The use of botox has exploded among young Americans, who would develop an addictive relationship to this product, according to a researcher.
Addicted to botox? Addiction seems unusual, and yet it would gradually settle in American society, according to the work of a researcher from the University of Louisiana, who publishes a book on the phenomenon, Botox Nation: Changing the Face of America.
Dana Berkowitz, a researcher specializing in gender studies, collected data from the American Society of Aesthetic Surgery. The figures show the growing attraction of the population for this product which promises eternal rejuvenation.
“Crack”
The number of women aged 19 to 34 who have had botox injections has increased by 41% since 2011, according to these data. Men are no exception to this trend, they who now represent 10% of all users.
According to the researcher, who has used botox in her past, an addictive report has set in among this population, linked to the false promises made around the product sold as beneficial, healthy, able to prevent the appearance of wrinkles.
“The problem is, botox only works for four to six months. Once the lines come back, you have to go back ”to see a dermatologist, she explains in the columns of the journal The Observer. Then sets in a spiral of desires, disappointments, frustration and lack. A woman interviewed by the researcher thus spun the metaphor of crack to evoke her relationship to botox.
“Lifetime consumers”
The researcher directly implicates American dermatologists, who would over-promote botox by targeting young women in particular. By doing this, “doctors are trying to make consumers for life.”
The consequences of this addiction are likely to be serious. Botox is derived from botulinum toxin, a lethal nerve agent, “one of the deadliest in the world,” recalls the researcher. The drug for cosmetic use was approved in 2002 in the United States; since then, 11 million Americans have offered themselves an injection, for around € 400 per session.
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