a little bit of a barrier for me wanting to just start it,” says MacCourtney who paid $450 for her latest session where she got 30 units of botox.
According to Facial Aesthetics, in order to effectively treat eye wrinkles, forehead lines, and the 11’s or frown lines, Botox can cost anywhere between $330 and $675. Velour Medical charges a little more for their services, costing clients $18 per unit of Botox and $900 to $1100 of filler per syringe.
“I’m from a privileged place that I’ve been able to do that,” says Haley Havelock, 22, Senior at The New School, in response to her cosmetic injections. Havelock had her first experiences with lip filler at age 19, and quickly discovered it was something she loved.
After lip filler, Havelock experimented with chin filler, jaw filler, and botox. “A lot of the time people try and push this narrative that people who do it are insecure, and I’m sure people do it from a source of insecurity, but I’m not one of them,” says Havelock.
As Botox and other injectables continue to dominate the beauty industry and garner strong recommendations through word of mouth, trusted family members and friends, and advertisements on social media, many people are considering whether or not to take the plunge. For Havelock the answer is simple, “I just feel like if you can customize how you look, why wouldn’t you?… I think it’s always been a source of customizing my avatar. That’s the best way to put it.”