At Large with Toby Manhire

Behind the Story: The rise and rise of Botox in Aotearoa

Senior writer Alex Casey joins Madeleine Chapman to discuss her fascination by the multi-billion-dollar appearance industry both as a consumer and a journalist and what ageing means to them.

30 Jun 2025

Behind the Story: The rise and rise of Botox in Aotearoa

More about the episode

Senior writer Alex Casey has always been fascinated by the multi-billion-dollar appearance industry, both as a consumer and a journalist. Today The Spinoff published a Cover from Alex, headlined “Is everyone getting Botox without me?” Alex is 33 and looks 23, or so a Botox specialist said. But she’s been thinking about injectables and how they seem to be everywhere she turns. So she spoke to dozens of women about their decisions to either get Botox or stay away from it, as well as those who’ve administered them, with mixed feelings. The story is a thoroughly researched but also deeply personal feature about the decisions women must make about their bodies every day.

Alex appeared on Behind the Story to talk first-person feature writing, ageing and having your mind changed.