'I'm 22 and addicted to Botox. I don't plan on fighting it.'

I'd like to put my hand up to represent the under 30s in the Botox debate.

If you are over 30 and have had Botox, you definitely aren't alone. Botox is increasingly popular and seemingly becoming more normalised as a way to assist women in their quest to maintain their youthfulness.

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And yes, if you are over 30 and have not had Botox, you are amongst a pool of women who might be feeling the pressure to have their first injection, defending your decision not to have Botox, or as Mia Freedman said, trying not to 'sound like a dick' by somehow coming across as though you naturally have cheated the system of ageing by avoiding the 'necessity' for Botox.

Whichever side of the fence you sit on, there is a heated debate around whether to Botox or not to Botox over the age of 30. 

But we seem to have forgotten another category of women altogether. The Botox before 30. 

And that's me.

Me in all my Botox-ed glory. Image: Supplied.

I wet my tastebuds with injections at the age of 20 when I had my first 1ml of lip filler. Three months later, I had another 1ml. Three months later, another 0.8ml. I have been back so many times now I can't do the maths on the amount of filler in my lips. 

On one of those trips, I decided to ask about the scrunchy wrinkles in my nose. I have always been self-conscious of my nose, it is 'bigger than average' and I hated that the 'rabbit nose' wrinkles only brought more attention to it.

To my surprise, the nurse said, "Botox will get rid of them, it can remove any line you want."

ANY line?! I had no idea, the little scrunch between my eyes, the deep forehead lines, my crow's feet!

Post my first ever injectable appointment. The swelling and bruising, oh my goodness. Image: Supplied.

I had always assumed that Botox was just a tool used by older women to evade ageing. It was a completely new concept to me that it also could be a tool for younger women who want to make subtle changes to their face.

To me, Botox and injectables are just like semi-permanent make-up. It takes about 15 minutes, enhances your features to the way you like, it comes off, and then you do it again. It gives you confidence, makes you feel beautiful, and changes the things you don't necessarily love about yourself.

I don't get Botox as a 'preventative measure' against getting wrinkles later, I am not conspiring against my body's natural ageing process, I simply love the way it makes me look today. I love how it smoothens my forehead lines so my make-up doesn't crack when I lift my eyebrows, I love that my skin seems to glow without the lumps and bumps my lines cause, I love that my 'rabbit nose' is non-existent.

Even the dog is smiling at my smooth forehead. Image: Supplied.

But still, I am regularly told I am crazy, ridiculous, or self-obsessed by getting Botox at such a young age. That I am too young to be investing in injectables.

No one says this when I am paying $40 for a new foundation, or when I spend over an hour a fortnight at the nail salon getting my acrylics in-filled, or when I am planning my week around my scheduled Thursday night fake-tanning ritual. Yet Botox is exactly the same. It is a beauty treatment that is available to buy off the shelf which will serve to make you feel more confident, more beautiful, and more yourself.

I understand that there is innate social pressure we all feel, created largely by the patriarchal environment we all live and breathe, to conform to a specific standard of beauty. And I understand that this is the predominant reason many of us choose to pay ridiculous amounts of money for beauty treatments and beauty products. 

However, I still love it. 

Image: Supplied.

After I have waited the week for my Botox to fully 'set' in my face, I feel better about myself and more confident within myself... and this should be the part that matters. 

22 or 72, Botox or no Botox, the standard for judging someone's choice in 'going under the needle' should not be based in our preconceptions of Botox. It is a product with multiple functions which satisfy the needs of an array of women.

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Our conversations about it need to stop placing people in their respective anti or pro Botox camps and instead seek to understand the decision making behind getting the treatment, and the outcome of that treatment.  

Botox, for me, is a friend. And I plan to continue feeding my addiction. 

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Feature Image: Supplied. 

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