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I Tried a Botox Bar and Learned I Was Doing It All Wrong

Botox. Once a word reserved for use by only the most housewifey of “Housewives,” it has now become almost as ingrained into the American vernacular as Band-Aid, Chapstick or Kleenex. Much like those ubiquitous terms, Botox itself refers to one specific name brand product, even though it’s used interchangeably with other injectables that tackle similar tasks. 

What Is Botox?

Botox — the trademarked name of Botulinum toxin type A from Allergan — is a neurotoxic protein that prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and thus causes flaccid paralysis. As defined on the official Botox Cosmetic website: “[It] is the first and only treatment FDA-approved to temporarily make moderate to severe frown lines, crow's feet and forehead lines look better in adults.” 

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Other brand names of variations on the tolerable toxin are Dysport, Xeomin and the newest to the market Jeuveau. Cosmetic procedures are arguably the most popular — or at least the most talked about — uses for Botox Cosmetic, but there are many different applications of the drug. That’s when the difference between just Botox and Botox *Cosmetic* is highlighted. According to the Mayo Clinic, Botox can be used for:

Cervical dystonia: In this painful condition, your neck muscles contract involuntarily causing your head to twist or turn into an uncomfortable position. Lazy eye: The most common cause of lazy eye is an imbalance in the muscles responsible for positioning the eye. Muscle contractures: Some neurological conditions, such as cerebral palsy, can cause your limbs to pull in toward your center. In some cases, these contracted muscles can be relaxed with Botox injections. Hyperhidrosis: In this condition, excessive sweating occurs even when the temperature isn't hot and you're not exerting yourself. Chronic migraine: If you experience migraines more than 15 days a month, Botox injections may help reduce headache frequency. Bladder dysfunction: Botox injections can help reduce urinary incontinence caused by an overactive bladder. Eye twitching: Botox injections may help relieve contracture or twitching of muscles around the eye.

Today, as much as I know Botox can help with a lot of things, I’m going to focus on the wrinkles on my face — or the wrinkles to be. 

You might think that as a man getting a “cosmetic” procedure, I’m an anomaly. In fact, men are getting more of this stuff than ever, and that trend is only set to continue. According to a 2018 Plastic Surgery Statistics Report by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Botulinum toxin A injections of any variation are the most popular cosmetic minimally-invasive procedure men got in 2018, with the rate of men increasing almost 400 percent since 2000. 

My Botox in the Past

Typically I get Botox in the usual spots which include my forehead, my crow’s feet and my glabellar lines (the “11s” in between my eyebrows) — some of the most treated since they tend to be the earliest to appear and make us look frustrated or angry. But I’ve come to find out, I have been going about this all wrong. Well, kind of wrong. 

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We’ve probably all seen the immobile faces of those who were early adopters and heavy users of Botox and similar injectables. As we become more familiar with the stuff, we have figured out better ways of administering it to not only achieve the youthful, rested look Botox promotes to provide, but to also avoid the frozen or frightening faces of some A-listers of years past. 

Listen, I am not going to throw any doctors under the bus here, because so matter how much I get this stuff and write to tell you about it, a doctor will *always* know more than me. I will say, I have gotten quite comfortable going into the doctor’s office and asking for what I want, getting my fix and walking out with very little inquiry as to what my ultimate goal is. For a lot of things — my morning coffee, my salad at lunch, my dogs’ nighttime routine — that level of autopilot is great, but it wasn’t until my most recent trip to a new kind of Botox spot that I realized I should ask more on my occasional visits. 

What is GoodSkin

Don’t call GoodSkin a Botox Bar (like I did when I first found it) but instead, call it a clinic, because that is just that. By definition, a clinic is an establishment where outpatients are given medical treatment or advice, especially of a specialist nature. Founded by Lisa Goodman, this little shop tucked away on a side street in Manhattan’s NoHo neighborhood is her second clinic designed to make people look and feel better. The first location was founded in 2015 in Brentwood and after expanding to neighboring Los Angeles, GoodSkin opened in New York City in 2019. 

So what makes it any different? The team has quite a process to establish what my face actually needs to achieve what they call “The Untouched Look.” It may sound obvious, but looking untouched is exactly how I want to appear after having done anything to my face. I only want to be asked why I look so rested. The funny thing is, there is a *lot* of touching involved. 

How Was This Botox Different

Before I met with Goodman, I sat down in the GoodSkin mini studio (that’s what we call closets in New York City) with a lighting setup by a “famous Hollywood director.” She wouldn’t tell me which one, but if I spent enough time on Google tracking down famous Hollywood directors, I bet he or she would be the most rested looking of them all. 

My picture was taken in a whole slew of ways, ultimately resulting in two different sets of photos — the “Hollywood” set and the “3D vector” set — and then it was off to the chair to have my official consultation with Goodman. 

We discussed what I was hoping to get out of the procedure — look younger, well rested, the usual — and in doing so we started to figure out why I may have been going about this process the wrong way. After a solid minute of her poking at and pulling on my face, it turns out, I have been paying attention to all the wrong things. I always go in for my forehead without really paying attention to my lower third (that’s the bottom of my face and neck) which apparently needed the most work.

I was prescribed a “Botox diet” for my forehead, a hefty dose of Botox in my glabellar lines and even some jabs to the throat. Why the throat? Since I have paid little to no attention to my neck, beyond daily moisturizing, retinoiding and sunscreening, Botox to the throat will help maintain a stronger jawline over time — another big reason men come to see Goodman and people like her. But that’s a whole other story. 

What Did I Think? 

I’m going to be honest with you guys, I’m incredibly happy with the results. Goodman was dead on when she said laying off the stuff in my forehead would help my eyes look more open I did in fact receive the coveted, “You look different ... You look rested.” So I consider it a win. 

I couldn’t tell much of a difference in my jaw or neck, but as it was explained to me, that was my next phase in maintaining a youthful look. Sort of a “get it before it gets you” kind of thing. I plan on continuing the practice in the future to help keep my jawline competitive with the youths on the horizon. 

The most important takeaway I have from this entire process is that all of this stuff needs to be for me, on my terms. I like doing this because I take pride in my appearance and with the other things I do to take care of my skin, this is a natural extension for me. That said, it might not be for you, and that’s OK, because ultimately confidence should come from within, and the rest is just smooth, wrinkle-free icing on the cake. 

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Barret Wertz, Khareem Sudlow