Graceful Ageing Habits to Try Before Botox

by Molly Wilder & Briana Cook
A thoughtful and holistic approach to skin that supports your body, and the skin you’re in, without fighting it or ourselves.

More women are starting to question the pressure to “fix” their faces before they have even fully lived in them. It might be because both the overt and subliminal marketing we’re all ingesting is geared towards younger and younger women… or maybe we’re all healing and starting to be a little more comfortable in our bodies. If I’m being honest, Botox culture is starting to feel a lot like diet culture did years ago. It’s everywhere, and all of a sudden, it feels like something so many women feel we need to keep up.
But there is pressure. No matter how many times I tell 36-year-old self that “ageing is not a flaw,” there’s still a thread of this semi-subconscious sense of disappointment when I see the small changes on my face and body.  
It’s going to happen, and whether we want it to or not, our skin will reflect the life we’ve lived.
That doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t care deeply about your skin.
Recently, I was talking with a group of girlfriends who ranged in age from 29 to 62. One of them mentioned that she wants to embrace her aging skin but feels like she doesn’t recognize herself in the mirror, and that her curiosity about Botox isn’t about looking younger; she just wants to look more like herself when she looks in the mirror.
And I absolutely get it, truthfully, isn’t that something that so many of us can relate to?

Your Skin Is Not Separate From Your Body

One of the biggest misconceptions in skincare is that your skin exists on its own. It does not.
Your skin is an organ, actually, it’s the largest organ you have. It reflects what is happening internally, especially regarding inflammation, nutrient status, stress, and hormone balance.
By your mid-twenties, collagen production begins to decline naturally by about one percent per year. By your mid-thirties, fibroblasts, the cells responsible for producing collagen and maintaining skin structure, become less active and more vulnerable to oxidative stress.
So when we talk about “anti-aging,” we are really talking about supporting these systems so they can function well for longer, rather than taking an approach that forces our skin to submit to a younger version of ourselves that no longer exists.
We'll give you some topical recommendations below, but if you're here for face support, start with this, the Essentials Face Bundle, it's everything you need to support your lipid profile from the outside in.

Yes, Eat Your Collagen For Skin Support

If you take one thing from this blog, let it be this: you cannot out-skincare a body that is undernourished.

No, just consuming massive amounts of collagen isn’t the answer, but it is one piece of the answer for so many of us who tend to get wrapped up in life, motherhood and feeding everyone around us annnd who maybe aren’t necessarily staying on top their own nutrition.
You probably know that collagen is not just something you apply topically. It’s something your body builds using amino acids, minerals, and cofactors such as vitamin C, zinc, and copper.
This is where traditional foods become incredibly powerful, but we generally want more whole foods than supplements. 
Here are some of our favourite collagen rich whole food sources:
  • Slow-simmered bone broth
  • Gelatin-rich cuts of meat
  • Egg yolks
  • Mineral-dense foods like pumpkin seeds
  • Vitamin C-rich fruits that support collagen synthesis

Our Favourite Collagen-Supporting Morning Recipe

We like simple morning routines. Personally, I don’t get out of bed before my daughter wakes up, and usually it’s a slow start. You don’t really need anything complicated, and the simpler it is, the easier it is to stick to.
So, here’s an example of a skin-supportive breakfast:

Glow Bowl

  • Full-fat Greek yogurt
  • Pumpkin seeds for zinc
  • Fresh strawberries for vitamin C
  • A little lemon zest for additional antioxidants (only if you’re feeling fancy)

High-Protein Cocoa

  • Raw cocoa powder
  • Dates for natural sweetness and minerals
  • Collagen or gelatin
  • Egg yolk for biotin and fat-soluble nutrients
  • A pinch of sea salt
  • Warm bone broth as the base

I throw everything into the blender and blend it on high until there’s a lot of foam at the top. The foam isn’t necessary, but it brings me joy.

Topical Skincare Still Absolutely Matters, But It Should Support, Not Override Whole Body Health

Your skincare will always perform better when your internal environment is supported, but not doing skincare because you’re struggling to find a place of safety within your nervous system, or can’t always start with a collagen-rich breakfast, makes no sense.
At Genesis Tallow, we always come back to one core principle: skin recognizes what is biologically similar to it, which is why grass-fed and finished tallow skincare is so effective (read more about Tallow here). Specifically, grass-fed and finished tallow is rich in fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K, and its structure closely mimics the lipids in human skin. This is important because not all tallow is made the same, and can actually include additives and chemicals used in the rendering process that you really don’t want on your skin. If you want to learn more about how to choose the best tallow, read our blog here.

To build a simple, supportive routine, start here:

Maybe You’re Tired, Your Skin Is Changing, and You’re Wondering If Botox Is the Answer

You are not imagining it, motherhood changes your face.

If, like me, you’re running on broken sleep, reheating your tea to get it drank, and occasionally catching a glimpse of yourself in the mirror as you pass, thinking, “When did I start looking like this?”… you’re not alone.
Postpartum, perimenopause shifts, chronic stress, and nutrient depletion all show up on the skin. That softness you used to see might feel replaced with slight dullness, and maybe some of those fine lines can look a little deeper sometimes.
It’s so important to know that we go through seasons; yes, we wear our stress, struggle and nutrient depletion on our faces, but we also wear our joy, delight, and rest. Give yourself grace; our bodies don’t age in a linear way.
Growing, birthing, feeding, and raising babies is metabolically demanding. It pulls from your nutrient stores, disrupts hormones, and taxes your nervous system. Of course your skin reflects that, but it’s going to reflect all the more restful seasons as well!

The Pressure To “Fix Ageing” Is Real

I’m not going to sit here and pretend I haven’t side-eyed a quick fix when I've gone through a harder season and seen it show up on my face. When you feel disconnected from your reflection, it makes sense that quick solutions like Botox become very tempting.
For context, Botox is the brand name for botulinum toxin type A, a neurotoxin that temporarily paralyzes muscles to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. It works by interrupting nerve signals, which is why it smooths the skin. It’s also why your hesitation around it is worth listening to.
Reported side effects can include, but are not limited to:
  • localized muscle weakness
  • headaches
  • drooping eyelids
  • difficulty swallowing
  • difficulty breathing
When the toxin spreads beyond the injection site, which it absolutely can, other areas of the body can also be seriously affected (FDA, 2020). Safety aside, there is also emerging discussion around long-term changes in muscle atrophy and facial expression patterns with repeated use. A large analysis found an overall complication rate of around 16 percent for cosmetic botulinum toxin injections, including headaches, neuromuscular effects, and facial imbalances. And while severe outcomes are considered rare, they are real. Reports submitted to the FDA include cases of botulism-like symptoms and systemic effects when the toxin spreads through the body
For many women, especially moms who are already feeling depleted, the question becomes less about whether we can do it and more about whether we should start here, because Botox is NOT a starting place, and truthfully, we don’t believe it has any place being in our bodies.

With solidarity and love,
Molly + Brie

References

Food and Drug Administration. (2023). Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) prescribing information. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov
Chen, S., Dashtipour, K., & Jabbari, B. (2021). A systematic review of adverse events associated with botulinum toxin type A in cosmetic use. Toxins, 13(5), 332. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13050332
Ramirez-Castaneda, J., Jankovic, J., & Comella, C. (2015). Diffusion, spread, and migration of botulinum toxin. Toxins, 7(12), 5227–5245. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins7124870
Pullar, J. M., Carr, A. C., & Vissers, M. C. M. (2017). The roles of vitamin C in skin health. Nutrients, 9(8), 866. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9080866
Proksch, E., Schunck, M., Zague, V., Segger, D., Degwert, J., & Oesser, S. (2014). Oral intake of specific bioactive collagen peptides reduces skin wrinkles and increases dermal matrix synthesis. Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 27(3), 113–119.


























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