Is Botox the secret to smooth HAIR? Meet the women getting sweat-reducing scalp injections to beat the summer frizz

• Marketing executive Michelle MacCormack used to tire of her unruly hair
• In April, she spent £400 at a clinic to have Botox injected into her scalp
• The results, she says, have transformed her hair - and her confidence 
• 'I need to wash my hair only twice a week now. And it’s cut the amount of blow-drying I do by half,' Michelle, 44, says

By Hannah Ebelthite For The Daily Mail

Published: 16:28 EST, 12 July 2015 | Updated: 01:30 EST, 13 July 2015

Marketing executive Michelle MacCormack used to despair of her thick, unruly, blonde hair.

Her daily struggle to look groomed involved many hours blow-drying her wavy mane poker-straight. And if she was planning to go for a drink after work, she’d have to take a pair of straighteners to the office.

‘It was particularly bad in the summer,’ says the 44-year-old from Sutton Coldfield. 

Before and after: Michelle MacCormack spent £400 at a clinic in Birmingham to have Botox injected into her scalp - The results, she says, have transformed her hair - and her confidence

‘The heat and humidity made my hair look unkempt almost as soon as I left home.

‘And because it’s so thick, I’d start sweating, too, which left my hair damp, and then it would frizz out and puff up at the back.

‘It looked ridiculous and it was in terrible condition.’

But then a friend suggested a surprising solution - and Michelle has never looked back.

In April, she spent £400 at a clinic in Birmingham to have Botox injected into her scalp. The results, she says, have transformed her hair - and her confidence.

Originally developed as a medical drug to treat muscle conditions such as eye, neck or shoulder spasms, neurotoxin botulinum toxin - or Botox, as it’s become known - has long been used cosmetically to freeze the muscles that cause lines and wrinkles.

But cosmetic experts say they are seeing a surge of women, many menopausal, asking for Botox to keep their hair sleek and frizz-free. 

Too much to handle: Before her Botox treatment (seen above), Michelle said her daily struggle to look groomed involved many hours blow-drying her wavy mane poker-straight

When injected into the scalp, the treatment blocks the nerves that supply the sweat glands, which means hair will be less frizzy and won’t need to be washed as frequently. 

‘Demand has steadily increased over the past five years, and I now treat several people each week for scalp and face sweating,’ says Dr Sabika Karim, medical director of Revere Clinics in Harley Street, London, and Northwood, Middlesex.

‘It can stop the perspiration that spoils hair and looks so unappealing.’

Certainly, Michelle is delighted with the results. ‘I was so fed up of my daily hair struggles and its terrible condition that when a friend mentioned trying Botox, I was willing to give anything a go,’ she says.

‘I was having to wash my hair at least four times a week because of all the sweat it absorbed. 

I used to spend two hours blow- drying it in the evening and still have to run the straighteners over it the next day, as it would invariably have gone wavy overnight.’

Michelle made an appointment with Dr David Eccleston at the MediZen Clinic in Birmingham. ‘He suggested I have Botox injections along the hairline around the back of my neck, as well as in the scalp.

‘I went ahead and had the procedure then and there, excited to think my mop of sweaty, unruly hair could soon be a thing of the past.

‘I had about 20 injections all over the back of my head up to ear level. It took about 15 minutes and I didn’t find it uncomfortable. Dr Eccleston reassured me that it was a very short and thin needle and I’d barely feel it.

‘He said it would take a week to ten days to take effect. It was a gradual change. Over the next week or so I noticed that my hair was lasting longer between washes and I didn’t think I felt as hot.

‘A fortnight after the treatment, I was very pleased with the results. I was no longer perspiring under my hair, the back of my neck wasn’t covered in sweat, my hair still looked and felt smooth by the time I left work. I felt more groomed and attractive.’

Transformation: Sue Callan, before she had scalp Botox to reduce sweating and preserve her hairstyle (left) and after she underwent the treatment (right) 

Four months on, Michelle is delighted. ‘I need to wash my hair only twice a week now,’ she says. ‘And it’s cut the amount of blow-drying I do by half. I still run straighteners over the top layer of hair, but only briefly. And the style stays sleek all day.

The condition has improved markedly - it’s less dry and brittle, with more bounce and is much easier to manage.

‘I paid £400, which sounds a lot, but it’s comparable to the price some people pay to have their hair coloured or have weekly blow-dries, Brazilian blow-dries or specialist straightening treatments.

‘It’s saved me so much time, hassle and discomfort it’s been worth it.’

A significant number of the women Dr Karim is treating are suffering from cranial or facial sweating as a result of the menopause.

Charity administrator Sue Callan has been suffering from menopausal flushes up to eight times a day and says they have played havoc with her appearance - and her self-esteem.

‘The first thing you notice is your face getting hot,’ says Sue, 55, from Twickenham, South-West London.

‘It’s unbelievably hot, as if you’ve run a race. Beads of sweat break out across your forehead and at the back of your neck. Then the heat spreads across your body and you feel clammy all over.

‘If you’re wearing anything tight, your clothes stick to your body and you get visible sweat patches. But the worst bit is the effect on my hair. My scalp sweats all over my fine hair, which becomes soaked through in seconds and sticks to my head. Make-up melts off, so I rarely bother wearing any. It’s just horrible.’

Sue’s hot flushes started at the end of 2009, when she was 49, and were quickly and successfully controlled with hormone replacement therapy. But her GP advised her last October that after five years on the medication she should think about stopping due to the increased health risks.

‘I presumed that because I was 55 I would be well past the menopause,’ she says. ‘I didn’t expect the symptoms to return, especially not with such intensity.’

But by mid-November, Sue - who lives with her husband Nick, 50, and their sons Jake, 20, and Sam, 18 - was having sweats four or five times a night.

Temporary relief: ‘Botulinum toxin isn’t a cheap or a permanent solution,’ says Dr Maryam Zamani, who practises at the Cadogan Clinic in London’s Sloane Square

Surgeon explains various benefits of Botox injections (related)

‘Nick’s very supportive. He installed a fan in our bedroom and put up with me getting up endless times a night,’ she says.

‘Nights of broken sleep left me exhausted and the days were just as bad. I started having flushes four or five times at work, and another three or four in the evening.

‘I had to keep a roll of kitchen paper on my desk to blot myself dry and the only way I could cope was to disappear off to the loo every now and again to put my hair and face right. It left me feeling so self-conscious.’

Under the advice of her doctor, Sue tried a medication called clonidine, which is used for migraines, but can help with hot flushes. But this left her so tired she almost fell asleep at work.

Creams and supplements said to help reduce the symptoms also failed to have an impact, so Sue was feeling desperate when she read about Botox as a possible treatment.

‘I’d heard of it being used in the armpits, so it followed that it could help alleviate some of the scalp sweating that was making life such a misery,’ she says.

‘A friend recommended Dr Maryam Zamani, who practises at the Cadogan Clinic in London’s Sloane Square. I knew it wouldn’t be cheap, and in the end I paid £1,200 as I had a large area covered, but I knew the expense would be worth it if I gained some relief.

‘Dr Zamani said that I shouldn’t expect a change overnight, and that the aim of the Botox was to reduce the sweating where it was worst, not to stop it and the flushes altogether.

Sue added: ‘I was happy to go ahead, though a bit apprehensive about having injections into my head. She used a separate syringe, with a tiny needle, for every injection.

‘It felt as if she did about 30 injections overall - all along the hairline around the back of my neck, around my ears and a few on the sides and top of my scalp.

‘They didn’t hurt at all. She advised me I might get a headache (I didn’t) and that I should stay upright and not exercise for the rest of the day.

Consumer warning: Julie Halford, a specialist nurse and founder of the support group Hyperhidrosis UK, points out that Botox isn’t licensed for craniofacial use for sweating (above, stock image)

‘It was all over so quickly I couldn’t believe it. I felt completely normal as I left the clinic and went to work. Of course, I was hyper-alert to any hot flushes after that.

‘There was no change at first, but after just two days, I was sure they felt milder. I don’t think I got as clammy and flustered.’

Julie Halford, a specialist nurse and founder of the support group Hyperhidrosis UK, points out that Botox isn’t licensed for craniofacial use for sweating.

‘It’s expensive and may be painful and I wouldn’t endorse it,’ she says.

‘Botulinum toxin isn’t a cheap or a permanent solution,’ says Dr Zamani. ‘My treatments on the scalp cost about £1,200 and will need repeating four to six months later. And I always tell my clients that there’s a risk there might be minimal change.

‘It’s not without danger. There’s always a risk of neck weakness if you inject around the muscles that hold up your head. I wouldn’t treat anyone with an autoimmune disorder or a history of motor neurone disease.’

But the possible dangers weren’t enough to deter Michaela Barker, another convert to hair Botox. 

The 49-year-old, who lives in Chorley, Lancashire, hated the impact the menopause was having on her hair.

‘For the past five years, I’ve gradually been experiencing symptoms of the menopause, including hot flushes several times a week.

‘They were a big problem at work. The whole experience would be over in ten minutes, if that, but I’d be left looking a mess. My hair, which is long and thin, stuck to my neck and forehead and my make-up ran.’

Botox injections along the hairline at the top of her forehead have put paid to that. Michaela, who also has Botox around her eyes to reduce wrinkles, has no regrets.

‘I still wash my hair daily because it’s fine and I prefer to have it freshly styled. But it doesn’t go lank or fluffy midway through the day because it’s been soaked by a hot flush.

‘I’ve never worn a lot of make-up, but I can wear foundation and blusher again - there was no point before because it would run and streak and I’d have to remove it.

‘I’m going to wait until it’s worn off in the autumn and see if the sweating returns. If it does, I’ll have more Botox, without doubt. Looking my best is important to me.’

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