In the weeks leading up to my wedding, I was more stressed than I care to admit about my appearance. And a major source of that stress? My big traps, which I have always been self-conscious about.
As it turns out, my traps are not giant because of my strength training routine (which is what I liked to tell myself). Nope. My good friends stress and anxiety are at least partly to blame, as are things like the amount of time I spend sitting at my desk. All these things can overload the traps, and bad posture (guilty) can force them to overcompensate.
The answer to my problem came when I least expected it. During a late-night TikTok scroll, a video about TrapTox appeared on my FYP. Also known as Barbie Botox, this treatment involves injecting a neurotoxin into the trapezius (trap) muscles to get a longer, slimmer neck.
Um, hi, sign me up.
And then, when an email from Jeuveau—a neurotoxin that works very similar to Botox—popped up in my inbox shortly after, inviting me to try the treatment for myself, it felt like fate.
Before we get into it, I should note that it’s not super smart to try something new a little over a month before your wedding, especially if it involves injecting things into your body. While I’m no stranger to Botox, it was my first experience with this particular neurotoxin, Jeuveau, and also my first time trying this procedure. Fortunately for me, it worked out.
Ok? Ok. Moving on.
As mentioned, trap Botox can help create a longer-looking neck. “When the muscle is injected, over time, it doesn’t work as much or as hard, and so there is muscular atrophy that accounts for the slimming,” explains Morgan Rabach, MD, Board Certified Dermatologist at LM Medical NYC.
And it doesn’t just have aesthetic benefits. It also has physical benefits like reducing shoulder and neck pain, improving posture, and relaxing tension.
My appointment at Rise Rejuvenation Center</a was on a Friday (I like to book cosmetic stuff at the end of the week just in case I have a reaction.) The treatment itself was pretty quick and relatively painless. Also, their playlist was full of Taylor Swift. 10/10 no notes.
The most painful part, actually, was waiting for the results. I (incorrectly) assumed I’d get results from trap Botox in a similar timeframe as that of facial Botox—so around a week. Nope. It’s such a large muscle area that it takes at least a couple of weeks to a month or two to get the full effect.
I also got Jeuveau in my face, and compared to Botox, it kicked in faster for me—like, around 8:00 p.m. the night of the treatment, it felt difficult to move my forehead, and I feel like I saw the full effects after a couple days.
I started to really notice a difference in how my traps and neck looked around Week Three. It’s one of those things that makes a subtle, but impactful, difference. Meaning, I now have the graceful sloping neck of a gazelle, but unless I told you what I did (or you read this article), you wouldn’t be able to pinpoint exactly what changed.
Admittedly, my main reason for doing trap Botox was aesthetic, but I actually ended up getting so much more out of it. The biggest thing being that my posture has dramatically improved.
For instance, right now, I’m sitting up straight at my desk with my shoulders relaxed. And I’m doing that, like, naturally. No posture harness or anything. This may not seem big, but it’s actually huge because my default posture is usually “hunched over my computer like a goblin.”
And better posture comes with all kinds of benefits I am starting to notice, like being able to fall asleep easier because my neck isn’t so sore at the end of the day. Who knew!
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