Botox boom: Millennials turning to injections for perfect selfie

(FOX19) - Millenials feel intense pressure to be picture-perfect – but there's a new trend that some people say are "egos gone wild."

Botox is blossoming among the babies of the boomers, doctors say.

Smartphone filters and even airbrush apps are ways to tweak your self-portrait to Snapchat perfection, but some millennials and Gen Xers are taking it a step further with facial injectibles.

According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, Botox, the brand name for the family of neurotoxin injectables, remains the number one non-surgical procedure in the U.S. More than 4.5 million procedures were performed last year.

But from 2011 to 2016 Botox use among millennials aged 19 to 34 jumped a whopping 87 percent.

Millennials are flocking to their local clinics not to treat wrinkles, but to prevent them.

"Botox has become so commonplace that people equate that with looking better," Dr. Davinder Mangat said.

Mangat is a facial plastic surgeon at SIA Medical Spa and Salon in Kenwood.

He said some of his clients are in their early 20s. For those few who are already seeing frown lines, the treatment can be beneficial.

Casey, 32, got her first Botox injection when she was 24.

"Then it was more preventative, but as I've gotten older, I started to see those fine lines, I'm starting to treat certain things. In other areas, it's still preventative," she said. 

The effect of social media stars has caused younger and younger patients to see cosmetic procedures like Botox and fillers as ways to actually change the shape of the face.

Fillers for fuller lips have become a popular procedure for teens and young adults. Some also using Botox to try to get the famous Kylie Jenner "Instagram" eyebrow.

Mangat said those expectations are often unrealistic.
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[endif]"In reality, very few young people, and I'm talking about people in their late teen years, say, up to thirty, truly need Botox or are going to benefit from it," he said.

Mangat stressed the best way to prevent wrinkles is advice your mom probably gave you, moisturize and wear sunscreen.

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