Australian author Kate Halfpenny made headlines last year when she vowed to forgo Botox and hair dye. Her motivation? To look like herself on her 60th birthday this October.

Kate, who is the founder of Bad Mother Media, decided to take a drastic step after a session with her aesthetic nurse, Christine. For 12 years, Kate had been going to Christine for regular Botox and hair dye treatments, but something changed after her last appointment just over a year ago. Her face looked good, but she felt like she wasn't matching the 'gloss' of her fake hair colour.

So, Kate made a pact with herself to break up with Botox and hair dye. She shared her decision with her hair colourist, Jenny, and her husband. As her birthday approached, Kate found herself questioning her decision. The women at her friend Sabina's Point Lonsdale deck were mostly from Melbourne's eastern suburbs, and their faces were not full of Botox.

In fact, these women, who could easily afford every intervention, were going natural. Their own faces seemed the badge of well-heeled chic. Kate's poster girl as the Botox-free months slipped by was Caroline Kennedy, who has an 'old money face'. Laughter lines, crow's feet, a sailing tan – everything that says you can't buy class.

But by the time of Kate's one-year intervention-free anniversary, it didn't feel like the real her had emerged in the mirror. The woman she saw felt like someone she'd never met. Kate's hair was bad, and she was whacking on tons of blush to compensate.

She thought about what made her, her, and realized it was that she looks younger than she is. So, Kate decided to go back to Botox and hair dye. She met a new aesthetic nurse, Chelsea, who shared her details. Kate had one appointment free until September and decided to take it. She opted for a subtle vitamin B treatment and left the crinkles around her hooded eyes.

Now, Kate feels like she's matching the outside to the inside again. And come her 60th birthday, she'll be looking exactly like herself.

Key Facts

  • Kate Halfpenny is an Australian author and the founder of Bad Mother Media.
  • She has been going to her aesthetic nurse, Christine, for 12 years for Botox and hair dye treatments.
  • Kate's motivation for ditching Botox and hair dye was to look exactly like herself on her 60th birthday.
  • She initially thought it would be empowering to go natural, but felt like the real her hadn't emerged in the mirror.
  • Kate has now gone back to Botox and hair dye three months before her 60th birthday.