Prevention versus correction: how young is too young for botulinum toxin injections?

Abstract

In 2011, there was widespread condemnation and public outrage when Californian mother Kerry Campbell reported injecting her eight-year-old daughter with botulinum toxin to increase her chance of becoming a successful beauty pageant queen. In the UK, there was further controversy following the antics of Sarah Budge, known as the human Barbie doll, who presented her seven-year-old daughter with a voucher for surgical breast augmentation to be used when she reached 16 years of age. Sarah also admitted that her 17-year-old daughter was already having botulinum toxin injections. There is clear consensus in society that these events are not acceptable, and it is a ethical and moral challenge for aesthetic practitioners when a young person seeks and often insists on having botulinum toxin injections when there is no clinical evidence of facial ageing. This paper will discuss prevention (primary prophylaxis) versus correction (secondary prophylaxis) of facial wrinkles and tackle the question ‘how young is too young for botulinum toxin injections?’.