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Botox may diminish your emotions

By Kasie Davies on Monday 12 April 2010

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It is renowned for taking years off a person's age by smoothing away wrinkles, but beware as Botox may also harm your social and emotional life.

By stopping the face from frowning, the anti-wrinkle jab makes patients appear cold and emotionless when reacting to sad news, reveals new research.

‘If people seem slow in reacting to what they are being told, it is likely to be interpreted as a lack of sympathy or interest,' says psychologist David Havas at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Furthermore, this inability to visibly connect or empathize with a situation is believed to deaden a user's emotional reactions and effect longterm development of feelings.

‘Blocking facial expressions diminishes the experiences of emotion,' continues David Havas.
The research measured how fast it took for 40 volunteers to react to emotional statements, both before and after Botox.

It took significantly longer to react to negative scenarios after receiving the anti-aging jab, which costs £200. Emotions just don't register as easily when sadness and anger muscles have been paralyzed.

This is the first study to suggest that Botox affects the ability to understand the emotional content of language.

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Monday 12 April 2010

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This is the reason I would never even go near botox! I am an actress, so for me, appearing "normal", natural and emotionally expressive is the most important thing. Shame on you Demi More and the likes, for only thinking about your looks. Vanity doesn't provide you with quality roles, as it shows. Being happy with your natural beauty and working hard on your talent is the way forward.

Also, this article proves that we don't know so much about our technology yet! Plastic surgery and botox are relatively new techniques, so there hasn't been a lot of thorough research yet. We might all be surprised to see what happens to cases like Katie Price as they grow older. Our next generation of grannies could be stuggling with the strangest newly found side effects...

Comment by fiona on April 12 13:31

I can't refute the scientific findings, but as a Botox user, I do not feel any diminishment of my emotions or ability to express feelings. I have no clue as to how clearly my emotions are registered facially, however, no one seems to behave as if I have not been fully empathetic with their upsetting situations.
Comment by Lauren on April 12 13:43

Well, that might explain why Katie Price comes across so badly in interviews!
Comment by Kris on April 12 14:57

Botox has been around and used since the 70s, so side effects are really quite well documented. As a regular user, I feel happy with the risk profile and I don't think I have any problems with expressing my emotions. There are many facial muscles involved in creating expressions and these are not all treated with botox and therefore you do not become devoid of expression with treatment.
Comment by Louise on April 12 20:19

Well..it is a poison but it will have to have a definitive statement that its totally dangerous to make people stop..There are a lot of procedures out there ..I would like to know if it is absorbed elsewhere in the body?? and what effect it has on organs..other than skin..
But lor..take a look at Joan Rivers amongst others..why o why.....and then look at Liz Taylor who is a glorious old lady...if shes used it ..well..its very subtle who knows...
Its always going to be a desperate personal thing...and if u are determined to have it then have it u will until it is proved beyond doubt that it is profoundly dangerous..
Wonder what the medical profession truly know.?? The price doesnt seem to deter many either...There are some beautiful actresses out there who are aging gracefully...as we all know.
Comment by anon on April 14 20:47