22-Year-Old TikToker Sparks Viral Debate on Injectables When Viewers Call Her 45: 'I Look Older. But 45?'
"I think it's a personal preference," Shawna Eveler said of getting anti-wrinkle and filler injections in a TikTok video addressing her appearance
Shawna Eveler's TikTok page has become a battleground for debate about injectables after users flooded her comments claiming that her use of anti-wrinkle injections and fillers makes her appear older than her actual age of 22.
Last week, Eveler, who has over 47,000 followers on the platform, posted a video addressing the age-related comments. The video quickly went viral, garnering 2.2 million views.
"Respectfully, you look like you're pushing 45, stop getting filler or Botox, whatever you have, it looks so bad," Eveler says, reading a comment from one of her past videos. "45? I get maybe late 20s, 30s. I'm 22, yeah, shocker," Eveler said on camera while sitting in her car.
In the video, the TikToker also addressed the feedback she's received since starting her Botox and filler journey. She explained that when she first began posting about her cosmetic procedures, she was inundated with hate comments. She acknowledged understanding that while her choices may not be for everyone, she is comfortable with them.
"I think it's a personal preference, if I want to get filler. I feel like no one should stop you from getting filler because it's your own face," she said. "But people always told me that I look older and I get it, I look older, I might act older, but 45?"
She continued, "And before I used to cry over these comments and used to delete them and block the account, but now I'm just like, I just laugh at it because I know it's not true. But I do respect your opinion."
Related: Olivia Colman, 50, Reveals She's Had 'Loads' of Botox Done
Since posting the viral clip, Eveler has received even more replies from people commenting on how she looks. While some agreed with her that there's nothing wrong with getting filler, others disagreed.
"There's no way you're in your 20s. Yikes," one person wrote on her TikTok. Another comment read, "I guessed mid-20s. Definitely not 45."
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Eveler, like many on social media, has been sharing her Botox journey on social media for a while now.
In May 2023, she posted a TikTok where she took her followers along with her for the cosmetic procedure. The video featured a close-up of her face before receiving the injections, followed by the immediate results. "Now we wait two weeks for the results," she captioned the video.
Related: Martha Stewart Gets Honest About Using Botox and Fillers: 'I Don't Want to Look My Age at All'
While undergoing these cosmetic procedures is a personal choice, Dhaval G. Bhanusali, a celebrity board-certified dermatologist at Hudson Dermatology & Laser Surgery, tells PEOPLE that "cosmetics, while a beautiful art, is also a slippery slope."
He explains that Botox and filler can offer temporary volume to various areas such as lips, cheeks, temples, under the eyes, or other parts of the face. They can also be diluted off-label to stimulate collagen in different body parts. When interested in these types of procedures, it's essential that you "find someone who has your best interests at heart," Bhanusali says.
The dermatologist notes that his practice typically performs similar types of cosmetic procedures only on individuals over 18 years old, emphasizing, "Even then, we tend to lean towards late 20s before initiating conversations around procedures. For more extensive work, we always prefer a later age when the patient has ample time to consider whether they truly want it, as opposed to just following a trend."
"There is belief that starting before static lines occur is a way of prevent (or put off) wrinkles," he adds. "There is some science and logic to the theory. We usually start once we see the beginnings of those static lines and minimize the contraction of the muscle to prevent further collagen breakdown."
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