Ashley Tisdale reveals whether or not she uses injectables: 'The only Botox you’ll find is in my jaw'
Ashley Tisdale is talking Botox.
The High School Musical alum took to her blog Frenshe to answer the question of whether or not she uses injectables. The answer? Yes — just not in the way one might expect.
“I have TMJ, aka temporomandibular joint dysfunction,” the Young and Hungry producer explained in her post, which was published on March 1. “TMJ is a fairly common syndrome that involves clenching your jaw, creating intense tension and pain. For me, it happens when I’m overly stressed. Along with the tension in my jaw, TMJ was creating headaches and strained neck muscles, not to mention soreness after grinding my teeth at night. Even with a night guard, I’d get a full night of rest and wake up absolutely aching from the neck up.”
Tisdale wrote that Dr. Jason Diamond, a board-certified surgeon, recommended the treatment, which included a “minimal amount of Botox on both sides of my jawline would help those muscles relax.”
Botox in the jaw is considered an off-label treatment for TMJ, as the FDA has not yet approved Botox for this usage.
Tisdale, however, noted that her jaw Botox is the only Botox she has received — despite others recommending it to her for cosmetic purposes.
“And as for the rest of my face? Totally Botox-free,” she shared. “I’ve had makeup artists and dermatologists suggest preventative Botox so that I won’t develop lines in the future, but I’m an actress. I need to maintain full expressive use of my facial muscles for work. In the meantime, though, the only Botox you’ll find is in my jaw.”
Tisdale's Instagram followers shared their appreciation for her candor in the comments section of a post directing them to her Botox blog post.
"Deeply appreciate the transparency here," one wrote. "It's all your business but I appreciate your awareness of the world we live in and your place of influence. Thank you."
Another added, "I am new to TMJ and I suffer with jaw ache and am getting really bad ear pain too. I am trying everything and am just desperate to fix it so any other advice at all would be so helpful. It’s so helpful and refreshing to hear someone in the public eye talk about something that I had never heard about before, so thank you."
In addition to writing about the treatments she receives to manage her TMJ, the former Disney Channel star has shared her experience with platelet-rich plasma therapy, which she uses to treat her alopecia.
In January, she wrote about her hair loss on Frenshe.
"Alopecia and hair loss are fairly common, but a lot of people feel embarrassed to talk about these issues," Tisdale shared. "Any type of hair loss can affect your self-esteem, especially if you feel like you're the only one going through it. That's why I want to talk about it openly — because it's nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes it's connected to hormones, other times to heredity, and for me, it's connected to stress overload."
Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.
