FEATURES...FEATURES...FEATURES...FEATURES...FEATURES...

THINK ANTI-AGEING SURGERY IS ONLY FOR THE OVER-40S? NOT TRUE, INSIST THE 20-SOMETHING WOMEN QUEUING UP FOR TREATMENTS. MEET THE 'AGEOREXICS' OBSESSED WITH NEVER GROWING OLD…

By Caroline Reid

At just 26, Lizzie Thomson (pictured top right) has spent more than £2,500 on Botox and laser treatments over the past five years. And instead of going on Topshop sprees like most women her age, she puts away £100 every month in a ‘facelift fund’.

“I’m absolutely paranoid about getting wrinkles but aren’t all women? My treatments make me happy – my skin’s smoother and I feel so much more confident,” says Lizzie, a sales advisor from Manchester. “But I have to admit it’s addictive. I’m always planning my next treatment.”

Lizzie is just one of a growing number of ‘ageorexics’, women in their 20s who are spending thousands of pounds on anti-ageing treatments – including Botox.

HOW YOUNG IS TOO YOUNG FOR BOTOX? CLICK HERE FOR READERS' COMMENTS

Plastic surgeon Alex Karidis says: “I’ve noticed a trend towards 20-something women having fine lines treated before they become full-blown wrinkles. They want to look good for their age now – as well as in 20 years’ time – and lessen the need for more invasive and costly treatments later on. In the next few years Botox will probably be as commonplace a brand as Coca-Cola.”

“I don’t really think about the health implications,” Lizzie says. “Botox has been around for years and if there were serious ill-effects we’d have heard about them by now.

“There’s £2,500 in my surgery fund to pay for treatments in the future. I’m planning a thread lift – a mini facelift – by the time I’m 40, and I may have a full-blown facelift in my 50s.”

Lizzie doesn’t mind who knows her young looks aren’t just down to make-up and early nights. “My friends are fascinated by the whole thing and most of them are open to the idea of having work done too.”

But Lizzie’s boyfriend Paul*, 30, hates her having these treatments. “He can’t believe I’m putting all this weird stuff into my body. When I had filler in my lips he refused to speak to me and slept on the sofa!” she admits. “But it won’t stop me. I’m happier with my face now and hopefully I’ll look younger for longer.”

 

‘I’m 22 - and already having Botox’

Amy O’Connor (pictured bottom right), an office administrator from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, says Botox boosts her confidence.

“About a year ago I noticed two lines between my eyebrows. I blame it on squinting at the computer and TV when I should have been wearing glasses. I got obsessed with the lines and compared to my friends, I looked old and tired.

“I went to a cosmetic surgery clinic and had five doses of Botox injected into the brow area. It stung a bit, but it was no worse than having my legs waxed. I could see an improvement straightaway and within two weeks my forehead was perfectly smooth.

“I went back for a top-up seven months later, in October last year, and I’m planning to have it done again in the spring. As the Botox wears off the lines are more obvious, so I’ll need to keep getting it done. At £240 a go it isn’t cheap, but it’s worth it.”

HOW YOUNG IS TOO YOUNG FOR BOTOX? CLICK HERE FOR READERS' COMMENTS

Credits

Photography: Nigel Hillier, Getty Hair & Make-Up: Cristina Roberts at Nemesis
* Name has been changed.