‘After the vaccine, people questioned what went in their body’: Botox alternatives on the rise

In lieu of her yearly botox fix, Sabrina now opts for monthly facials and invests in skincare instead of hundreds of dollars on injectable treatments .

Trends fuelled by social media – such as high cheekbones, lifted brows, contoured faces, chiselled jawlines, and big lips – are on the decline, agrees Kiki Chakra, owner of Chakra Face and Body clinic.

“I’ve got a couple of clients, myself included, that have had their filler dissolved. We’re seeing people wanting to start fresh. The most common thing that I hear from clients is they want to leave the house with no make-up and feel confident,” she said.

“Everyone’s sort of taking a lot more of a natural approach to beauty. We’re seeing people forgoing injectables completely or getting a ‘slight’ tweak.”

Chakra said her clients are asking for a needling treatment called morpheus8, which uses micro-needles to go up to 8mm deep under the skin to emit radio frequency energy.

Dr Jack Zoumaras, chairman of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons NSW chapter, said botox was still popular for wrinkle minimisation but the amount and way people were using it was changing.

“People no longer want frozen faces. They’re wanting more expression, so I believe the amount of usage people are having is certainly on the decline,” he said.

“They want to have botox but not look like they’ve had botox.”

Dr Joseph Hkeik of All Saint Clinichas seen cosmetic trends come and go since opening his clinic 23 years ago and agreed that healthy skin is very ‘in’ right now.

He said mesotherapy was becoming extremely popular – where vitamins and other ingredients are injected directly into the skin.

“Our clients find that there is nothing more efficacious or satisfying than baby ‘botox’ as it is often referred to, to effectively address wrinkles and even open up eyes to give a more youthful look, whilst also ensuring that the results are naturally beautiful,” he said.

“With treatments like needling, for example, you can improve the skin’s overall health but not eradicate wrinkles.”

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Plastic surgeon Dr Johnny Kwei, a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, said he did not see a change in the use of botox.

“Whether it’s injectables or collagen supplements, people are questioning what are in these products,” he said.

“When it comes to skin health, implementing sunscreen will never go out of fashion.” he adds.

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