Facial Resurfacing

Facial Resurfacing

Sorry to my face for all I’ve put it through (but I’d do it again…): After a Jennifer Aniston-style no scalpel facelift, one woman’s diary of her transformation
I would like to begin with an apology – first to my teenage son for scaring the living daylights out of him, secondly to my sister who was so shocked at my swollen, bloodied appearance that she stayed with me and my son overnight in case I never woke up again. Finally, to my face . . . for what I put it through.
To explain. Looking at these photos, you may think I was involved in some dreadful accident, but the truth is I had the skin on my face literally burned off during a laser facelift. It’s the same procedure that Jennifer Aniston confessed to having recently, and I kept a diary of the whole harrowing experience…

Jennifer swears by it: Hollywood star Aniston, left, has had the same laser treatment that Kay Goddard, right, decided to get to eliminate some of her facial wrinkles
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4
I catch a glimpse of my reflection and see my mother’s face peering back. Something must be done.
I may be the wrong side of 50 but I don’t feel it and I don’t want to look it. A facelift is a possibility – but the thought of being cut, stitched and scarred doesn’t appeal. A friend had one recently and it took her at least two months to recover. I couldn’t afford the down time or the expense – she paid £8,000 – and in my opinion it wasn’t worth the pain.
Although her saggy cheeks were tighter, her skin was still lined. That’s the problem with a traditional facelift: it will not improve the quality of the skin. Laser resurfacing does, however.
I was warned by Dr Aamer Khan from the Harley Street Skin Clinic in London, where I chose to have the treatment, that the procedure would be painful. Fraxel Repair, which Dr Khan will use on me, is the most hardcore of the laser treatments and can achieve similar results to a surgical facelift in just one hour.
He also warned I would look like something from a horror film immediately afterwards but my tired, lined and sun-damaged complexion would look fresh, plump and luminous a week later. So I didn’t hesitate. Or flinch at the £3,000 fee.

My skin has tightened, the fine lines have disappeared, my pigmentation marks are gone and my skin looks plumper. I don’t look as if I’ve been through a wind tunnel. I am thrilled and despite it being an ordeal, I’d do it all over again.
By Kay Goddard
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