The Beauty Ed®’s Note: This press treatment was gifted to me but with no obligation to write about it. I loved it…so here we are ♡
It kind of annoys me how surprised people are when I tell them that I have never had Botox. Not because I have a problem with anyone having it - I wouldn’t have any friends left if that was the case - but because I think that it has become so common that it’s almost expected to have regular shots as soon as you hit your twenties.
But Botox is not for everyone. Some people have bad reactions - Britney Spears recently documented how it caused her eye to droop. Some see no affects no matter the dosage. And then there are some people, like me, who opt out because they want to see how they age without it.
With nearly 30 years as a Beauty Editor, my choice to skip Botox comes down to the real-skin legacy I’ve spent building during my career.
When I became the Beauty Editor of teen magazine CosmoGIRL! back in 2001, me and the Fashion Editor, Navaz, set out to inspire young girls to ‘love the skin they are in’ by casting diverse models of all shapes and sizes, which, during the era of Size Zero, was not the ‘thing’ to be doing. This meant for my beauty shoots, I wanted to use models that had quirks - a mole, lots of freckles, a gap between their teeth.
In my twenties at the time, and long before my own aging became visible, I became so passionate about this ‘real skin’ legacy that when I was hired to be Beauty Director for Boots UK, I introduced a no-retouch policy to their cover and beauty shoots.
It was my job to oversee the images for their in-store magazine, Boots Health & Beauty, and I had to make sure that not one thing was re-touched out of those images digitally. This meant that not even a stray hair could be removed if it blew across a models face. One time for a cover shoot, a girl turned up with a stye in her eye - so what did we do? Improvise with sunglasses, crops and poses.
I didn’t want to filter out anything. I wanted to see skin texture. I wanted to see expression. I wanted to see individuality.
After each shoot, I would spend hours scrutinizing hundreds of images before choosing the best ones to send to print. Hours of studying faces made me realize that everyone’s beauty is in their unique-ness. What makes them different. And often this was seen in their expressions.
Movement in faces was so important to me. My favourite and best cover shoots where when a models smile came from her eyes, the crinkles in her nose, not just from her mouth. When you could almost see what she was thinking by just her expression. I wanted joy, happiness, hope. Because that is what beauty truly is about.
Fast forward 30 years, and here I am at 50, still banging on about the beauty of expression and individuality.
And this is MY reason why I refrain from trying Botox.
It would feel hypocritical to inject my face with something that freezes movement, considering that I have been championing the exact opposite in my career. But I don’t like to be worthy and holier than though about it. You do you. I just want to show women, especially younger women who fear growing old, that there can be beauty without Botox.
Look, I’m human, and of course I am tempted - smooth foreheads are my weakness - especially because mine is full of lines. My mum always said that you can read my face like a book. And now it’s getting to encyclopedia status ha ha!
But that doesn’t mean to say that I don’t want to look the best version of myself as I age. I crave good skin.
And good skin to me is glowing skin, not wrinkle-free skin. Happy skin to me looks smooth but not poreless. I want my face to move. And be expression-ful. And that’s why I really love treatments like XERF.
What is XERF?
While Botox works by temporarily relaxing facial muscles that cause wrinkles and expression lines, XERF uses radio frequency energy to heat your skin tissue and rebuild your collagen. What does that mean for your skin? You’ll still be able to move your face, but your skin will look glowier and appear more plump.
Does XERF melt facial fat?
But the real magic - and the reason I felt totally at ease trying XERF - is its built-in AI. As the therapist moves it across your face, the device is constantly reading your skin’s unique thickness and resistance in real time, automatically adjusting itself so it never goes too deep or messes with your facial fat pads.
That intelligence matters, especially right now. Everyone in the industry is talking about energy-based devices and the link towards them causing facial fat loss - the kind that makes your face look hollow and gaunt. But this AI depth control acts as a safety mechanism to protect your deep fat pads while stimulating collagen where it actually counts.
Is XERF as painful as Sofwave or Ultherapy?
If you’ve ever sat through a Sofwave or Ultherapy session, which use similar heat technology, you’ll know that the experience can be painful. Even though I love the gorgeous and glowy results, I liken a Sofwave treatment to childbirth. And that’s saying something coming from someone who birthed a 10lb 1 oz baby boy - naturally.
Sofwave feels like a radiating feeling of heat that comes and goes like contractions. And it kills! Although numbing cream helps to take the edge off. As well as a tight grip on a stress ball.
And this is one of the reasons I prefer XERF to Sofwave…
You don’t need to apply a numbing cream with XERF
Wait. What???
When my lovely therapist Jamie (follow her on Instagram here) at the beautiful Óro Med Spa in Tampa (locals - you must check it out!) told me this when I arrived for my first XERF treatment I was shocked.
“It saves time too,” she said reassuringly.
And Jamie was right. On both counts.
Not only did I save half hour because I didn’t have to wait for a numbing cream to set in, the pain really wasn’t that bad!
How does the grounding pad relieve pain?
Jamie reassured me that while the grounding pad that is placed on your back before the treatment starts isn’t a painkiller or a numbing mechanism, it does help by acting as an “exit” for the radiofrequency current. This stops the intense heat from the device from getting stuck or building up in one spot.
The XERF device’s built-in cooling technology helps too!
My tip for pain? Take some Ibuprofen before XERF
That being said, things did get a bit spicy when Jamie treated my eye area and jaw line during my first session, so for my second, which I had a few weeks later, I took two ibuprofen about an hour before.
This was a complete game-changer! The whole treatment was actually really relaxing and I hardly felt a thing.
So, how did my skin look after two XERF treatments?
Let’s manage expectations first: you cannot expect a dramatic, Kris Jenner-style facelift from these kinds of treatments. But you can expect subtle, structural shifts.
I noticed an instant tightening around my neck and jawline, especially straight after my second treatment.
The lines around my eyes and the ones that run from the side of my nose down to the corners of my mouth (aka my labial folds) definitely softened, but nothing much changed for my forehead wrinkles! But that’s ok. They are part of me now ☺️
What I have really noticed and love is the improvement in the texture of my skin. You can really see the bounce and the plumpness that comes with the collagen boost. Think baby skin! But grown up.
What my skin looks like in daylight 12 weeks after my first XERF treatment:
How much is XERF?
Here’s the catch. XERF is expensive. For one full face treatment at the spa I went to, it cost $2500 per treatment. And you ideally want to book in for two, to get the full effects like I did.
How long does it take to see the results?
You do get a nice, subtle snap and a healthy glow after the first XERF treatment. But the real magic happens over the following weeks after your second. Because XERF encourages your body to build fresh collagen, the results build progressively.
I really started noticing that proper magic happening somewhere around the 6-to-12-week mark.
And as for longevity? You can generally expect those results to stick around for 12 to 18 months. Because it’s triggering your own biological collagen production rather than filling you with a temporary substance, it ages right along with you.
Is XERF better than Sofwave?
It’s a tight race. Excuse the pun 😅
While I still have a soft spot for Sofwave, XERF is a clear winner. It has zero prep time, only requires taking two ibuprofen for pain relief, and its brilliant AI technology provides a safety net against fat loss.
At 50, I’m not looking to turn back the clock to 25. I just want skin that looks glowy, feels strong, and still tells the story of my life. And XERF helps me get there!
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For as long as I can remember, my daily makeup routine has leaned into the comfortably minimal: a sheer base that shows off natural skin texture while subtly blending away pigmentation, a cream blush for a healthy pop of colour, lip balm or a nude lip, a brow gel, and depending on the day, a coat of black mascara or clear mascara.
Gorgeous results! I'm going in for my second XERF treatment in a two weeks. I can't wait to see the results in the weeks following.