I had £20k facelift at 42 after mortifying moment – my old face was thrown in the bin & now men in their 20s chat me up

ONCE upon a time, "work" meant a boring 9 to 5.

Today, successful my world, it means Botox, filler, polynucleotides, Profhilo, micro-needling and... facelifts.

Which is why, astatine the property of 40*, I recovered myself supine nether the surgeon's scalpel.

Yep, I've had a facelift (full transparency, besides a neck-lift).

And I’m not alone. 

******* *******, **** *******, ***** *****, **** **** and ***** ******: each A-list British superstars who person had concealed facelifts.

Except I can't sanction them owed to a tedious happening called "medical privacy".

In an online satellite wherever women - and men -  are nether unprecedented unit to look good, ageless celebrities and influencers are fuelling the story that they, somehow, are amended than the remainder of america by virtue of a snatched jawline. They're not. 

In astir cases, they've spent tens of thousands of pounds to look this way, but won't travel cleanable for fearfulness of eroding the facade, oregon tarnishing the brand. And, successful my book, that's not fair.

(Indeed, 2 stars semi-outlined supra pre-recorded Instagram posts to upload whilst they were recovering from surgery).

So however did I get here?

Sunbathing, clang dieting and a tegument attraction authorities that can, astatine best, beryllium described arsenic slap-dash.

To paraphrase Baz Luhrmann, if I could connection you 1 spot of advice: deterioration sunscreen. Really. Do.

As idiosyncratic who's ever looked young for their age, abruptly I didn't.

I developed a jowl. My crows’ feet tapered down to my mouth. 

And successful selfies (yes I'm inactive a millennial), my cervix was crepey and wrinkled. In a photograph taken days earlier my op, I zoomed successful was genuinely devastated to spot the cervix of an octogenarian staring backmost astatine me. 

On nights out, radical stopped asking my age.

I nary longer got attraction successful bars which, arsenic superficial and pathetic arsenic it sounds, I missed. That aged adage rattled retired by mediate aged women started to apply: I felt invisible. 

But not truthful invisible that astatine Waterloo station, a salesman from Scottish Widows didn't veritably limb implicit and thrusting immoderate forms successful my hand. Evidently I was looking of pensionable age. 

The next day, I booked successful with Mr Paul Tulley.

Surgeon to the rich, celebrated and precise successful, I contacted him aft seeing his enactment connected Instagram. 

It looked subtle and understated; not a bride of Wildenstein successful sight, God bless her cosmetic soul. 

My archetypal consultation took spot past May successful his Harley Street clinic, wherever I enquired astir a mini-facelift - a process requiring conscionable a mates of stitches, and minimal downtime.

"No, you're beyond that I'm afraid," helium said. "You request a deep-plane face and necklift."

Oh. 

Mr Tulley, it seemed, was not a antheral for tiny talk.

He stood maine successful beforehand of his full-length mirror, and mildly pulled up the tegument connected my sagging visage, explaining I'd mislaid astir 2 centimetres of laxity. 

"With surgery, we tin hole this," helium reassured me.

“By re-suspending and reshaping the heavy tissues, unneurotic with re-draping the tegument and trimming the excess without tension, we tin instrumentality the face and cervix tissues to where they were 10, 15 years ago.

"You person bully bony structure, and I'd expect an fantabulous result. People won't cognize you've had surgery, they'll conscionable deliberation you look good rested oregon similar you've been connected a agelong holiday."

For £20,000, I wasn't convinced I wanted to simply look rested. I wanted foetal.

Six weeks aboriginal I had a 2nd consultation, and asked a fewer much questions: what was the down time? (one nighttime successful hospital, 2 weeks rest, nary gym for 3 weeks), would country amended the information of my crepey, sun-damaged skin? (yes), would I look fake? (no), would it hurt? (no, due to the fact that drugs) and could I inactive locomotion the dog? (gently, abbreviated walks).

When I got home, evidently I Googled “death rates + facelift”.

The results were beauteous reassuring. Of course, arsenic with immoderate process performed nether wide anaesthetic, determination are risks - but the biggest seemed to beryllium hematoma, which is fundamentally clotted blood, or some impermanent nervus damage.

At this signifier though, country inactive each sounded similar immoderate benignant of vague, amorphous conception that would ne'er travel around. 

But moving successful showbiz, penning day-in, day-out astir the young, beauteous and Botoxed - and past seeing myself backmost connected camera connected the occasional TV happening - was making maine consciousness progressively sad.

I recovered myself avoiding photos with friends, wanting to spell retired little and turning down on-camera work. 

I was besides spending a tiny luck connected assorted "tweakments".

Botox and filler (around £450 each a pop), Morpheus 8 (£1200 for a people of two, excruciatingly painful, did perfectly nothing), Profilho (£650 for 2 sessions, lone lasted 4 months), trout sperm (£800 for three, atrocious bruising) and Sculptra (£750, useless).

So not lone was I spending astir £5,000 a twelvemonth trying (and failing) to reverse time, I was inactive feeling crap astir myself. 

The idea, then, is that by having country I volition person efficaciously paid if disconnected aft 4 years - arsenic good arsenic redeeming countless hours trudging to Harley Street aft work.

Pre-op, I was fixed a £285 people of Skinade MD - capsules, and 2 types of sachet drinks which were to beryllium necked daily.

Containing a premix of collagen peptides, vitamins and L-Lysine, the thought was to trim swelling and expedite healing from the inside-out. 

Wednesday 13 November was D-Day. Checking into the super-smart Weymouth Street Hospital successful cardinal London, and shown to my ain suite, Mr Tulley went done the surgical process erstwhile more, and marked maine up. 

Last minute, we'd decided to springiness maine a nano-fat graft for nether my eyes - a process involving abdominous being taken from my tummy and thighs and whacked successful astir the wrinkled hollows to the windows of my soul. In for a penny, eh.

With Dan the lensman merrily snapping away, I was wheeled down to theatre astatine 2pm for wide anaesthetic, administered by advisor anesthetist Ravi Bhagrath. ("A small prick, and it'll consciousness similar you've drunk 3 glasses of good champagne precise quickly" helium said, wholly speaking my language).

Five and a fractional hours later, groggily I came around. 

It was done. The worst was over. I was alive.

'HAPPY FACELIFT DAY!'

Back successful my infirmary room, disconnected my tits connected morphine, I took a selfie and promptly sent it to my squad astatine work, my friends and family, my boss, my dog-walker, and Robbie Williams. 

The second replied with a dulcet-toned dependable note, singing "Happy facelift day!" to the tune of blessed birthday.

That night, a wonderful, fantastic caregiver called Suzanna tended to me, changing my sodden furniture sheets (general anaesthetic causes the assemblage to sweat excessively). 

The pursuing time Mr Tulley removed my bandages, and said the op had gone well. During it, he'd besides removed 2 and a half centimetres of escaped tegument from my neck. (Inexplicably I asked him what he'd done with said skin. "The bin".)

With trepidation, I looked successful the mirror.

Honestly? It was similar I'd jumped successful a mystical clip instrumentality and gone backmost 12 years. 

My babe tegument was back!!! Not a azygous jowl successful place. The lines astir my eyes were visibly reduced. 

"Look astatine my beauteous neck!", I started telling anyone who would listen. 

My neck, which has been causing maine so, truthful overmuch angst was the cervix of my 28-year-old self. 

HEALING JOURNEY

The adjacent fewer nights I was to sleep connected my back, with my caput propped up connected 3 pillows. I was packed disconnected with capable drugs to fell a rhino and ordered not to determination astir for the archetypal 48 hours.

By time three, I was successful Gail's cafe gathering my champion person for coffee, and taking the canine for a walk.

By time 4 I was backmost astatine work, albeit remotely. By time 5 I was doing 10,000 steps a day, and scrubbing the house.

Such is Mr Tulley's artistry I didn't get a azygous bruise, and the scars down my ears are hardly disposable to the bare eye.

The lone achy spot came from an corruption which saw maine successful agony connected nighttime five, crying astatine 4am with piercing receptor ache.

It turns retired my near receptor got bedewed during a shower, but a speedy travel to A&E and 1 steroid injection to the bum later, I was close arsenic rain.

My stitches were removed aft a week, and no-one batted an eyelid arsenic I marauded astir the superior successful a fetching nude stocking headdress.  

Three weeks aft country I enjoyed a six-hour boozy enactment lunch. In a barroom that night, 2 29-year-old blokes chatted maine up. 

Seven weeks post-op Mr Tulley sent maine to apical aesthetician Aga Kopanska, astatine Art of Beauty successful Belgravia, London - an adept to whom helium sends each his clients.

A facial magician, she gave maine 3 sessions of microneedling, exosomes, immoderate bluish and reddish airy treatment, polynucleotides and dermaplaning. Within 10 days, a tiny spot of crepey tegument had disappeared and my pigmentation had disappeared.

Just earlier Christmas I went to Piers Morgan's festive enactment and had astatine slightest 4 celebs asking what I'd had done. I gave two, who shall stay nameless, Mr Tulley's interaction details. 

Whilst facelifts were erstwhile the sphere of 70-year-olds, present much and much “youngsters” are getting them.

There are implicit 3 and fractional a cardinal #facelift hashtags presently circulating connected Instagram and TikTok, with much and much influencers posting astir their “deep level journeys”. It’s already HUGE business successful California, New York and Texas, and progressively becoming much here. 

Writing this 2 months on, beingness has returned to normal... lone present I person the tegument of my 34-year-old self. And my 34-year-old assurance has returned.

My near oculus is inactive puffy from the abdominous transportation and yes, it’s been bothering me. But I’m assured it volition settee down with a spot of self-massage.

(Confession: upon seeing my photoshoot “after” pics, I asked Dan the lensman if helium could perchance “touch-up” the offending near oculus country and helium - rather rightly - refused. So yes, it’s not cleanable yet, but it’s better).

In penning this piece, and breaching my ain aesculapian privacy, doubtless I volition get trolled.

"You can't polish a turd!" and "you vain b****, there's a warfare going on!", etc, volition beryllium the gist of the online abuse. And that's fine. 

Perhaps feminism isn’t conscionable socio-economic and governmental equality for women. Perhaps, conscionable maybe, it’s astir doing thing wholly selfish and decadent for no-one but you. And past owning it. Because you can. 

For me, that’s a teeny-tiny spot empowering.

I hope, successful coming clean, I assistance astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic presently feeling insecure astir their looks.

Whilst some friends haven't noticed a thing. I notice. Even if it’s wholly psychosomatic, I truly don’t care.

In short, I consciousness similar maine again. And that's all I ever wanted.

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