What about all these “better than Botox” cosmeceutical remedies I keep reading about, like StriVectin and Frown Ease?
For frown lines, none of the creams or patches that have claimed to be as good or better than Botox has ever worked for longer than a few hours or, at most, a few days. StriVectin published a “study” comparing itself to Botox in which one group of patients slathered the cream on their frown lines and the other group had Botox injected. The patients were immediately asked which group looked better—the StriVectin side or the Botox side. All of them testified the StriVectin side looked better. However, Botox takes 5 days to work after it’s injected! So a comparison immediately after the injection is absurd. In addition, StriVectin is also a moisturizer, so it can make your skin look smoother immediately after being applied. This is the kind of advertising snake-oil that wastes your time and money. What about cutting the nerves in the forehead? Doesn’t this work as well or better than Botox? This does work, but it’s awfully invasive, since it’s a surgery. You would never have any movement
