Walking up Harley Street to visit Dr Gupta at the Private Clinic, I was wondering if I was taking my pursuit of a journalistic story just a little too far. Should I really let someone inject poison into my forehead just to smooth out some minor, but noticeable wrinkles? It certainly seems to be a growing trend within the gay community. If I’m honest, I was also tempted by the fact that Botox has been shown to reduce migraines as a side effect.

I had met Dr Gupta briefly before. Sharing a mirror, we looked at every line on my face. I spotted some lines I had never noticed before.

When I returned to see him, Dr Gupta asked me if I was sure I wanted to go ahead. I replied saying that given the treatment was only temporary, even if I hated it, it wouldn’t be permanent.

After signing some forms, I was lying on a bed waiting for the Botox to be injected. There are some risks having Botox injections. The most common is that that the Botox causes your eyelids to droop, which can last for months and be a pretty obvious sign that you’ve joined the legions injecting poison into themselves. I felt relatively confident that as I was having the procedure performed by a doctor that the risk would be reduced somewhat than if it were by a “Botox practitioner”.

The actual procedure took seconds and it didn’t hurt. The Botox takes a few weeks to take effect, so if you have it done, don’t expect to walk out the door looking years younger!

A few weeks later, good to its word, the Botox kicked in. Some wrinkles on my forehead and a tendency to raise an eyebrow disappeared. It wasn’t a radical change, but I did look younger. But I was worried that it did look a little unnatural. While no one particularly noticed, I realised I couldn’t quite raise my eyebrows as much as I used to.

One of the appeals of having Botox at the outset was the potential for it to prevent wrinkles by stopping the face adopting bad wrinkle-forming habits. This works in theory but it requires you to come back on multiple occasions and it’s not that cheap!

What pleasantly surprised me about the treatment was the considerable impact that it had on my head pain, something that I want to repeat on the NHS.

Dr Gupta said that around 45 per cent of his patients are male, many of them gay. Although everyone wants to look younger, the motivations of why people come vary significantly. Some guys simply want to look younger, to make themselves look more sexually attractive. Others do it for professional reasons, particularly if they work in the City. While in the old days, grey hairs and wrinkles were a positive means of promotion, they are now considered to be a negative, so many guys seek to hide away the signs that they are no longer go-getting whizz-kids.

So would I go again? Maybe. I’m not in a hurry but I wouldn’t rule it out.

PinkNews.co.uk was offered a free treatment by The Private Clinic of Harley Street. For more information click here or call 0800 599 9911.

You might think you’d need a degree in chemistry or cosmetology to make your own beauty products from scratch but in actual fact this couldn’t be further from the truth.

You can create some luxurious, natural products using items you probably already have lurking around your kitchen cupboards.

As well as saving a penny or two you can rest easy knowing exactly what you’re putting on your face. No need to worry about nasty chemicals and synthetic fragrances. All these ingredients are natural and edible. So get in the kitchen and cook up some natural beauty!
Chemical-free facial/body scrub

2 tablespoons of sea salt

Forget paying out for posh facial scrubs, sea salt removes dry, flaky, dead skin­ from your face and body with ease. Wet your face or body and apply a couple of tablespoons of sea salt. Then gently massage the area with a wet flannel or fingers. After one or two minutes, rinse with cold water to tighten the pores.

Natural eye make-up remover

1 tablespoon castor oil

1 tablespoon light olive oil.

Castor oil is excellent for removing eye makeup. A combination of castor, olive or canola oils is especially nice to remove mascara at the end of the day. Even the most stubborn makeup glides off effortlessly with this light oil mixture – all without the addition of harmful chemicals so close to the eye area.

Moisturising hair mask

1 medium avocado

Avocados contain skin-nourishing vitamin E and phytosterols, which are similar to the skin’s own lipids and provide a barrier to environmental elements and lock in moisture. To make a nourishing hair pack that will leave you with a gorgeous shine, mash one avocado into a smooth paste and spread on clean, damp hair for 20 minutes, then rinse.

Soothing foot balm

1 tablespoon almond oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon wheat germ oil
12 drops eucalyptus essential oil

Everyone’s feet can get a bit whiffy in the summer heat but you don’t need to spend a fortune on expensive foot creams. Simply combine the ingredients in a bottle and shake extremely well. Rub into the feet and heels nightly to smooth and soften rough dry feet.

Rose petal bath essence

With summer here and roses in full bloom, don’t let those fragrant petals go to waste when the flowers start to die. Save those petals for a wonderful fragrant bath. Place the petals in a basket to dry once the roses start to droop. When they’ve dried, stuff them into a small muslin bag or just tie them into a handkerchief. Place your little stash right under the tap when running your bath to release that pent up fragrance for a second-time-around treat.

Soothing eye treatment

2 used teabags
2 slices of raw potato

Who says looking good has to cost the earth? These two homemade eye treatments are simple easy and very cheap. For the first treatment take two very thin slices of potato, as these are great for brightening and nourishing the eyes, and press them lightly on to the eye area. Make them thin slices so they make contact, yielding into the contours of the eyes.
For the second treatment take two damp tea bags and place them over your eyes. This will help fade under-eye bags because they contain tannin and polyphenols which have an astringent effect.

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So much so, that pharmacy chain Superdrug now stocks the first UK make-up range for men. The male grooming range called Taxi London is a collection of male make-up essentials including Guy-Liner (£6.50), Manscara (£6.50) and Concealer (£6.50).

Over the past five years the pharmacy chain has seen the male grooming market explode and so it already has a complete collection of products on its shelves dedicated to grooming the British man. From eye creams and exfoliators to anti-ageing face serums and hair products – the range of male grooming products has doubled in the past three years.

It seems metro-sexual male grooming is nothing new as many men across the country already cleanse tone and moisturise on a daily basis. But is the British male ready for Guy-liner we wonder?

The popularity of musicians, comedians and actors applying a bit of make-up has added to the growing acceptance by men. It is no longer considered strange for a teenage boy or young man to don some eyeliner and perhaps a dab of mascara, but will older men feel the same way?

Jeff Wemyss, trading director of Superdrug, says: “Men are more obsessed with their appearance than ever before. There is no longer any pain in being seen to be vain. We believe there is a real market for cosmetic products. The majority of our customers are women and we believe that these products will be bought by women for their partners, as well as by men for themselves.”

According to the pharmacy chain, metro-sexual celebrities such as Russell Brand, Jimmy Carr, Alex Zane and Robbie Williams have all admitted to using guy-liner. This in turn, has encouraged more men to experiment with their girlfriend’s make-up. However, Superdrug says the guy-liner by Taxi London is a soft, smooth kohl pencil that has been designed to be extremely easy for men with chunkier fingers to use.

Peter Kelly, of Taxi, the creator of the range, says: “We’ve developed essentials that a guy would perhaps normally borrow from his other half. It’s about subtle make-up rather than wanting to create the drag queen look.”

Students and indie kids will probably love this, but it seems harder to imagine the postman wearing blusher or your local bobby on the beat sporting some eyeliner. Will blokes now be off to the toilets to touch up their lippy during their lunch breaks we wonder?

Is it a future we can avoid by spending big at the Crème de la Mer counter? Or could we even promise ourselves fabulously youthful skin by just making a few tweaks to our day to day schedule? And once we’ve hit the sag and stretch is there a way back to the bouncy, taut skin of our youth?

According to top dermatologists we’re so obsessed with wrinkles and sag that we’re ignoring the things which really make a difference to the appearance of our skin. That’s right – botox and face lifts may not be the answer after all. In fact the basics of good skin lie in colour, texture and sensitivity. Concentrate on these factors and you may be able to change your skin for the better. For good.

So how do you even begin to change those factors which seem unchangeable? The key is to understanding your skin type and treating it accordingly. Many of us pick products which are totally wrong for our skin type but keep on using them on a promise of less wrinkles or a tighter jawline, ignoring the fact that they are causing irritation or are making little or no difference.

We all know the six skin types but can we be sure which we have? Here’s an easy guide:

Normal: If your skin isn’t coated in grease by mid-morning or flaking your skin is probably normal.

Oily: Oily skin is noticeably shiny with large pores and a tendency towards blackheads.

Dry: Dull, flaky skin, especially on your cheeks is a good indication of dry skin.

Combination: An oily T-zone and dry cheeks are the telltale signs of combination skin.

Mature: Mature skin is characterised by thin, delicate skin, especially around the eyes.

Sensitive: Often inflamed and easily irritated, sensitive skin easily rashes.

Pick products specific to your skin type and follow a simple routine of cleansing, toning, using an active product (AHA or beta hydroxyl acid) and adding sunscreen which is vital to the well being of your skin. Those with normal skin should avoid oil or soap based cleansers and moisturisers while oily skin types react best to water based, oil free products and combination skins may wish to use moisturisers only on their driest parts. Sensitive skins should wear at least an SPF30 year round and avoid anything fragranced, alcohol based or containing dyes.

From following this strict regime morning and night your skin will look rejuvenated, lessening the impact of any developing wrinkles or pigmentation spots and helping your skin to look younger from today well in to the future.