£15 ‘Botox in a Bottle’ – Does this TikTok beauty hack actually work?

The viral TikTok skin care hack involves combining two of The Ordinary’s products to produce a ‘botox in a bottle effect’ – but is it legit? Let’s investigate…

With over 12.6 million views and 80k likes on Tiktok so far, the latest viral beauty tip is being called ‘Botox in a bottle’ – (coined by beauty blogger Sarah Palmyra) and costs just £15, a huge leap from the average £200 for three areas of botox.

This ‘botox in a bottle’ hack involves mixing two of the ‘hero’ serums from the renowed budget beauty brand, The Ordinary every day to ultimately create the same effect that you’d expect from the popular the anti-wrinkle injections.

‘Botox in a bottle’

The two products are The Ordinary 10% Argireline Solution and the Matrixyl 10% + HA High Strength Peptide Formulation – but at less than a tenner each, the whole thing sounded a little bit far fetched to me.

But, with Palmyra telling her following that a blend of these two serums was the reason her face looked noticeably smoother in her more recent videos, and further detailing how: “Acetyl hexapeptide-3 (the ingredient in the argireline serum) is a type of peptide that targets the neuromuscular connections to relax the muscles in your face.” – it seemed stupid not to give this botox in a bottle hack a go. Particularly having spent a small fortune on the injections over the years myself.

So, does it work?

I genuinely didn’t expect to be saying this, but YES IT DOES.

Full transparency, I had botox injections around 5 months ago so I’m not working from a completely fresh canvas – but I can say that after just three days of using the two products every morning and evening, I noticed a huge difference.

My skin felt tighter, my makeup was going on smoother, and I noticed a real difference in the amount of blackheads and spots on my forehead, (a problem area for me.)

And the results just kept coming – after two weeks I noticed that my forehead has more of a smooth ‘botox-like shine’ to it – something that anyone who gets regular botox will be familiar with. Even the bags around my eyes seemed less obvious.

After three weeks of using it, I can categorically say that I’m a convert. These ‘botox in a bottle’ products have helped my skin feels the best it has in years, and my confidence has rocketed – and it’s safe to say these two proucts are going to be firm features in my daily skincare routine.

But would I give up botox?

Truthfully, probably not. Having been a regular on the botox scene for the last 7 years, I know that there are lines on my face that I honestly haven’t seen for years – and frankly, I don’t care to ever see them again. So I’m not sure I’d give up on the needle for good.

But, will I be able to go longer between botox injections? Definitely. Usually I head to my aethestic practioner every 3 months, and start to feel a bit on the haggard side of things if I leave it any longer – but here we are on month five, and I don’t feel the need to rush to the salon.

For me, it’s not just the fine lines that the combination of these products are helping with, but rather how they’re making my skin feel overall. It’s softer, smoother and plumper – something I never thought I’d be saying, especially after I was complaining just 4 weeks ago about dryness and acne.

Shop the ‘botox in a bottle’ products from The Ordinary

About ‘The Ordinary’

Now, we all know that searching for skincare products can be as stressful as finding the perfect pair of jeans, so if you haven’t heard of The Ordinary before, you need to jump on the hype! As well as the famous ‘botox in a bottle’ products we’ve already mentioned, The Ordinary offer a delightful range of potions that’ll have your skin feeling like a million quid, but they won’t break the bank either!

Picture this: potent ingredients, straightforward formulations, and a price tag that won’t have you canceling your brunch plans. The Ordinary isn’t here to play games with your wallet, but it sure knows how to play with your skin – in the best way possible, of course!

Oh, and did we mention sustainability? The Ordinary has taken a stand for our lovely planet too. They’ve got eco-friendly packaging that’s as Instagram-worthy as your Sunday brunch. So you can slather on that serum and save the world – one drop at a time!