My sister-in-law arrived for a visit. I had not seen her in several years, and my first reaction at the airport was, wow, she looks fabulous! I couldn’t quite figure out the difference – a little thinner? A new hair color? I didn’t have to wonder for long. She was eager to show me the before and after pics. It would seem she’s had a little work done.
She just turned 60. For as long as I have known her, she hated the way her face sagged and often complained she had no cheekbones. She used to pull the skin up on her face tight to show me the potential. We called it mirror surgery. All that is history, because now she has only subtle middle-aged wrinkles and cheekbones that could knock out Mike Tyson. Yet, it looks entirely natural.
S-I-L has chronic health issues, so she made a vow of no cosmetic surgery. She said it would suck to live through her shit and then die getting a face lift. With two cancers behind me, I can relate. So, what was her magic? Injectables, fillers. No surgery, and she looks at least 10 years younger.
Typically, I am anti-whatever when it comes to doing anything in a feeble attempt to look younger. Until I saw her transformation, I hadn’t given wrinkles much thought. At 62, my face still looks OK to me, but upon further examination, I was shocked to discover my neck has more folds than Marie Kondo’s t-shirts.
Cosmetic intervention is tempting, but I’m probably not going to mess with it. The visible signs of aging actually don’t bother me much. And what other people think about my aging face doesn’t bother me at all. I’m happy with who I am, how I look and how I am living my life.
However, my opinion about “having a little work done” has changed. I felt proud and principled because I was going to leave my face alone no matter what. Big deal. If we’re lucky, we get to age and do what makes us happy. There’s no prize at the end for judging everyone else’s decisions.
How about you? Intervention or no intervention? There is no wrong answer.
No work done so far, except I had removed a few increases from my faces skin by Laser. I’m not vain enough to visit a doc on a regular basis just to maintain a certain look. Of course it’s a question of money too. I prefer to spend it on other things.
Now that I have hooded eyes my ophtomalogist recommended a eye lifting for this or next year.
It can be risky while driving, so my health insurance will cover it.
I belief in daily skincare, but keep it simple. I like Roche Posay Cremes and the cheap Nivea Soft is my absolute favorite.
You look good in this pic, and you already own those cheekbones!
Hi Barbara — Thanks for sharing a good reminder about skincare. I definitely could improve on that and will check out the products you mention!