Carruthers Cosmetic

Nearly 40 years later, any regrets?

“Get a better lawyer.”

And then, everything changed.

For years, Allergan saw Botox as a pharmaceutical product. Alastair and I saw the potential for something entirely different.

By the time the company’s thinking began to change, demand for cosmetic Botox was already growing.

What started with one patient, one observation and an idea in 1987 had become something none of us could have imagined.

The final chapter of The Botox Story. 💉

Even Allergan didn’t see the potential at first.

When an approved cosmetic study was cancelled in 1992, Drs. Jean and Alastair Carruthers kept going — continuing their research and travelling the world teaching other physicians what they had learned.

Eventually, the world caught up.

From an unexpected observation in 1987 to a treatment that would change cosmetic medicine.

The Botox Story · Part 5 💉

39 years and counting ☺️

Aesthetic medicine has changed enormously over the past 40 years, but one of the biggest changes has been how we *think* about it.

What was once associated with royalty and movie stars has become a personal choice available to a much wider group of people.

Dr. Jean Carruthers has had a front-row seat to that shift - from the earliest days of cosmetic Botox to the aesthetic medicine we know today.

Her take? If looking better is a priority for you, there shouldn’t be anything frivolous about choosing to do something for yourself.

1992. Eighteen patients. And a completely silent room.

When Dr. Jean Carruthers presented the first cosmetic Botox patients at the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery annual meeting, the response wasn’t exactly enthusiastic.

Afterwards, physicians approached her with one question: how could you use a “terrible poison” for something as frivolous as a wrinkle?

Jean’s answer hasn’t changed:

“There is nothing frivolous about a wrinkle.”

The Botox Story · Part 4

Finding patients for the first cosmetic Botox study wasn’t easy.

At the time, the idea of injecting botulinum toxin for a wrinkle sounded… a little crazy.

So when nobody wanted to be first, Dr. Jean Carruthers volunteered herself.

The Botox Story · Part 3

Next: what happened when they presented their results to the medical world.

78 years old. Still up at 4AM. Still at work by 7. Still seeing patients, publishing, writing books and trying new things.

Dr. Jean on what 78 feels like, and why she has no plans of slowing down.

This was the moment the penny dropped. 💡

While treating a patient for blepharospasm, Dr. Jean Carruthers heard something she wasn’t expecting: after treatment, her patient loved the “untroubled expression” it gave her.

Jean immediately thought of her husband, dermatologist Dr. Alastair Carruthers.

That night, she told him what she’d observed over dinner. His response? “Let’s do it.”

The very next day, they began their research into the cosmetic use of botulinum toxin.

The Botox Story · Part 2

Part 3: finding someone willing to be first.

Before Botox became one of the world’s most recognized cosmetic treatments, it was being used for something entirely different.

In 1987, Dr. Jean Carruthers was treating patients with blepharospasm when one patient became unexpectedly angry with her.

What happened next would change the course of cosmetic medicine.

This is The Botox Story. Part 1.