Where do we even begin when it comes to the crimes Simon Cowell has committed against his own face?
For years he has looked almost unrecognisable thanks to the over-use of Botox and cosmetic fillers.
These procedures have left him with the kind of bloated and strangely stretched visage that has become synonymous with celebrities trying too hard to turn back the years on their appearance.
It’s difficult to believe someone would volunteer to be altered in this way.
But it’s harder still to digest the fact that there are highly-paid clinicians who have no qualms about doing it.
Now, in what must be one of the understatements of 2022 so far, the 62-year-old music and talent show mogul has admitted in an interview that he “might have gone a bit too far” when it came to using cosmetic filler.
I’ll say.
It’s one thing having an inflated ego, but you don’t need the face to match.
But perhaps we have to cut Simon Cowell some slack in the big Botox debate.
Maybe we should commend him for holding his hands up and saying publicly: “I did this and it wasn’t a good look”.
And to be fair to the practitioners who helped him.. er, achieve it, I have interviewed cosmetic specialists who say it is very difficult to say no to a celebrity.
Sometimes less is more
Friends star Courteney Cox is another who has admitted going too far with injectables.
The actress revealed she had reached the point where she said to herself, “I’m actually looking really strange with injections”.
Fortunately the trend now is moving towards a more natural look when it comes to facial aesthetics.
In small, carefully targeted amounts, both Botox and cosmetic filler can be highly effective at smoothing out wrinkles.
Courtney Cox admits she underwent cosmetic procedures that left her "looking really strange." https://t.co/zPCEO1ohUA pic.twitter.com/2aXaZKyONF
— Newsmax (@newsmax) February 23, 2022
And if it’s done right no-one but a trained eye should be able to tell.
But if a wealthy celebrity can end up with such an unflattering result, it should be a warning to the rest of us to be extremely careful about what we allow others to inject into us in the name of beauty.
And who we allow to do it.
Complaints soar in under-regulated industry
Complaints over botched procedures have risen dramatically in recent years as more and more of us choose to pursue perfection at any cost.
The Scottish Government says it will soon set out proposals around the tightening of laws applying to practitioners carrying out cosmetic treatments.
That’s amid moves to tighten regulation in England.
The plans south of the border include making it an offence to perform non-surgical cosmetic procedures, such as Botox and fillers, without a licence.
Astonishingly, at present in Scotland anyone is able to administer dermal fillers.
That’s despite risks, including accidental injection into a blood vessel, which can leave permanent scarring and even cause blindness or even more serious complications.
Safe and natural
Simon Cowell now says there is no filler in his face, after concluding he’d rather wear a few more lines than look like he’s been inflated with a bicycle pump.
“I saw a picture of me from ‘before’ the other day, and didn’t recognise it as me first of all,” he said.
“Eric (his son) was in hysterics. Enough was enough. There is no filler in my face at all now. Zero.”
By being up-front about his over-use of injectable fillers he is doing the rest of us a favour in highlighting it is not a flattering look.
And the reality is that with the array of anti-ageing products and treatments available today – not all of them expensive – fillers and Botox need no longer be the go-to solution.
Choose carefully
In the absence of proper regulation it really does pay to only consider medically-trained clinicians when it comes to having any kind of injectable administered.
They’ll have a better understanding of the anatomy of your skin, muscles, veins and arteries.
But they’ll also be experienced in giving injections so you’re more likely to get a better result.
And, crucially, they are considerably more likely to know if something has gone wrong – and what to do about it.
