By now, we are all mostly familiar with the glorious benefits of neuromodulators and fillers. Most notably they keep us beautiful and preserve our youth. They soften the visible lines (smile lines, laugh lines) that are testament to a life well lived. Plus, it makes for a good selfie.
It wasn't until a recent conversation with my father that I began to see the secret, uncelebrated benefits of our beloved Botox and fillers. My father loves to work. He gets up and arrives at work while the cleaning staff is leaving. He is at his desk when the boss strolls in and leaves when the lights are shut off. He's a father of 5 daughters and a grandfather of 5. Officially he's been retired for two years now, but the man just won't stop working. Finishing a contract in Papau New Guinea, he is now considering a job closer to home.
He's got an interview in Tyson's Corner in a few months and, in anticipation, he actually reached out to me about "this Botox stuff." Let's face it, the man is over 60. He's not looking for a makeover. He's not trying to look like Chris Hemsworth. My dad just wants to keep working and doesn't want his first impression to be overshadowed by his forehead lines. He wants his interviewer to think "polished, capable, vital" not "oh no, there goes our insurance premiums!"
I totally get it. I've been using botox and fillers for the best first impressions, but I just haven't been aware of it until now.
For illustrative purposes, let's talk about my "11s." Ok, I don't really have the classic eleven, but rather a slightly tilted "T" that I attribute to my husband, Todd. Sure, it makes me look old. Old, I can handle. What I can't handle is looking confused. The constant squeeze between my eyebrows makes me look perennially, irrevocably confused. As a PA, that's not exactly the look you want to be sporting. I can't tell you how many times in conferences, trainings, or meetings the presenter has stopped and in a room FULL of people has pointed directly at me to say, "You. You look confused." It's as if my glabellar lines were screaming, "This girl has a question." 20 units of botox later and it's pretty obvious to all involved that I am just as brilliant as I pretend to be (just ask my mom).
I think we can now all agree that botox and fillers help us to present the person we know we are deep down inside. This person can be young, confident, or, in my case, kind. Don't let my eyebrows fool you. You are looking at a girl with a heart of gold. I just can't seem to portray this person if my eyebrows won't cooperate. It is simply a testament to the skills of the other injectors in the office that none of you have run away screaming. A few perfectly placed units of neurotoxin and you would never know I have a baseline brow arch that could scare the horns off Maleficent.
First impressions are everything. No matter how impressive our smart phones become life just doesn't come with a filter. Luckily, with the right product in the hands of the right injector... you can come pretty close.
