Looks like our readers are shy, as this letter again begins: “Please do not publish my name. Thank you.” She goes on to say “I’m 75 this year and I’m not ready to give up. I don’t want to look like a 40-year-old, but I’m not ready to look like a frail, dotty old woman.” She says she eats healthy, goes to the gym three times a week and dresses fashionably, “classic but not cool.” But: “I’m seriously thinking about cosmetic surgery or injections or something. I’m a bit jowly and have lines around the bottom of my mouth that makes me look crabby. I HATE that. Could you please do an article on the pros and cons of facial surgery, injections, etc”
This struck a nerve with me, as I am someone who toggles back and forth about facial interventions. One day I fantasize about a complete facelift, the next I’m looking at a picture of Sinead O’Connor and admiring how the late rabble-rouser wore her years with honesty, her heartache etched on her face. But that dichotomy perfectly reflects the Zoomerist goal to age with style: both approaches are equally valid, to intervene or not is a private, personal decision.
But information is power, and information is what our reader is asking for here, so I reached out to one of Toronto (and New York’s) celebrity plastic surgeons to give an overview on facelifts and injectables. Operating from his private surgical suites on Avenue Road just above Davenport, Dr. Born has been at the cutting edge of his field since the late 90s.
I propose we start at the beginning with this as an intro level column on the subject of facelifts: I’m hoping we can drill down deeper into the nitty gritty of different procedures in the future.
If there is one thing I have learned from interviewing plastic surgeons, dermatologists and medspa aestheticians over three decades now since the cosmetic surgery and medspa intervention phenomenon grew into such a big part of the fashion and beauty beat, it is this: everyone’s goals are different. Every face is different. Individual care and consultation is the beginning and end of the story. What works for someone may not work for someone else. I have not had facial surgery (see my above flip-flopping), but I have had both good and bad experiences over the years with various injectables, lasers, radio-frequency collagen treatments, etc. (Note that for research purposes, reporters only try one of a series of said treatments in order to describe the process, so the results are not what a full treatment regime would be.)
That said, I can say with authority, that from looking at the work of various doctors and practitioners, some are more artistically talented in terms of interpreting and manipulating underlying facial structure with the tools at their disposal.
It is thus super important to interview doctors and practitioners and look at their work. They will all offer consults, and talk to you as long as you need to come up with a plan together for how much or little as you want to do.
You must also vibe with them: I can’t emphasize this enough. For an endeavour that changes (however subtly) your face, choose someone you trust. I have seen, and very much like, Dr. Born’s work, and I trust his talents, so I asked him to give his professional take on this question.
