To Lift or Not To Lift?

Submitted by on 16 June 2011 – 09:558 Comments

Whether you love Liz Jones or not (and if you don’t know her she’s a journalist famous for irritating a lot of people with her views on men, women and living in the country) the woman’s got a lot of guts.

This weekend she spilled all in the Mail on Sunday about the realities of having a facelift.

 
Donatella Versace – David Shankbone http://www.flickr.com/photos/shankbone/

Undergoing six different treatments, the most invasive of which was a lower facelift, which involved incisions being made behind her ears, and the skin of her face being pulled back to tighten her lower cheeks and neck.
The results are impressive and she looks amazing though strangely she no longer resembles herself. Liz’s reason for having one was at 52 years she didn’t like her ageing face.

I have to say the article had me looking at my own line-ridden features. Aged I like to feel somewhat prematurely by not having more than three hours sleep in a row over the last five years (thanks kids). And pulling my own cheeks back behind my ears I definitely look younger, but also as my husband pointed out, slightly mad!

So would I have a facelift or cosmetic surgery to stay young, no I’m afraid not! Partly because I believe all this lifting, pulling and injecting robs men and women of their natural beauty but also because I think reaching for plastic surgery teaches kids and teens that getting older is something bad to be avoided at all costs.

But what about you? Would you have a facelift to roll back the years or do you plan on loving your look wrinkles and all? Let me know.

Anita

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  • Fiona

    The problem with Liz’s facelift is that her eyebrows completely take away from the good work that the surgeon achieved. They (brows) actually make her look slightly alien like. However, all credit to fessing up (though I’m sure the article paid towards a good chunk if not all of the work involved) and I do think she is brave. I was horrified at the amount of pain she described which is a good thing as I don’t think I would ever be tempted. Glad that she’s happy with it though, that’s really all that matters.

  • Ceri

    I do think she looks pretty good, but she obviously had a very good surgeon. She no longer looks like herself, but given the way she writes about her poor self-image, maybe that was the idea? Yes, I would like to get rid of some of my wrinkles, but I just don’t think I could put myself through that kind of invasive treatment. It sounds too painful and altogether too expensive. I can think of more enjoyable ways to spend the money!

  • Jane

    I have wrinkles and crows feet and dark circles under my eyes. I’m 42 with two kids so of course I do! Occassionally I want to hide it all and look like I did pre-children but with some cover-up and wrinkle filler, and in dim lighting, I think I can get away with it. It’s all about confidence really isn’t it? I’m not the most confident of people but I’m not so under- confident that I’d consider undergoing the pain (and expense) of a facelift. I think there’s nothing worse than a 50+ woman (or man) who clearly has had work done; shiny foreheads, upturned noses and those give-away ‘startled’ eyes. Ugh. no thanks.

  • anita

    I just re-read Liz’s facelift story and I felt my stomach heave. Waxing is painful enough.

  • Ravi

    A bit of an improvement physically, but seeing as Liz Jones is ugly on the inside, no amount of cosmetic surgery is ever going to help. Sorry to be judgmental, but the woman comes across as a self-obsessed, superficial idiot.

  • Ellie

    I know it’s one of those trite observations but what you’re like on the inside really does shine out in your face, because they’re not static. We tend to judge ourselves as we stare in the mirror or look at a photograph of ourselves but it’s the person inside that animates that face which makes it attractive or unattractive. It would also be interesting to see video of her before and after in natural light to see if she appears more ‘attractive’ then .

  • Melissa

    I’d be lying if I said that I had no interest in looking younger. Of course I do: I dislike my wrinkles, crow’s feet, dark circles and sunspots as much as the next 47-year-old woman. Would I go under the knife to look younger? Probably not. But who knows how I’ll feel after my wrinkles get deeper and my eyelids start to sag? Never say never. As far as Liz Jones is concerned, she’s a grownup and has the right to do whatever she wants. Do I want to read every detail about her surgery? No, thank you. Too gruesome for me!

  • adele

    I’m in the ‘not now but never say never’ camp! Cosmetic surgery, when done well (!!), isn’t obvious or scary: it just makes you look refreshed and rested. Most of us would be thrilled with a hair cut that made us look younger – so why do we frown (Botox permitting) upon surgery that does the same thing? Its an individual choice, I think. But get a good surgeon!