I tried microtox: Unlike Botox, the antiaging treatment smoothes lines without freezing the face. I looked younger — but it wasn't right for me.

• Microtox is a treatment little-known in the West, which promises to smooth fine lines without freezing the face.
• Originating from South Korea, microtox is diluted Botox injected into the facial fibers, not muscles.
• I tried it, and while my skin glowed, the result was more subtle than I'd hoped for.

When my boyfriend proposed last December, I was overcome with joy for our future — and excited about wedding planning.

But I was surprised that although I'm not anxious about my looks, I felt the urge to perfect my appearance. If I'm not going to pull out all the stops on my wedding day, when am I?

I've whitened my teeth (painful), tried eyelash lengthening serum (it turned my under eyes red so I won't be repeating), and nailed down a solid skincare routine.

But no amount of retinol or SPF is going to smooth the fine lines that have appeared on my face in recent years.

Botox is, to many, the obvious solution to this symptom of human existence that we're conditioned to fear. That and other non-surgical "tweakments," such as fillers, are on the rise. From 2019 to 2022, the number of people getting Botox injections in the US jumped by 73% (to an all-time high), and those going under the needle are getting younger.

While social media has made people more anxious about their looks and reduced stigma around treatments, a more natural aesthetic is now on trend. This has seen celebrities such as Courteney Cox and Khloe Kardashian dissolve their fillers.

In that vein, I feared I would suffer from the dreaded "frozen face" Botox can cause and be unable to express my emotions on one of the most emotional days of my life.

(My fiancé, for his part, says I "don't need Botox" — but what does he know?)

So, when I heard about a treatment called "microtox" that promised to smooth fine lines without limiting facial expressions, I was desperate to know more.

Also known as "glass skin treatment," I learned microtox hails from South Korea — known for its advanced skincare — and involves diluting Botulinum toxin (aka Botox) with saline or other skin-boosters. Crucially, it's injected into the facial fibers that connect the muscles to the skin instead of the muscles themselves, smoothing the face without freezing it.

At 31, I'd never had any injectable cosmetic procedures before, and microtox seemed like a soft landing into the world of anti-aging treatments.

I tried it, and while my skin glowed, the smoothing effect was too subtle to be worth the £495 ($657) price tag.

'An airbrushed look and lustre'

After checking with dermatologists that microtox is safe, I quickly realized this relatively new treatment isn't offered by many clinics in the UK, where I live.

I booked a consultation with the Taktouk Clinic in London's ultra-affluent Knightsbridge neighborhood, which three years ago became one of the first places in the UK to offer microtox.

The treatment was originally £695 ($922), but the clinic told me the price was lowered to £495 ($657) in July to bring it in line with their other skin boosters. Business Insider was given a media rate of £476 ($631).

First, Christine Hall, an aesthetic doctor at the clinic, and I talked on Zoom about my skin and what the treatment involved. She told me not to drink any alcohol 24 hours before or after microtox, and also to avoid painkillers, the sauna, steam room, and gym.

Hall said microtox is incredibly popular in South Korea, where her mother is from, and is seen as a "red carpet treatment" to have before a big event.

"They're about 10 years ahead of us in terms of aesthetics, so I try and keep up with them because it informs me about what's going to come over to this side of the world," Hall said.

"You're going to look refreshed, your skin's going to be glowing, but nobody's going to particularly be able to tell you why," she added.

The treatment wouldn't do much to deep wrinkles, but could give me an "airbrushed look and lustre," Hall said. "Sign me up," I thought.

My face was numbed before the treatment

The clinic, which is chic and minimalist but with period features that give it an old-money feel, is discreetly positioned on a busy street of designer shops.

After checking in, I was sent to the elegant restroom, complete with expensive perfumes, to cleanse my face.

Hall greeted me in the waiting room, and I was reassured that her glowing, smooth complexion was neither frozen nor line-free.

She assessed my skin and said it was in good condition, meaning microtox wouldn't have a hugely noticeable effect — it's popular with people who have very oily skin or want to minimize redness.

Clinic manager Hilda Akpenyi then applied a powerful numbing cream to my face, topped with a plastic mask to stop it from evaporating. The cream took half an hour to take full effect, and my face quickly started to tingle and feel hot.

Hall explained that, unlike other clinics, Taktouk dilutes Botox with Klardie Cellup Ruby Solution, which she said is a hyaluronic acid skin booster designed to reduce pigmentation, hydrate, and boost radiance. This, however, makes Taktouk's treatment around £100 ($132) more expensive than its competitors, she said.

Microtox is a bearable, 20-minute procedure

Hall took me to a spacious and bright treatment room, where she wiped off the numbing cream and cleansed my face again before I made myself comfortable in a reclining chair.

Over 20 minutes, Hall made around 100 injections about one millimeter deep across the entirety of my face, unlike Botox which targets specific areas. She regularly changed the needle to keep it sharp and avoided going too close to the muscles of the mouth and eyes to prevent drooping, which can happen if it goes in too deep.

The process was slightly painful but bearable, and it felt just as you'd imagine lots of tiny needle pricks would. Having a numb face was arguably more uncomfortable.

We were able to chat throughout, and I felt reassured hearing Hall's approach is all about small, subtle, natural-looking tweaks. "The ethos of the clinic is that we're extremely conservative and we're very happy to say no," she said.

Hall finished by applying a soothing moisturizer to my skin. What I didn't realize until she held up a mirror was that my face was covered in bumps from each needle prick. It reminded me of the acne I used to have, which I thought was ironic. Hall said the bumps would ease after a couple of hours.

As I traveled across London to meet a friend, I was conscious of the looks I was getting. It took more than a few hours for the bumps to reduce, but 15 hours later the next morning, they were 95% gone.

Microtox made my skin glow

Hall said that the effects of microtox could appear within a few days, and would peak two weeks after the treatment.

For a fortnight, I dutifully monitored my face, conscious of every pore and line.

After a few days, I thought my skin appeared slightly smoother, with more sheen. As the days passed, my complexion looked somewhat tighter and glowier without being shiny, despite the lines on my face looking the same.

However, I was disappointed that my freckles faded.

After two weeks, my skin looked smoother and younger overall, and my crow's feet diminished. I was starting to understand why microtox is called "glass skin" treatment.

But the effect was slight — people who knew I'd had the treatment told me they could "maybe" see a difference, otherwise no one commented.

The effect is meant to last two to three months, but for me, it was negligible. My skin gradually went back to normal over the weeks, so it was hard to tell when the results wore off. It was like I'd had a really good facial, with longer-lasting results but a significantly higher price tag.

The result didn't justify the cost

The concept of facial tweakments is paradoxical. On the one hand, you want subtle changes so people can't tell you've had anything done. But on the other, you want enough of an effect to justify the cost.

For me, microtox wasn't worth the cost, but I wasn't the prime candidate, and people who have oily skin and large pores might have better results.

If money were no object, I might have had microtox again, considering it an expensive (and less relaxing) facial that would turn back the clock on my face a year or two for a few weeks.

However, for now, the anti-aging holy grail of having smoothed wrinkles while maintaining facial expressions remains to be found.