People often ask me if Botox stimulates collagen. Unfortunately, the answer is no. Botox prevents muscle movement to give the appearance of reducing wrinkles and smoothing skin. This is my guide to Botox and skincare alternatives.

How to look after your skin if you have Botox

If you have Botox, then your other skincare and facials are still a must (and probably even more important). So you must continue to do all the essential skin health things which Botox is NOT doing. This includes:

• stimulating collagen
• boosting cell turnover
• feeding cells with key nutrients
• reducing pigment
• clarifying
• exfoliating
• protecting and restoring your barrier function
• protecting against free-radical damage
• reproaching lost moisture 

Plus so much more! Because of this, you might want to look at alternatives to botox before you make that appointment.

What are alternatives to Botox?

To be totally transparent, Botox is unique in what it does. There is nothing that will replace the effects of Botox on the market.

However, thanks to the advancement of skincare technology, there are options to support the skin and stimulate collagen. If you’re not sure about it, you should consider less invasive skincare alternatives like these below.

Face Massage

Face massage is one of the best things you can do for your skin. My quick YouTube tutorial will show you how to do it yourself, for free and at home in under 8 minutes. You’ll find that regular face massages are great for smoothing the forehead, massaging to get beautiful cheekbones, supporting reducing eye wrinkles and so much more.

Micro-needling

Derma-roller or micro-needling uses minute needles over the surface of the skin, creates a wound response, stimulates a healing response in the skin. It then boosts your collagen and your elastin which is perfect for surface smoothness. I’ve created a video below to show you how to safely use this at home

Hyaluronic Acid

You should look for products with hyaluronic acid in the ingredients. This will help plump the skin to give it a fresher, firmer and fuller look. You can even get masks at home that work like micro-needling (although without a real needle!), such as this Starskin Micro Filler Mask.

Retinols

Like hyaluronic acid, retinol is now a staple in a lot of skincare routines and it also offers a viable solution to tackle wrinkles. Retinols stimulate cell turnover, more youthful looking and acting cells as well as your skin’s production of collagen and hyaluronic acid, leaving you with a more even complexion, radiance, reduction of fine lines and also reduces breakouts. 

As I’ve pointed out in a previous blog, not all retinols are made equally. I recommend starting off with a small pea-sized amount of a low percentage (around 0.1% to 0.5%) of an over-the-counter formula. Use it twice a week, every three nights to start.  You can increase the usage over the next three weeks to give the skin a chance to get used to it.

Retinol does make your skin more sensitive to UV rays, so best to use it in the evening and don’t forget daily SPF all year round.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is essential to great skin as it is vital for Collagen production, internally and externally, staving off environmental damage and so much more. Supplements of Vitamin C can increase skin elasticity and reverse premature signs of ageing. Read here for an in-depth look into Vitamin C.

Clinical needling / skin pen / dermaroller

All these methods are using a longer length needle that you can use at home, so the treatment is more powerful. there is some downtime but wow the results are amazing, not just for smoothing the skins surface but all round rejuvenation as cellular healing is stimulated. 

Fractional Radio Frequency

Fractional Radio Frequency treatments use tiny needles similar to the above with the addition of radio-frequency energy being safely deliver through the skin’s surface, having a larger impact. It is not the most comfortable treatment and there is some downtime, but for smoothing the surface, stimulating a healing response and stimulating collagen production its really effective. I use this on my clients with scaring as it as that much of an impact on the skins physical appearance. 

Download my free Cleansing Guide.