Secret Botox: A betrayal of trust or just a little white lie?

Published

2 years ago

December 16, 2023

admin

For eight years, Sophia* has been living a double life. She is not cheating on her husband and isn’t doing anything illegal, but her clandestine activities are something she plans with military precision to avoid getting caught.

Sophia, who is in her early 30s and lives in north London, is hiding her secret in plain sight. She is one of the hundreds of thousands of Brits who get non-surgical cosmetic treatments every year and lip filler is her beautifier of choice. But her husband doesn’t know.

Welcome to the world of cosmetic infidelity.

It started with a small amount of filler in her top lip. Then she had to go back to discreetly top it up. Before she knew it, she was hooked. She has a separate bank account, which helps cover her tracks, and she plans appointments around her husband’s football practice. She makes sure they’re first thing in the morning, in the hope the swelling will reduce by the evening. But it’s not always easy to keep it secret.

“It doesn’t matter what time of day you get lip filler, by the evening you look like a baboon’s backside,” she says.

Sophia just needs 24 hours or so for the swelling in her lips to subside, leaving her with a plump but natural-looking pout. But in that tricky transition period? “I get into bed and pretend I have period pains while covering my mouth under the duvet in the dark, with just the TV on.”

Honesty is not an option, she says, as her husband has made it clear he is against cosmetic treatments. “Or so he thinks,” she adds, recalling him telling her how pretty she looked after one procedure. “I think men assume you’ll look over-filled and I can’t be bothered to argue. I’d rather hide it, it’s a lot easier.”

Whether it’s Botox, fillers or other injectables, there are lots of Brits giving their natural beauty a helping hand with “tweakments” – but the majority, according to practitioners, are keeping it secret from their partner or other significant people in their lives. While most people in relationships tell the odd white lie here and there, is hiding the truth about cosmetic work a betrayal of trust – or is it a case of your body, your business?

Justifying the money was one of the reasons given by the secret tweakers we spoke to. Injectables don’t come cheap in a cost of living crisis, with the NHS saying prices vary from about £100 to £350, depending on the clinic and the area being treated.

There’s also societal pressure, especially on women, to look effortlessly wrinkle-free – but do this naturally, please. And so the occasional post-treatment bump or bruise might be blamed on children, pets or cupboard doors – one woman even convinced her husband he had injured her in his sleep.

Once a preserve of the rich and famous, an estimated 900,000 Botox injections are now carried out in the UK each year, according to the government. Skin boosters, which hydrate and add moisture, are also growing in popularity, and a recent report in a British plastic surgery journal predicted the UK injectables market will reach a value of £11.7bn by 2026.

The world is becoming more open about it, with influencers often filming their treatments to show how it all works. Love Island star Zara McDermott and former Made In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh are among the British influencers who have been open about their injectables.

And yet, for many of those investing in these treatments there is still a stigma attached to it.

Pamela*, a 34-year-old mum from southwest London, has Botox in her forehead and between her eyebrows. For years, she kept it secret from her husband, including when they lived abroad in a country where treatments weren’t always up to scratch.

“Sometimes my husband would look at me like he knew something was different but he couldn’t identify what,” she says. “And these were not good Botox jobs either.” On one occasion, she says she was left looking like Dr Spock. “My eyebrows shot up… it was so bad, an absolute shocker.”

Still, even with vampiric brows, she managed to hide it. Her husband had previously told her she would be wasting money and that she “didn’t need it”. So she always paid cash. “I couldn’t leave a trail,” she explains.

Once after a less successful trip to her injector she was left with bruising so bad that no amount of make-up could cover it up. “I convinced my husband he’d elbowed me in the middle of the night and given me a black eye,” she says. “He felt so bad about it.”

Dr Rina Bajaj, a London-based relationship and counselling psychologist, says honest communication is crucial in any relationship – but individuals also have the right to make choices about their bodies.

“In relationships that value individual freedom and independence, these choices may be seen as personal and not necessarily shared information,” she says. But, in a different kind of relationship, one partner discovering the other has been keeping cosmetic procedures a secret can break trust.”

Understanding the motivations behind the secrecy is important, she adds, as if fear of judgement or negative reactions from a partner is a driving factor, it could be indicative of underlying issues.

But fellow behavioural psychologist and relationship coach Jo Hemmings says keeping small cosmetic procedures secret from a partner is an omission rather than a lie. “It’s not a betrayal of trust because you’re doing it for yourself,” she says. “You’re not deceiving somebody else in the way you would be if you were cheating.”

Even the A-listers are doing it. Oscar-winner Olivia Colman has previously said she tried Botox and “LOVED IT” in an interview with The Times in 2015, but admitted to initially keeping it from her husband. “For about six months he kept saying, ‘Hello, Pretty!’,” she told the newspaper. When she eventually told him, “he found it hilarious”.

Botox and other skin boosters remain a complicated issue for many. For every influencer, beauty journalist or celebrity speaking openly about their cosmetic work, there are more insisting their never-ageing faces are down to the magic formula of drinking lots of water and mindfulness.

Paula*, a 43-year-old mum from Hertfordshire, started getting Botox for her “Gordon Ramsay” frown lines after discovering some friends had been doing it “for years”. After her first treatment, she was nervous her husband would notice, but he didn’t. “I panic every time but he’s not the most observant.”

At the other end of the spectrum, Anna, 40, is open about her Botox and fillers with her husband but doesn’t volunteer the information to friends. “I try not to do the school run for the next couple of days,” she says. “Maybe because I’m a mum, there’s a kind of pressure to dress a certain way and not enhance yourself.”

While practitioners say it is more common for women to keep their treatments hidden, there are a fair few male patients telling white lies about their beauty habits.

Simon*, a 60-year-old man who lives in the home counties, has been with his partner for 24 years. In that time, he has had a cocktail of treatments, including Botox, fillers and BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift), as well as tightening and fat-reducing procedures.

It’s a lot to keep quiet about, but he wants his partner to think his youthful looks are all down to his healthy lifestyle. Is he ever worried about him finding out? “Not at all, blind as a bat.”

But it’s not just his partner he keeps it secret from. “Everyone,” he says. “It all looks so natural and I don’t have giveaway scars round my ears or missing bits of my face. They just think it’s the Peloton and smoothies.”

Euan Mackinnon, a maxillofacial surgeon and aesthetic doctor who treats cosmetic patients at The Lovely Clinic, has been carrying out tweakments for more than 10 years and says about 70% of clients are keeping it secret from someone.

“There’s a lot of people who are worried about being found out by a partner,” he says. It is usually women not wanting their husband or boyfriend discovering their secret, because men will give examples of celebrity horror stories, not realising there are hundreds for whom it has gone well. Men fear their partners looking caricature-like, “with overly inflated lips or frozen foreheads”, he adds. “In reality, that’s not what we do at all.”

Patients will often tell him excuses they have given for any temporary bruising that might occur immediately after injections. “You do what you’ve got to do to get through those first few days. But most treatments don’t lead to significant bruising.”

On a more serious note, patients are worried about being judged, he says. “Partners might make them feel like they’re being silly or being vain… But you shouldn’t feel shameful if you look in the mirror and you just don’t like something… if there’s a very safe solution to that problem then why not make yourself feel good?”

There are also contradictory societal pressures, he says: age gracefully, but don’t age. “It seems to be a success to look incredibly good and have had nothing done because you’re winning at life, and if you have some help along the way it’s seen by some as cheating or a weakness – which it’s obviously not.”

And there is a difference across generations. Younger millennials have grown up watching influencers filming from their beauty beds as the needles go in, and are more likely to view cosmetic treatments as self-care. Older millennials, Gen X-ers and Boomers are more likely to keep it private.

“But it’s not just a vanity project,” Mr Mackinnon adds. “I’m constantly seeing patients who tell me their confidence has improved – ‘I got this promotion’, ‘I took the plunge with something’ – it can change everything for them.”

Lee Garrett, advanced aesthetic nurse practitioner and prescriber and clinical lead at The Cosmetic Skin Clinic, carries out about 3,000 treatments a year and has more than 20 years’ experience in the field.

He agrees it is common for patients to keep treatments secret from partners, and work colleagues as well – some have even told him that working in a very young environment makes them worry about their looks and being “pushed out by a younger version”.

Secret or no secret, both Mr Mackinnon and Mr Garrett agree the most important thing is to do your research and go to a healthcare professional. “Avoid at all costs people who say they can do it cheap,” says Mr Garrett. “They can, but they are not qualified, not insured and so when it goes badly wrong, you’re on your own.”

And if that happens, the secret definitely will be out.

Meanwhile, Sophia is hoping to get beauty vouchers for Christmas to cover her next lot of secret lip filler. Last time, her husband thought he was gifting her a facial. “He asked me how it went and I responded, ‘really relaxing, thank you!'”

Cosmetic infidelity, it seems, is a hard habit to shake.

*Names have been changed

UK

Budget 2025: Raft of tax hikes expected today – as more policies confirmed

Published

5 hours ago

November 26, 2025

admin

Budget 2025: Raft of tax hikes expected today - as more policies confirmed

A raft of tax rises is expected in the budget this lunchtime – with the chancellor acknowledging that voters are “angry at the unfairness in our economy”.

In a newly released video, Rachel Reeves said the public is “frustrated at the pace of change” – but vowed to “take the fair and necessary choices” to tackle the cost of living crisis.

And in a dig at the Conservatives – especially former prime minister Liz Truss – she pledged not to impose austerity, lose control of public spending, or engage in more reckless borrowing.

Budget 2025: Follow the latest in the Money blog and Politics Hub

Tax rises: What we know so far

Taxation will be a dominant part of the budget as Ms Reeves tries to plug an estimated £30bn black hole in the public finances.

A headline measure is expected to be an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds for another two years beyond 2028, which should raise about £8bn.

But given the chancellor had ruled out such a measure last year – because it would “hurt working people” and “take more money out of their payslips” – this will attract criticism from opposition parties.

The chancellor has backed away from raising income tax rates outright, a move that would have breached Labour’s manifesto, but she still needs to find the cash to pay for her public spending plans.

Some measures already confirmed by the government include:

• Allowing local authorities to impose a levy on tourists staying in their areas

• Expanding the sugar tax levy to packaged milkshakes and lattes

• Imposing extra taxes on higher-value properties

It is being reported that the chancellor will also put a cap on the tax-free allowance for salary sacrifice schemes, raise taxes on gambling firms, and bring in a pay-per-mile scheme for electric vehicles.

Setting the scene ahead of the budget at 12.30pm, Ms Reeves said she will “push ahead with the biggest drive for growth in a generation”, promising investment in infrastructure, housing, security, defence, education, and skills.

Although she has vowed not to “duck challenges” nor “accept that our past must define our future”, she admitted that “the damage done from austerity, a chaotic Brexit, and the pandemic were worse than we thought”.

What are the key timings for the budget?

11am – Sky News special programme starts.

About 11.15am – Chancellor Rachel Reeves leaves Downing Street and holds up her red box.

12pm – Sir Keir Starmer faces PMQs.

12.30pm – The chancellor delivers the budget.

About 1.30pm – Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch delivers the budget response.

2.30pm – The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) holds a news conference on the UK economy.

4.30pm – Sky News holds a Q&A on what the budget means for you.

7pm – The Politics Hub special programme on the budget.

The fiscal black hole is down to several factors – including a downgrade in the productivity growth forecast, U-turns on cuts to benefits and the winter fuel allowance, as well as “heightened global uncertainty”.

Nonetheless, the chancellor has promised more investment to cut NHS waiting lists, deal with “waste in the public sector”, and reduce the national debt.

“This budget is for you, the British people. So that together we can build a fairer, stronger, and more secure Britain,” she said.

Conservative shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride has said Ms Reeves is “trying to pull the wool over your eyes” – having promised last year that she would not need to raise taxes again.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has accused her and the prime minister of “yet more betrayals”.

What could her key spending announcements be?

As well as filling the black hole in the public finances, these measures could allow the chancellor to spend money on a key demand of Labour MPs – partially or fully lifting the two-child benefits cap, which they say will have an immediate impact on reducing child poverty.

Benefits more broadly will be uprated in line with inflation, at a cost of £6bn, The Times reports.

In an attempt to help households with the cost of the living, the paper also reports that the chancellor will seek to cut energy bills by removing some green levies, which could see funding for some energy efficiency measures reduced.

Other measures The Times says she will announce include retaining the 5p cut in fuel duty, and extending the Electric Car Grant by an extra year, which gives consumers a £3,750 discount at purchase.

The government has already confirmed several key announcements, including:

• An above-inflation £550 a year increase in the state pension for 13 million eligible pensioners

• A freeze in prescription prices and rail fares

• £5m to refresh libraries in secondary schools

Extra funding for the NHS will also be announced in a bid to slash waiting lists, including the expansion of the “Neighbourhood Health Service” across the country to bring together GP, nursing, dentistry and pharmacy services – as well as £300m of investment into upgrading technology in the health service.

And although the cost of this is borne by businesses, the chancellor will confirm a 4.1% rise to the national living wage – taking it to £12.71 an hour for eligible workers aged 21 and over.

For a full-time worker over the age of 21, that means a pay increase of £900 a year.

Britons facing ‘cost of living permacrisis’

However, the Tories have hit out at the chancellor for the impending tax rises, with shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride saying in a statement: “Having already raised taxes by £40bn, Reeves said she had wiped the slate clean, she wouldn’t be coming back for more, and it was now on her. A year later and she is set to break that promise.”

He described her choices as “political weakness” – choosing “higher welfare and higher taxes”, and “hardworking families are being handed the bill”.

The Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper is also not impressed, and warned last night: “The economy is at a standstill. Despite years of promises from the Conservatives and now Labour to kickstart growth and clamp down on crushing household bills, the British people are facing a cost-of-living permacrisis and yet more betrayals from those in charge.”

She called on the government to negotiate a new customs union with the EU, which she argues would “grow our economy and bring in tens of billions for the Exchequer”.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has demanded “bold policies and bold choices that make a real difference to ordinary people”.

The SNP is calling on the chancellor to “help families” rather than “hammer them with billions of pounds of cuts and damaging tax hikes that destroy jobs and hurt economic growth”.

UK

Budget 2025: What is a freeze on income tax thresholds – and will you pay more?

Published

5 hours ago

November 26, 2025

admin

Budget 2025: What is a freeze on income tax thresholds - and will you pay more?

A headline tax-raising measure expected in today’s budget is an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds for another two years beyond 2028, which should raise about £8bn.

The amount people pay is dependent on how much they earn, with different tax bands kicking in at different income levels.

In the past, these thresholds have been increased in line with inflation. But more recently they have been frozen, leaving people paying more to the exchequer even if actual tax rates stay the same.

The Conservative government began the thresholds freeze in 2021. At last year’s budget, Rachel Reeves said the Labour government would extend the freeze though not beyond 2028, as to do so would “hurt working people”.

Sky News looks at what the thresholds are, the implications of freezing them, and how that causes “fiscal drag”.

Income tax thresholds

England, Northern Ireland and Wales all have the same income tax rates, set by the British government.

Scotland’s income tax bands are set by the Scottish government, so Westminster budget announcements on income tax do not affect workers in Scotland.

For England, Northern Ireland and Wales, there is a “personal allowance” of £12,570, under which no income tax is paid.

For those earning above £100,000, the personal allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 of income, and can go down to zero, so a person can end up paying income tax on all of their income.

What does freezing thresholds do?

Thresholds were previously increased annually by consumer price index (CPI) inflation – the estimate of the level of prices of goods and services bought by households.

But, because income tax thresholds have been frozen while wages continue to rise, more people are being brought into higher bands and having to pay more income tax.

A worker whose earnings just keep up with inflation is paying a larger proportion of their salary in tax due to the freeze.

This means more money for the government – a lot more.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates a continuing freeze in thresholds would raise about £42.9bn annually by the 2027/28 tax year.

And the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has projected that freezes to the basic and higher rates of income tax alone would raise £39bn a year by 2029-30.

That is roughly similar to the amount of revenue that would be raised by increasing all income tax rates by 3.5 percentage points.

Fiscal drag

Freezing income tax thresholds without tax rates increasing has been branded a “stealth tax”, as the government collects more revenue without having to pass a law to raise tax rates.

It is also known as fiscal drag, as more people are pulled into paying tax, or into paying tax at a higher rate.

The OBR estimates the freeze will bring nearly four million more people into paying income tax, three million more people into the higher rate (40%) and 400,000 more into the additional rate (45%) by 2028-29.

UK

Army pauses use of Ajax armoured fighting vehicles after dozens of soldiers fall ill

Published

5 hours ago

November 26, 2025

admin

Army pauses use of Ajax armoured fighting vehicles after dozens of soldiers fall ill

The British Army has paused the use of its new Ajax armoured fighting vehicles after “around 30” soldiers suffered vibration and hearing problems following a training exercise at the weekend.

A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson said on Tuesday the two-week pause comes after “a small number of soldiers reported symptoms of noise and vibration” in the exercise, which was “immediately stopped”.

The spokesperson said “around 30 personnel presented noise and vibration symptoms” after tests were carried out, but the “vast majority of these have now been medically cleared and are continuing on duty”.

A small number “continue to receive expert medical care”, they said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the minister for defence readiness and industry [Luke Pollard] has asked the army to pause all use of Ajax for training and exercising for two weeks, while a safety investigation is carried out into the events this weekend.

“A small amount of testing of the vehicle will continue, in order to ensure that any issues can to identified and resolved.”

The MoD said the decision “underlines our absolute commitment to the safety of our personnel. As with any major equipment programme, we continue to test and refine the vehicle to ensure safety and performance”.

“The safety of our personnel is our top priority,” the spokesperson said.

The Ajax, which costs nearly £10m and weighs more than 40 tonnes, is being billed by the ministry as a “next generation” fighting machine.

As heavy as a Russian tank, the vehicle is equipped with cameras, protective armour and a 40mm gun, with bullets that can rip through concrete.

Soldiers were taken to hospital this summer after suffering hearing and other injuries because of loud noise and vibrations coming from the vehicles.

Earlier this month, the MoD confirmed that a “small number” of troops had reported noise and vibration concerns following trials on three variants of the tracked vehicle.

A spokesperson said an investigation was carried out and “no systemic issues were found”.

An internal review published in 2021 found that senior soldiers and MoD officials had known for up to two years that earlier faults with the Ajax vehicle had been putting troops at risk of harm.

The health and safety report revealed that issues such as potential hearing damage had first been raised in December 2018, but trials were not suspended until November 2020.

At that time, more than 300 soldiers were offered hearing tests, with 17 still under specialist care as of December 2021.

A total of 589 of the various Ajax models have been ordered by the army, which it expects to receive by 2030.

The Ajax could be deployed to Ukraine to support any possible peace deal, the MoD has indicated.