The Results Of This New Anti-Ageing Survey Might Surprise You...

Allergen, makers of Botox, have conducted a new survey that has found we don't actually want to look younger, just better

Allergen are one of the biggest companies to make and distribute Botox and facial fillers in the US, so imagine their surprise when their own survey discovered that women don't actually want to look younger anymore.

The company have initiated a worldwide social experiment, called #ThisIsMe, to explore our evolving attitudes to ageing. 2,000 women took part and, as part of the experiment, were shown photos of five women in their early fifties, all with varying degrees of retouching, from a 'gentle softening' of the wrinkles to a completely smooth complexion.

All of the women who looked at the photos preferred the version with 'gentle softening' to the photo of completely eradicated wrinkles. More than half of the women questioned the authenticity of the heavily Photoshopped images and thought too few wrinkles looked fake and unnatural.

The subjects were also given the chance to see digitally retouched images of themselves, but all preferred their natural looks to the smooth look Botox would achieve.

Honey Lancaster-James, a behavioural psychologist who was involved in the study, said 'What's really interesting is that women today don't want to look years younger, they want to age well which for them, means looking great for their age.'

'As more milestones pass, women feel that the face in the mirror isn’t a true reflection of how the vital, energetic person they feel like on the inside and yet the outside world is also full of unrealistic and youthful faces that they don’t identify with either.'

With a new breed of poster girl emerging, it's easy to see that this is changing. Earlier this year, Charlotte Rampling, Jessica Lange and Helen Mirren, all in their 60s, were all named as ambassadors for huge beauty brands and just this week, Julia Roberts, at 47, was announced as the new face of Givenchy. It seems Hollywood might have finally realised ageing isn't about how many wrinkles you have, but how well you look...