Woman Wants To Make Crucial Point About Botox—so She Injects Half Her Face
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Botox myths often center around fears of a frozen face, permanence, and safety. But one aesthetic nurse practitioner has tried to set the record straight by conducting her own experiment and sharing it online.
Brittany Krautheim, 41, decided to inject only half of her face with shots of the neurotoxin to show exactly how it works by temporarily preventing muscle movement. In a series of TikTok clips, she discusses the effect on each part of her face in detail.
Newsweek spoke to Krautheim via email about one of those videos—specifically her forehead-focused clip, shared to her account @skndeepbritt, which has amassed 2.5 million views.
"I wanted to do this series of videos to really educate the general public about what Botox does, what it is capable of, realistic results, and expectations of treatment," she told Newsweek.
The left side is smooth and the right has lines when she raises her eyebrows.
The left side is smooth and the right has lines when she raises her eyebrows.
TikTok/@skndeepbritt
There was a 4 percent rise in neuromodulator injections in 2024, with 9,883,711 procedures performed, up from 9,480,949 in 2023, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. But that doesn't mean people don't still have questions or worries.
Based in Maryland, Krautheim has been a nurse for 21 years. She explained that people often reach out to her with questions about Botox, so she wanted to offer a clear, visual explanation.
"That way, if people are interested in a treatment like this, they can be well educated and pursue it further if they desire," she told Newsweek.
In the video, Krautheim explains that as people age, their facial muscles work harder to keep the skin lifted. This is a key reason wrinkles develop over time. She notes that people under 60 aren't excessively lifting their brows but are still expressing emotions—something she demonstrates by making surprised and happy faces.
She explains that these expressions involve moving the eyebrows, which causes lines to form as we age and produce less collagen. Collagen is a protein in the skin that provides structure and elasticity; its decline with age leads to less firm, more wrinkle-prone skin.
To illustrate the impact of Botox, Krautheim injected the left side of her forehead. She then raises her right brow, which moves much higher and creates visible lines, while the treated side remains smooth.
Since posting the clips, Krautheim told Newsweek that she has now balanced things out.
"I have injected the other half of my face with Botox," she said. "It did start to feel a bit strange to just have one side of my face hyper animated but it was a great conversation starter."
Indeed, the clip has certainly become a talking point online, receiving more than 88,000 likes and 1,035 comments.
"Your non injected side is what I would prefer, but support people doing what they want," said one user and another disagreed: "The injected side looks good! She still has expression there's just no visible lines there! Her brow still moves! I'm all for Botox! Thanks for educating the humans!"
However not everyone feels the same, with some users favoring the non-Botox side.
"I think the consensus is the non Botox side looks more natural and better. Sorry to say," said a third commenter.
Newsweek reached out to Botox for a comment.
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