Stop Trying To Use Bananas as a Botox Substitute

Another day, another weird TikTok trend, are we right?? Recently #bananaBotox has been everywhere, with the hashtag generating over 80 million views. This skincare “hack” involves placing a banana peel on your face to treat the signs of aging, like fine lines and wrinkles. If you’ve seen this and thought the results were too good to be true, your suspicion might be right. We put on our investigating hats to discover what banana Botox can and cannot do. Spoiler alert: it’s not a true replacement for real Botox. 

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Do bananas work like Botox? 

The short answer is: no! Botox is a neuromodulator that temporarily relaxes your muscles, so that your face can’t make wrinkles from expressions. (Botox can also treat TMJ, migraines, and excessive sweating, FYI). It’s injected under your skin, and a banana peel is never going to penetrate your skin deep enough to have more than a temporary effect. 

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But it’s true that there are some beneficial components in banana skins. They contain vitamin C and have some anti-inflammatory properties. Unless you have an allergy to bananas, putting the skins on your face isn’t likely to harm you or make existing skin problems worse–though if you have acne, eczema, or psoriasis, we suggest giving this trend a pass. But you also won’t notice any long-term benefits or prevention of wrinkles over time. 

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What are the downsides of “banana Botox”? 

The downsides of banana Botox? For starters, rubbing a banana peel on your skin feels pretty…slimy and gross. There’s also the bigger problem that this skincare hack is totally unproven. There aren’t any large-format clinical trials showing that bananas can do anything to prevent the formation of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s all social media smoke-and-mirrors to suggest that it offers more than a temporary firming effect.  

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What can I use instead of banana Botox to treat fine lines and wrinkles?

When it comes to treating fine lines, there’s only one topical skincare ingredient that is proven to work, which is retinol or Vitamin A. It’s FDA approved to treat the signs of aging and is available in over the counter formulations or by prescription as Retin-A/tretinoin. If you’re looking to temporarily firm your skin, you can also check out a serum or cream with peptides. Peptides help your skin look and feel firmer. 

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To take your anti-aging results to the next level, you’ll need to actually go to the MedSpa. And for fine lines, nothing’s better than Botox–the real thing, not the “banana” fake-out. To increase firmness, we recommend Forma or Morpheus8. Both treatments include radiofrequency heat, which triggers your skin’s healing response, increasing collagen and elastin production from the inside out. Morpheus8 also includes microneedling, for more dramatic results and improvements in skin tone and texture. The best part of Botox, Morpheus8, and Forma? They’re scientifically proven to work. Results from Botox last 3-4 months, and results from Forma and Morpheus8 last even longer, up to a year on average. It’s a lot easier, simpler–and less wasteful–to let a professional improve your skin than to constantly be peeling bananas!

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It can be a fun thing to try, but banana Botox is ultimately just a fad. We say, leave the banana in your smoothie, not on your skin.