IS THERE A NIP AND TUCK IN MY FUTURE?





A few years back after seriously researching the pros and cons of plastic surgery, I decided that the face I had was the one I would keep. Let others go under the knife, I would just admire the results and try not to harbor any jealousy. After all there were risks to consider what with all the anesthesia and cutting and what have you and I didn't want my children to have to say that their mother had succumbed to the hereafter while undergoing a face lift. I didn't want to be a woman who felt compelled to have her face"done"in order to feel attractive. I would take the high road and settle for for sags and wrinkles rather than be accused of excess vanity.

Who was I fooling? I am vain. Witness my obsession with each beauty fix that makes its way into Sephora. Not to mention that at different times I have had Restlyn, Collegen and Botox and while I found them somewhat effective, they didn't do enough or last long enough for me to rationalize their cost.

Meanwhile I continued to take note of every face altering product and procedure that came on the market and kept abreast of recent advances in face resurfacing especially with the new and more powerful lasers. I liked their promises of dramatic results with little down time. But would they work for me? I was doubtful. My face was not aging at all as gracefully as I had hoped. I could either make my peace with it or do something to change it and stop bemoaning the situation. Still, being who I am, all I did was think and rethink

Then this summer I received an e-mail from my friend Marcia in which she mentioned in a sort of by the way manner, that she had made an appointment for some facial surgery. "I'm thinking of doing something about my chin and eyes," was the way she put it. Now Marica would be absolutely last on the list of my wide group of friends who I would pick to do such a thing.
Was she sure? I e-mailed back. "Absolutely", she said. She had confidence in the surgeon and this was not the sort of thing she was going to over-think.
When I saw her two weeks after the procedure her eyes were wide and bright, her chin line defined and the skin on her face smooth and glowing without a trace of her previous sun damage. She didn't look done; she looked great. Evidently facial surgery had taken a big leap forward when I wasn't looking. It certainly wasn't the big deal it was even a few years ago.

"Plastic surgeons on the forefront of their profession now take advantage of the advances in lazer surgery and combine them with more traditional methods to get natural looking results with a minimum of incisions and very little down time," Scott B. Wells M.D., a New York City based cosmetic surgeon, said. He is especially enthusiastic about the Active FX Laser. The first of its kind, it is a partially ablative laser with reactionalized technology for skin rejuvenation. It utilizes CO2laser energyto treat fine lines, wrinkles, skin laxity, discoloration and other effects of aging and sun damage in a very fast single treatment. This provides a collagen boost that is then followed with IR(infrared treatment )which further contracts the collagen and continues to stimulate new collagen production. "Used in conjunction with an eye lift and chin restructuring it results in improved facial contours, smooth glowing skin and a much younger and refreshed look that doesn't look at all done," Dr. Wells said.

Just maybe this is what Ive been waiting for. However in all likelihood there will continue to be more technological advances. Should I wait to see what comes down the pike? Should I stick with my original decision and let my face take its downward course or should I follow Marcia's lead? Stayed tuned. I'm still thinking.

Cheers,

Barb