Alternatives to Botox

Let’s talk fading and preventing fine lines and wrinkles! Botox is a popular option that people often choose to smooth and treat lines in their face and neck. But some of us aren’t ready for or don’t ever plan on getting injectables (hi, me 👋🏼 ). As an esthetician, I like to know all my skincare treatment options and educate my clients as well. I really like these wrinkle removing and age preventing alternatives to Botox because they really improve your overall skin health, which is the ultimate goal.

scrub me secret: I love combining the different age-preventing treatments that I’m listing below to give my skin and my client’s skin the most plumping and smoothing benefits. Like gua sha + peptide serums + red light therapy = super smooth and plump skin.

1. Red light therapy

Red light LED therapy stimulates and strengthens collagen and elastin using a low wavelength light between 600-850 nanometers. Red LED light is helpful for fading and preventing fine lines and sagging skin. This type of anti-aging treatment is non-invasive and has no discomfort. LED light therapy will not give you all your results right away, it takes a few days for the benefits of the LED to take effect and multiple treatments are needed for a real change in the skin. Best results are seen with monthly or bi-monthly professional LED treatments or by using an at-home LED device 4-7x a week.

The at-home LED I recommend to my clients is the Dr. Dennis Gross device but I’m always keeping my eye out for other options as well. LED treatments from a dermatologist or esthetician range anywhere from $35-$200+

scrub me secret: I really love to add red LED light therapy to an anti-aging facial treatment. Many of my facials end with 10min of red LED light.

2. Peptide serums

Peptide serums contain small amino-acid molecules that are proteins that help build up collagen and elastin. This will help plump your skin and fade away fine lines. I’ve found peptide serums to be especially effective for forehead lines and crow’s feet. Serums are the best way to get these peptides into our skin because they can penetrate so deeply into the skin and take effect. Peptide serums are also amazing for preventing lines and wrinkles. For best results use peptide serums every day or 2x a day.

I really like PCA Exlinea Pro serum and their peptide eye cream. I also like Juice Beauty Peptides Firming serum. Typically you’ll start to see some results after 3-4 weeks of use.

scrub me secret: If you do have botox, or end up deciding to get botox (zero judgment btw) a peptide serum can help prolong the effects of it! It will help keep your skin smooth and wrinkle free for longer.

3. Targeted gua sha

Gua sha facial massage is definitely one of the more holistic ways to fight aging skin. I really love treating my skin this way because I know that while I’m fading fine lines I’m also improving my skin’s health. I’ve found that using certain gua sha massage movements that create circulation and stimulation in areas with fine lines provides real results. With frequent and consistent gua sha I’ve been able to iron out and fade away lines as well as minimize facial movements that cause forehead wrinkles.

Specifically, the friction movement I talk about in my “5 anti-aging gua sha movements” post that uses the “comb” edge of a gua sha stone is perfect for targeting areas with fine lines. You can visit your esthetician for weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly gua sha treatments. You can also try practicing your own gua sha facial massage at home and treat your wrinkles that way. There are so many tutorials out there, including quite a few here on the scrub-me-secrets blog.

These stimulating movements create circulation and oxygen flow, helping to plump and firm the area. The friction also helps break up tissues that are creating wrinkles.

scrub me secret: My at-home skincare routine typically includes gua sha massage 1-2x a week. I fit it into my routine in the evening after work or late morning if I have the day off. It’s really helpful for preventing wrinkles and fading away small ones that sometimes start to appear. At this current moment, I’m trying gua sha facial massage every day, for 30 days to see what kind of results I get.

4. Microchanneling

Microchanneling is a professional treatment performed by a medical aesthetician or a dermatologist. Some states do permit licensed (non-medical) estheticians to perform microchanneling. This treatment uses a device that has multiple small, short needles that create tiny channels in the skin. This creates a response for the skin to heal and rejuviante itself, resulting in smoother and more plump skin. It’s great for treating lines and wrinkles all over the face and neck. Since it’s strengthing your collagen and elastin it’s also a nice treatment for preventing future wrinkles and sagging skin.

Microchanneling has only a slight amount of discomfort; your skincare technician will apply a numbing gel to your face before the treatment starts that helps alleviate any pain during the treatment. After your treatment skin is typically slightly red and a little inflamed for about 24 hours. That’s the only visible downtime from a microchanneling session.

In my experience, I’ve found that a series of 3-4 microchanneling sessions over the course of 3-6 months gives the best results. Microchanneling sessions can range from $100-$300, sessions are often sold in packages.

scrub me secret: when I was 27 I had a series of 4 microchanneling sessions. I got treatments once a month, for 4 months. I think this really helped plump and preserve my skin so it could stay wrinkles free for longer. I’m 32 now and I’ve been able to maintain wrinkle-free skin over time with gua sha, skincare, and red LED therapy. I’m thinking I’m due for more microchanneling sessions soon, I would love to rejuvenate and give myself a little more firmness.

I never like to recommend skincare products or treatments that I do not have a lot of experience with or a lot of knowledge on. Each anti-aging treatment I have listed here I am very well versed in and have had many years of experience with. I’ve been able to see age-fighting and fine line fighting results for both myself and my clients with each one of these treatments; that’s why I can confidently recommend them. Laser therapy is one area of the esthetics that I am not very experienced with but updates and improvements that have been made to laser technology in the past few years really have me interested to dive deeper. I believe that certain laser treatments could also be a good alternative to botox for treating lines and wrinkles. The learning never stops, even for me! I’ll report back with more info on laser in a future scrub-me-secrets post.