63. Botox

The Economics of Everyday Things

Why do millions of people pay to have one of the world’s deadliest toxins injected into their faces? Zachary Crockett looks surprised.

• SOURCES:
  • Dana Berkowitz, sociologist and author.
  • Jean Carruthers, pioneer of cosmetic Botox, clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of British Columbia, and owner of Carruthers Cosmetic.
  • Steven Williams, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and owner of Tri Valley Plastic Surgery.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Botox Is More Affordable Than Ever. Is That A Good Thing?" by Krista Bennett DeMaio (Women's Health, 2024).
  • "Early Development History of Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA)," by Alan B. Scott, Dennis Honeychurch, and Mitchell F. Brin (Medicine, 2023).
  • "How Barely-There Botox Became the Norm," by Jessica Schiffer (The New York Times, 2021).
  • Botox Nation: Changing the Face of America, by Dana Berkowitz (2017).
  • "Billions and Billions for Botox," by Vauhini Vara (The New Yorker, 2014).
  • "Botox is Destroying Hollywood Acting," by Johann Hari (HuffPost, 2011).
  • "The Botox Boom," by David Noonan (Newsweek, 2002).