Kris has no regrets, saying the Botox treatments act as a "mini eyebrow lift" and give her a peppier look."God knows, 30 years old is not old, and I know that," she says. "But I started to see things age in my body . . . If anything, it makes me feel better."More people in their 20s and 30s are taking the Botox plunge, not waiting until wrinkles set in. In 2001, 26 percent of people who had Botox treatments fell in the 20- to 39-year-old age range. Three years later, 33.7 percent of those who had Botox were in that group, according to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery's annual survey of plastic surgeons.Those statistics jibe with what Dr. Michele Finley, medical director of Raphael's, a self-described advanced medical rejuvenation institute, experiences in her Carmel office. In recent years, she's seen more younger people concerned about the effects of time on their skin."People are starting to get smarter. Instead of having to deal with a problem that already exists, they're being preventive," Finley says. "It's so much easier to prevent problems than to react to them."A sterile protein derived from the same bacteria that can cause botulism, Botox weakens or paralyzes the muscles around the area into which it is injected, often for a period of months. Botox-free people crinkle their faces, creating fleeting creases known as dynamic wrinkles as they smile, frown, squint or make almost any other facial expression.Eventually these dynamic wrinkles can become permanent static wrinkles, Finley says.And as we age, our skin becomes less elastic. So with each fold it's more likely that a permanent wrinkle will take hold, says Dr. Stephen W. Perkins, owner and founder of the Meridian Plastic Surgery Center in Carmel."By stopping the muscles temporarily, you're stopping the formation of a wrinkle," says Perkins, past president of the AAFPRS. "It's a lot easier to prevent the formation of wrinkles than to actually correct the wrinkle later on."Not every plastic surgeon endorses Botox to stave off permanent wrinkles.Botox keeps people from making facial expressions they don't like -- the ones that make those dynamic wrinkles pop out, says Dr. Barry Eppley, co-founder of the Ology medical spas at Clarian West and Clarian North Medical Centers. But Botox has less impact when it comes to static wrinkles, which are more responsive to chemical peels and laser resurfacing, he adds."My professional opinion is that this is not something that people should be doing as a prophylactic measure to prevent wrinkles," says Eppley, a professor of plastic surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine.By the time Sarah Goss, now 26, had her first treatment about a year ago, however, that nasty wrinkle across her forehead had taken hold. Prone to "a frowny face" that she chalks up to strong eyebrow muscles, Goss hated the resting wrinkle she saw on her face in the mirror.When she put on foundation, she felt like it would just settle into that crease. If she sat alone in a restaurant, it was not unusual for a passer-by to advise her to smile.Now the Zionsville resident loves how she looks. She's even trying to get her mother -- from whom she inherited that deep furrow -- to consider having treatments herself."It's so subtle, but it makes such a difference when you can relax those lines," she says.So is any age too young for Botox? As doctors do more plastic surgery on teens (in 2004 just under 20 percent of nose jobs were performed on people under 20), can Botox be far behind?Doctors say at certain ages it just doesn't make sense."I'm not sure we would even see the effects in a teenager that would warrant the use of Botox," Perkins says.Still, everyone's skin ages at a different rate. Smoking, sun exposure and genetics all contribute. Personal habits can also make a difference, Finley says. Some people happen to frown or squint more than others. For some people, even drinking through a straw can have an effect on those pucker-up muscles.That's why most doctors do a consultation before telling a client that he or she would definitely benefit from the treatment. And not everyone they see will leave with an injection."It's not infrequent that I will say, 'I really don't think you need this at this time,' " says Dr. John Malooley, medical director of Beau Visage, a Downtown medical cosmetic center. "I can't say that everybody's going to need Botox. I think that would be an overstatement."One down side is that those who hop on the Botox bandwagon should expect to stay aboard for life -- or watch wrinkles creep on in.That doesn't faze Jeff Horton, 38, one bit. The Indianapolis resident, who works in cosmetics at Saks Fifth Avenue, takes his skin very seriously. Two years ago, he added Botox to his regimen.Since then, he's seen Finley every four months to erase the wrinkles around his eyes. And now, when people guess his age, they usually shoot between five and 10 years too low."It's good skin care," Horton says. "It's like taking a vitamin: When you stop using a vitamin, the benefits are going to stop. "For many, Botox will be their first cosmetic procedure, before they move on to additional aesthetic surgery procedures, says Eppley. The fact that "a whole subculture of Botox addicts" has arisen makes perfect sense in light of these factors, Eppley says."It's simple and effective, which accounts for why it is the true wonder drug of the aesthetic field," he says. "This generation, the 30-to-50-year-old crowd, accepts Botox as normal."

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