Botox for Teen before TV Debut
July 21st, 2010
The new star of Glee has had Botox right before she makes her debut appearance – at just 18-years-old. Teenage singer Charice Pempengco says she wanted to have the procedure “to look fresh on camera” before joining the show as a foreign exchange student. I hope this not another new pop culture trend.
It is hard to imagine any cosmetic facial problem that an 18 year old would have, which warrants the use of Botox. Facial animation wrinkles just have not had time to develop. The fact that she had Thermage is quite disturbing. Thermage is a non-surgical procedure that tightens skin and smoothes wrinkles. Superficial skin conditions like irregular pigmentation might also be improved by Thermage, but she was reported to be treated for wrinkles. Skin tightening effects are not necessary, nor are they indicated for teens. This is particularly true for Asian women. In my experience, their skin remains tighter than patients with lighter skin tones. Thermage cannot narrow the face. This requires facial sculpting. Liposuction or buccal fat pad excision remove facial fat to narrow the cheeks and certainly not recommended for teenagers.
The entire situation is absurd! It sounds like another Hollywood publicity stunt or medical grandstanding to me.