Baby Face

Remember that scene from Brazil where the plastic surgeon stretches the surgery-obsessed woman’s face like rubber until it looks like a hideous plastic mask? Old-school cosmetic surgery often had that effect, and maybe that’s why I am still ambivalent about the concept, even though I frequently report on plastic surgery as a health reporter for this magazine.
 

                I was reminded of that scene while sipping something new and trendy at a hip new downtown Sarasota café. I sat next to a table of four stylishly dressed women. Their faces all showed evidence of work—lots of it. When they laughed at the occasional joke, their taut, rigid faces didn’t move with their mouths. They seemed…paralyzed. The effect was creepy.

I leaned in for a better look. After all, I had just been charged with writing about what my editor described as the “new face” of plastic surgery.  Here were four perfect subjects. These women, with their sophisticated wardrobes and model-thin bodies, had clearly spent considerable time, money and trouble to present an attractive face to the world. They were of a certain age (late 50s, early 60s?) but it was hard to pin that age down. Any remnant of their original faces was long gone.

In fact, I pondered as I sipped my drink, their faces seemed erased. They looked more like Japanese Noh performers in whiteface than middle-aged women at home in their skin. The only feature that wasn’t thin was their huge, bee-stung lips—lips that would have looked sexy on a young Bridgett Bardot, but seemed clownish on these women. 

Were these examples of the new face of plastic surgery—or were they just cosmetic enhancements gone wrong?

I went to the experts to find out.

My first expert was Sandra Day, a clinical aesthetician and co-founder of NeoDerm Aesthetics. Day, an attractive woman in her early 60s, readily admits that she works hard maintaining her physical assets. After all, it’s her business. She had a facelift a few years back. Today, she keeps her face and upper body “rejuvenated” with various procedures, including Fraxel laser resurfacing (which she swears by), skin peels, microdermabrasion, Botox, dermal fillers (including Restylane and Juvederm), and advanced skincare products.

Day unabashedly faces up to the subject of aging.

“We don’t have to age like our parents,” she says. But that doesn’t mean we can stop the clock completely. “After a certain age, it’s time to age gracefully. Don’t try to look young forever—just look good as you can for as long as you can,” she advises. “And don’t obsess! The other day, my granddaughter asked me: ‘Is it hard to be pretty when you’re old?’ I had to laugh, because the answer is yes.”

I studied her face as she talked. It’s pretty and smooth—but not erased. I would have had a hard time guessing her age if she hadn’t told me. Her mannerisms and style tell you she’s not a kid. She exudes the graceful confidence that only comes with age. But her face? It looks fresh and youthful—without looking artificial or unnaturally young.

Day has a ready explanation for the four women I saw in the restaurant.

“It’s four bad facelifts—I can always tell. It’s the Joan Rivers or Priscilla Presley look,” she says. “When it’s done right, you can’t tell that someone’s had work. I’ve worked with surgeons for 35 years and have seen some dramatic advances. Now, instead of tightening the outer layer of skin, they modify the underlying structure for a result that’s less taut. And the advances in less invasive therapies like laser resurfacing, injectable fillers and high-end corrective skin products are also helping change how we age.”

Long story short?

“Do it sooner, not later. Don’t wait until you’re 60,” Day says. “Start using fillers and Botox in your 30s to prevent wrinkles. When my two daughters turned 30, I sent them products that stimulate collagen growth. It’s routine maintenance, like changing the oil in your car.”

Final words?

“Be realistic. If you’ve overexposed your skin to the sun, smoked all your life or just have plain bad genes—don’t expect miracles.”

I now had an idea of what the new face wasn’t: a Kabuki mask. It wasn’t about looking different or even younger. It was about looking more youthful. And there is a difference.

It was time to speak with a surgeon about the nitty-gritty details