Have you seen all the magazine ads and TV ads trying to sell you skin care products that are supposed to work as well as Botox? Wouldn’t it be great if a skin cream could smooth out your wrinkles, and promise the same results for less money, without the need for needles?

Botox is in a league of its own
I can say with certainty that Botox is currently the most effective treatment to get rid of muscle-created wrinkles between the eyebrows, in the forehead, and around the eyes. Nothing comes close to giving you the same results that a skilled Botox injector can deliver. There’s nothing that even comes close to the effectiveness of Botox. Botox (botulinum toxin type A) will eventually have competition as other brands get FDA approved for cosmetic use (such as Myobloc, which uses botulinum toxin type B, but is not FDA approved for wrinkles yet).

In the future, there will surely be other advancements that rival Botox, but currently there are none that are readily available to the public.

Why do wrinkle creams claim they are effective alternatives to Botox?
Because they can! I wrote about Freeze 24-7, the wrinkle cream that promises it’s a “safe alternative to Botox” and that its “nature, not needles” will instantly smooth away wrinkles. It doesn’t work at all, and their products are expensive! In the past, cosmetics companies have been able to say just about anything they want about their products, even if it’s not true. It’s pretty ridiculous.

I was just reading in one of Paula Begoun’s recent beauty bulletins that the FDA may finally be cracking down on absurd claims. This is great news for consumers! Paula Begoun writes “The U.S. regulatory group cited Canada-based Fusion Beauty last summer for the drug-like claims being made for their Micro-Injected M-Tox Transdermal Face Lift (that name alone connotes a drug benefit!), Mini Micro-Injected M-Tox Transdermal Face Lift, and Micro-Injected M-Tox Transdermal Eye Lift. The FDA maintains that these skin-care products are not recognized as safe by experts and that their claims “overstep cosmetic boundaries” (that’s putting it mildly) by positioning themselves as alternatives to topical injections and comparing the results to familiar procedures such as Botox. FDA also brought to light that even if the company can prove their claims (which they cannot), their products are misbranded because they do not identify the manufacturer or distributor and fail to provide “a reachable mailing address.” Putting it plainly, their products don’t work as claimed, and if you want to register a complaint, you’re left to figure out how to contact the company.”

Is there really no alternative to Botox?
There is an alternative - don’t use Botox, and don’t see the same results! It’s as simple as that! There are plenty of ways to make your skin look smoother, younger, and healthier as a whole - check out my Anti-Aging Skin Care list. Of course I do put Botox on my anti-aging list, but with a whole-body approach to anti-aging you may be able to reverse the signs of aging enough that you no longer feel the need for Botox. And I am sure in our lifetimes, there really will be a needle-less Botox alternative!!