How I look like this at 49 WITHOUT Botox. A top doctor told me the secret - this is the exact anti-ageing regime that keeps me so wrinkle-free (and it'll work for you too!)
I’m a 49-year-old beauty editor who is tired of the pressure from experts to ‘fix my face’, choosing instead to rely on a skincare-first routine.
Having Botox is almost a rite of passage when you’re a beauty editor. I’m offered jabs in the same way I’m offered coffee whenever I walk into an aesthetician clinic.
On a recent appointment, I’d booked a non-invasive laser treatment and, before it began, the aesthetician took the most unflattering make-up-free photos imaginable, then mapped out every line and feature on my face that she believed needed ‘fixing’ with Botox.
It’s a concern that Kate Winslet has been passionately talking about, too. The 50-year-old star, who has insisted she has never had Botox, said last week: ‘It’s chaos out there,’ referring to a tweakment and plastic surgery epidemic that is ‘terrifying and devastating’ in terms of the pressure to look a certain way.
An editor friend of mine – who’s also Botox-free and nearly 50 – once sat next to a famous doctor at a beauty event, who waved at her face and said: ‘When is this girl-next-door look going to go?’ This negativity is why I’ve always said no to Botox. But I’m not anti-tweakment: it should be a personal choice. It’s just that I’ve always chosen to have a natural approach to ageing and it is a stance that has shaped my career.
In my 20s, working on teen magazines, I championed models with ‘quirks’. In my 30s, as beauty director at Boots’ in-store magazine, I introduced a strict no-retouch policy to photoshoots. And now in my 40s, I host a podcast called Smiling Gives You Wrinkles, encouraging women to embrace ageing.
Donna Francis says she is tired of the pressure from experts to ‘fix my face’, choosing instead to rely on a skincare-first routine
Kate Winslet said last week: ‘It’s chaos out there,’ referring to a tweakment and plastic surgery epidemic that is ‘terrifying and devastating’ in terms of the pressure to look a certain way
A longside that ethos, I’ve built a skincare routine that works. I use a balm cleanser at night because it’s relaxing and enjoyable.
My favourite is Elemis Pro Collagen Balm – a classic spa-in-jar (£52, johnlewis.com).
Treatment-wise, I apply a vitamin C serum such as Murad Vita-C Glycolic Serum (£88, selfridges.com) every morning to help with glow.
Then I’ll apply retinol at night. Medik8 Crystal Retinal 10 is my favourite (£89, lookfantastic.com). My final non-negotiable is SPF that doubles as a day cream. I currently like No7 Future Renew Damage Reversal 40 SPF Day Cream (£37.95, boots.com). I accept my routine will never smooth away my crows’ feet, and after testing hundreds of products, I know that Botox-in-a-bottle doesn’t exist. But that doesn’t bother me – I’m chasing glow, not perfection. Ageing is a privilege, and I refuse to see it as something that needs fixing.
Yet I’ve felt the pressure rising. I’m noticing changes skincare can’t touch. A softening jawline, a drooping brow, a slightly puckered upper lip.
Is approaching 50 making me fall for the narratives that I’ve always resisted? Is it hypocritical to consider injectables now? Or is it possible to use something like Botox to look refreshed – without appearing frozen, half my age and, well, not me?
To help, I turned to Dr Justine Kluk, a dermatologist I trust and one of the few experts who has never pressured me to have injectables.
She agrees a simple regime like mine, centred around retinoids and antioxidants, is ideal for fifty-something skin. But she also believes that there can be a place for Botox, as long as it’s done in a skin-first, less-is-more way. ‘I am comfortable with things like Botox because it improves the smoothness of skin, but I like it in a way that still allows you to retain movement,’ she explains, while openly sharing she has used a little herself.
‘Tweaking should be something someone chooses to do because it makes them feel good, and natural ageing means respecting the fact that a face does evolve over time. But we can help people to support their skin in a way that isn’t about stopping time.’
When I ask what else I can do to look the best for my age, she’s clear: even Botox can’t save your skin if your well-being is out of balance.
She explains: ‘You can have as much Botox as you like, but if you’re stressed and eating a junk-food diet, you’re not going to feel good and your skin is never going to be as healthy as it could be.’
Thankfully, my diet is decent and I haven’t drunk alcohol in over a year – something that has brightened my skin. But when it comes to Botox, I still worry it will be addictive and I’ll fall into the frozen-face trap. So for now, like Kate Winslet said on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, I’m happy to have ‘a face that moves’ with ‘wrinkles that my 50 years hopefully show’.
I want to be the best version of me at 50. And, right now, I know that’s definitely a Botox-free me.
