PSA: Only a Licensed Professional Should be Doing Your Botox

Botox is hailed as a relatively safe way for people to get aesthetic and health benefits — most notably, a reduction in wrinkles. But (and this is crucial!!!) it’s important to remember that Botox is not a skincare product or a beauty tool. It’s a medication. And it should never be administered by someone who isn’t trained and licensed.

Because as it turns out, self-administering Botox (or attempting to cut costs by having an unlicensed person do it for you) comes with real risks. According to a CDC report, multiple people have suffered severe illnesses after self-injection. Illness after botox injection is rare, according to the report, but improperly procured or injected Botox can have real risks.

In these instances, the people bought the stuff online and administered it themselves, despite not meeting the requirements set out by their home states in order to become a licensed Botox provider.

The report advises people to avoid getting “guidance” from social media on self-administering Botox. And yes, that should be a given. But I think we all know that it can be really hard to avoid falling into the trap of believing what you see on social media, even when you know not everything on the internet is credible.

Obviously, the cost factor is real too. Botox is expensive, and we live in a world that preys on women’s insecurities and encourages them to spend their time and money on chasing this unrealistic beauty ideal. This is just one example of how harmful and dangerous that can be. 

So let this be a reminder: Botox is not something we should be buying online or administering ourselves. A social media tutorial can suffice when it comes to perfecting a makeup technique. But when it comes to Botox, which is not a product, but a medication? That’s only safe when left to the licensed professionals.