One Identical Twin, 38, Had Botox For 20 Years, The Other Did Not. Who Do You Think Looks Better?

Have you ever wished you could see what you would look like with Botox?

A unique study of identical twins provides one of the clearest examples of how the images change a person's facial appearance.

The women were followed for almost 20 years starting at age 38, with one receiving Botox injections two to three times a year and the other letting nature take its course.

The case report, written by a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, compared multiple images of each twin at different time intervals.

AFTER 13 YEARS: The twin who received very few injections – Image A – next to the twin who received Botox regularly – Image D. The twin who received no injections had more pronounced wrinkles on the forehead and between the brows

The images show that the twin who received very few injections (images B and C) and the twin who received Botox regularly (E and F) had significantly more forehead wrinkles

They were first photographed “resting” their faces in 2006.

Opinion poll

Who do you think looks better?

The twin with Botox 94 votes
The twin without Botox 43 votes

At this point, one of the twins had received at least 26 Botox injections over the previous 13 years, and the other had only received a few injections.

The twin sister, who had received the treatments regularly, had noticeably smoother skin and flatter wrinkles on her face.

Her sister, on the other hand, had deeper forehead wrinkles and more noticeable crow's feet when she smiled than the twin who underwent the vaccination.

They were then followed up in 2012 – at this point the twin had already been receiving Botox injections for 19 years.

At this point, without Botox, the twin had a noticeably swollen face and a wider jaw – although it's not clear whether Botox was a factor.

Crow's feet are more visible when smiling in the twin who let nature take its course – pictures A and B. The regularly treated twin – pictures C and D – had noticeably less pronounced crow's feet

Pictured are the locations where one twin had Botox injections in the forehead, glabella (between the brows) and crow's feet area

At follow-up in 2012, both twins said they had consistently used sunscreen, ruling out the possibility that wrinkles might have resulted from long-term exposure to the sun's UV rays.

Neither used retinol for wrinkles and lived mostly healthy lives.

And the twins lived on different sides of the world with significantly different levels of sunlight.

The twin with sporadic treatments and more lines lived in Munich, where the average UV index is lower than in Los Angeles, the location of the other twin.

Dr. William Binder, who reported on the case study, claimed that it is “likely that long-term treatment with Botox can prevent the development of imprinted lines, not only by inhibiting the patient's ability to contract the target muscle, but possibly also through behavioral changes. “

“With long-term treatment, the patient may become accustomed to having little, if any, need or ability to contract the target muscle and may “learn” not to try to contract it at all.”

“It is also thought that by relieving the mechanical pressure of chronic muscle contractions in this way, skin remodeling may be facilitated.”

Wrinkles occur when facial muscles contract. At the same time, as we age, the production of collagen and elastin, proteins that give the skin structure and elasticity, decreases.

The skin becomes thinner, drier and less able to hold its shape, leading to the formation of wrinkles.

Botox injections are very popular. They were used to perform over 8.7 million cosmetic procedures in the United States in 2022. But the injections are not without risk.

The injections may cause bruising, swelling, and redness at the injection site. And the face may look frozen while the eyebrows or eyelids droop at the same time.

More serious reactions such as anaphylaxis, shortness of breath, headaches and even flu-like symptoms.