Dana Delaney of Desperate Housewives is this month’s cover girl on Prevention Magazine. Inside, she talks about her eating disorder as a teen and a botched Botox injection that left her with a permanent droop to her eye. Coupled with Kim Kardashian’s waxy cat face, Dana’s story is enough to turn me off Botox forever. I’ve admitted to being Botox-curious, but if risks include permanent facial paralysis and a wonky eye I think I’ll take a pass. Dana’s eyes look fine, though. Here’s what she said.

On her eating disorder:
When I was a teenager and in my 20s, I had eating issues. I binged. I starved. I was one step away from anorexia–a piece of toast and an apple would be all I’d eat in a day. When I turned 30, my life got interesting and I stopped focusing on eating. Part of it was doing China Beach. I needed to have energy to work those long hours, and so I started eating more healthily.

On her current diet:
I don’t like meat, so I don’t eat it. I just prefer vegetables, tofu, and fish. And recently I was told by my endocrinologist that I am gluten intolerant. I’m not supposed to eat bread or pasta, which is really hard when you don’t eat meat. But I’m trying gluten-free pasta, bread. It makes you less bloated and sluggish when you cut it out of your diet.

On botched Botox:
Something nobody ever talks about is doctor error. Seven years ago, I had never even heard about Botox. My dermatologist was saying, “You should try it.” He injected my forehead, hit a nerve, and created a huge hematoma. The nerve has been dead ever since. It affected the muscle in my right eye, so my eye has started to droop a little bit. Now that I said this to you, everybody will look for it! I notice it more than anybody else, but I was symmetrical before and now I am not.

So, no plastic surgery for you?
I won’t do it, no.

We are getting to the point that nobody says, “That’s a beautiful woman.” Instead, they say, “She’s had good work.” And I hope that at some point we can stop dyeing our hair. I’m not saying I’m not dyeing my hair—I have to because I’m on camera—but wouldn’t it be nice? We would all save so much money and time. My hat’s off to Jamie Lee Curtis. She’s so smart, and she doesn’t dye her hair or anything. And Meryl Streep still looks like herself. Diane Keaton, too. I think the really great actresses don’t worry about that kind of thing.

[From Prevention via Huffington Post]

I like how honest she is, and she looks great. She’s 54 and gorgeous and she’s right that we still have a few actresses that are in their 50s and 60s who aren’t jacking up their faces. She could also add Helen Mirren to that list. As for the not dyeing your hair thing, I can’t get on board with that. I’ve been prematurely gray since my early 20s and I just feel so unattractive when my hair starts to grow out. Yes it would be easier not to dye it, but it only takes a half an hour once a month. I also think I get just as good results at home as I have at the salon, which takes longer and is more expensive. I’ve heard about a movement to let our natural color grow out and embrace the gray and I’m just too vain to do that. I’m not yet 40, but maybe when I get older I’ll be brave enough to rock gray hair like Jamie Lee Curtis.

Photos are from 2009 and 2010. Credit: WENN.com

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