I invented Botox - now aged 76 I have no wrinkles. Here's how I do it and the surprising age I believe you should start using it - and the celebrity who's got it wrong

With 3 young sons and engaged lives arsenic doctors, nan only clip Dr Jean Carruthers and her hubby Alastair could drawback up was astatine nan meal table.

So, it was complete a home-cooked casserole that Jean first suggested utilizing 1 of nan world's deadliest poisons arsenic a cure for frown lines. Not surprisingly, her husband's jaw dropped.

FIt was 1987 and Jean had accidentally stumbled connected Botox, now nan world's astir celebrated cosmetic process and nan inspiration down a caller procreation of fillers and different anti-ageing therapies.

An ophthamologist, trained to usage diluted botulinum toxin, which temporarily paralyses muscles, for oculus disorders specified arsenic squints, Jean had been amazed earlier that time erstwhile a female suffering from blepharospasm – debilitating eye-twitching – became irate that her brow wasn't being injected.

The diligent pointed retired that astatine her past appointment, Jean had injected nan area to thief her twitching, and nan curen had fixed her a 'beautiful, untroubled expression'.

'That was erstwhile nan penny dropped. I was joined to a dermatologist who wasn't happy pinch nan treatments disposable astatine nan clip for glabellar lines,' Jean recalls, referring to nan short vertical frown lines aliases '11s' betwixt nan eyebrows.

The fillers that were disposable didn't past long, were achy and were made utilizing processed fat from patients' ain bodies aliases bovine collagen.

'So, I came home, fed nan children, and said to Alastair: 'I deliberation I person nan solution for frown lines.' We were some very excited.'F

I americium astatine Jean's location successful a leafy, upmarket suburb of Vancouver, Canada, which she shared pinch her British-born hubby until his decease successful August, astatine nan property of 79.

The location is filled pinch reminders of nan couple's 50-year matrimony and of their careers arsenic nan pioneers of Botox.

Photographs of their 3 sons and 4 grandchildren are prominently displayed alongside awards for aesculapian invention and leadership. There's besides a cushion pinch nan words 'Botox saved my marriage', fixed by a friend arsenic a joke.

With a fashionable blonde haircut, petite fig and soft visage that she says is topped up pinch regular, self-administered Botox injections, Canadian-born Jean looks a bully 10 to 15 years younger than her 76 years.

After Jean's meal array revelation, however, nan mates was to observe that nan roadworthy to processing Botox for cosmetic usage would not beryllium easy. It took years.

The first measurement was to enlist nan thief of Cathy Bickerton, nan receptionist astatine their shared aesculapian office, arsenic their 'Patient Zero'.

This doesn't look arsenic unusual arsenic it sounds because Cathy, past aged 30 and pinch a heavy 'V' etched supra her eyebrows, had been moving pinch nan mates for years and had already seen really Botox could thief patients medically.

'Cathy had a really heavy crevice that sewage worse arsenic nan time went connected – by nan day she would look fierce,' laughs Jean. 'Three days aft treatment, she had a soft forehead, an elevated brow and a refreshed, younger expression. She thought it was great.'

Nevertheless, recruiting different group for tests of a supplier that paralyses facial muscles was a problem. No matter really often nan brace said nan curen was safe because they were injecting only mini amounts of Botox – billionths of a gram – group recoiled.

'They'd say: 'You want to inject maine pinch nan world's astir venomous poison? No way!' ' laughs Jean. 'So, we did nan logical point and Alastair started injecting me.'

Jean's earlier and aft photographs showed nan softening of nan dreaded '11s' – giving emergence to her iconic and much-quoted study that: 'I haven't frowned since 1987.'

Even so, they could seduce only 18 group complete 5 years to beryllium participants successful trials.

The mates ploughed connected and published investigation successful 1991, which was mostly ignored.

Their insubstantial connected Botox for cosmetic purposes, presented astatine nan 1992 American Society for Dermatologic Surgery convention, went down for illustration a lead balloon. 'Colleagues came up to america and said: 'You want to inject group pinch this deadly poison for thing arsenic frivolous arsenic wrinkles?'

'They thought it was a crazy thought that was going nowhere.'

Jean says she and her hubby were undeterred.

'It fired america up that group didn't understand really marvellous this was, truthful we continued our objective tests and went astir nan world explaining it to group astatine dermatology conferences.'

Botox had initially been approved by nan US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) successful 1989 for nan curen of blepharospasm.

The authorities to nan supplier were sold successful 1991, and nan caller distributor, Allergan, rebranded it arsenic Botox nan pursuing year.

It was not until 2002 that it gained support for cosmetic use.

Slowly, during nan 1990s, nan benefits of Botox became wide recognised, dispersed by connection of mouth, pinch ophthalmologists, dermatologists and integrative surgeons taking announcement and adding it to their cosmetic armoury.

Today, nan British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) estimates 900,000 Botox procedures were carried retired successful this state successful 2023, while much than 8.8 cardinal injections were performed globally. 

And it's not conscionable utilized for frown lines, crows' feet and wrinkles. It tin beryllium utilized to dainty excessive sweating of nan armpits and hands, incontinence, migraines and ft pain. It whitethorn thief premature ejaculation and pelvic level dysfunction that tin lead to achy sex, arsenic good arsenic irregular heartbeats.

It tin besides thief relieve musculus stiffness successful group pinch spasticity, on pinch drooling and hairsbreadth loss.

One of nan astir breathtaking developments, says Jean, is nan find that forehead injections of Botox tin dainty depression, according to a number of studies.

'Around 2 weeks aft you person nan curen successful your glabellar, nan area betwixt nan eyebrows and nose, galore group consciousness little societal anxiety,' she says. 'Studies person shown that up to 90 per cent of patients go little depressed.

'We thought group were emotion happier because they looked truthful overmuch better. But we subsequently learned that Botox doesn't enactment successful nan look – it goes into nan encephalon and alters nan amygdala, nan portion of nan encephalon that processes fearfulness and anxiety. So, you person this beautiful effect we hadn't understood initially.'

Jean and Alastair, who was calved successful Cheshire successful 1945 and publication medicine astatine Brasenose College, Oxford, first met successful Vancouver successful 1970.

They were introduced done communal friends, returned to England and joined successful 1973.

As an ophthamologist, Jean worked astatine Moorfields Eye Hospital successful London, while Alastair specialised successful dermatology astatine adjacent St Thomas' and St John's hospitals.

In 1977, deciding to commencement a family, they moved backmost to Vancouver for a slower gait of life.

While connected an world fellowship, Jean worked pinch San Francisco-based Dr Alan Scott who had refined botulinum toxin – 100 times much virulent than cyanide – into a pharmaceutical.

Dr Scott concentrated connected aesculapian uses of nan supplier he called Occulinim (eye aligner), trading it to nan oculus attraction products institution Allergan, now portion of nan biomedical institution AbbVie. It was renamed Botox and coming nan institution makes billions of pounds each twelvemonth from its product.

Following their discovery, Jean and her hubby some retrained arsenic cosmetic surgeons – Alastair was celebrated for his soft forehead and for conquering his ain excessive sweating pinch Botox injections – and nan mates group up their ain highly successful believe and investigation institute successful Vancouver.

Nowadays, Botox is utilized by some women and men, but treatments alteration for nan sexes depending connected facial anatomy, musculus spot and different areas of concern, says Jean.

'The ageing process of remodelling facial bones starts successful women astatine 24 aliases 25,' she says. 'The brows descend, nan orbit – nan bony container that houses nan eyes – gets bigger, nan fat pads connected your cheeks spell southbound and you get heavy nasal labial folds. You commencement getting jowls because your jawbone shrinks. Gravity wins.'

With men, she adds, that process starts astatine astir 45. 'Botox useful perfectly good for men, but you person to springiness them higher doses because men mostly person larger facial muscles than women.'

While some men and women typically want thief pinch forehead creases and frown lines, women want to soften crows' feet astir nan eyes and men are progressively utilizing Botox to thief pinch excessive sweating.

'When you look astatine someone's face, their authority is successful their brows,' says Jean. 'Low brows connected a man makes them look powerful and confident. A female pinch debased brows looks tired, aggravated and angry. That's wherever nan building 'resting bitch face' comes from.

'For women, nan powerfulness comes from nan brow not being excessively debased and not excessively high, and for men it comes from being a small spot debased but not excessively low.'

There has been disapproval of Botox, of course, arsenic an artistic instrumentality that encourages vanity, gives group stiff expressions and tin origin side-effects specified arsenic musculus weakness that tin alteration facial asymmetry.

This is often referred to arsenic nan 'Spock look' aft nan iconic characteristic successful Star Trek because nan brow is pulled up excessively precocious and nan eyebrows are over-arched.

'It has to look natural,' agrees Jean. 'It's important for a female to beryllium capable to assistance her brows and to beryllium capable to frown truthful she tin show liking and compassion.

'If nan only measurement you tin show you are amused is by smiling, for example, it's excessively much.

'What I effort to do pinch my patients is to somewhat under-correct them. The infinitesimal you measurement complete a definite line, everybody knows you've had thing done, truthful it's a spot of an creation to do it properly.

'The different point is not to fto Botox deterioration disconnected wholly because you suffer each nan remodelling of nan collagen, meaning you forestall immoderate caller lines and wrinkles from forming, that you've established successful 3 aliases 4 months.'

She cites Nicole Kidman arsenic an illustration of personification who she thinks has had a batch of activity connected her face. 'She's a awesome character and a beautiful female but it's over-done, thing moves,' she says. 'It must beryllium because she likes it that way.'

Certainly, Jean is her ain champion advert and location is thing stiff astir her face. She wiggles her eyebrows for maine and her forehead has distinct, earthy looking horizontal lines.

She is matter-of-fact astir different 'anti-ageing' treatments she has had: a complete look assistance 15 years ago, lid lifts, fillers, skin-tightening and skin-contouring treatments, positive intense-pulsed-light treatments.

She had her past self-administered Botox injections a period ago. 'I tin usually get an assignment pinch myself,' she jokes.

She points to various spots connected her forehead wherever she injected herself. 'I usage astir 40 units, 2 aliases 3 times a year,' she says.

Controversially, younger group are getting nan curen these days, but Jean says that she is each successful favour of 'Baby Botox', which is injected successful smaller amounts.

'Botox successful your 20s is smart,' she says. 'These are group looking astatine their ain families, seeing what nan early is, and realising they tin reverse nan ageing changes they're starting to spot connected their ain faces, specified arsenic brow droop, pinch mini doses. And past they conscionable support connected doing that.

'Prevention is nan mantra of millennials. And nan different point they've done is taken distant nan stigma of Botox. So, they're asking each other: 'How galore units did you have?' They don't spot it arsenic thing you person to hide.'

Given nan bonzer fame of Botox, 1 would deliberation that Jean and her hubby would person made a luck from their discovery. Not so.

'We wanted to patent it for cosmetic use, but a mates of rule firms present told america that it wasn't truthful different from what Alan Scott was doing. We should person carried connected and recovered lawyers who understood nan process better,' she sighs.

The mates did waste a patent for a Botox process that helped alleviate downturns astatine nan corners of nan rima for $100,000, which Jean says was 'a driblet successful nan bucket'.

'What would I do pinch billions, though?' she wonders. 'I'm a expert and Alastair and I were conscionable gladsome that our activity is retired location and helping people.'

Alastair retired successful 2015 and was diagnosed pinch Parkinson's illness nan pursuing year. An diversion man who golfed, sailed, skied and ran marathons, he became severely incapacitated and decided to extremity his life pinch nan assistance of Medical Assistance successful Dying (MAID), Canada's arguable caller assisted dying law.

He died surrounded by Jean and different family members, successful his garden, his favourite place.

Not surprisingly, his widow is still suffering from heavy condolences and is occasionally flooded by tears.

Referring to his determination to usage MAID, she says: 'It was a blessing for him, to person a serene death, to spell pinch dignity and astatine a clip of his ain choosing.'

Jean still sees patients 3 days a week and says she finds restitution successful her work.

'Changing Botox's estimation took 25 years of difficult work,' she says. 'It's an astonishing supplier and has re-defined ageing.

'Now you don't person to hold till you're 50, person a facelift, vanish for a fewer weeks and past travel back, and everyone's saying: 'She's had a batch of activity done.' Now it's each astir maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.'

And attraction has astir surely worked for her.