There is something shameful about admitting to having had cosmetic or plastic surgery. A shame for a society where appearance is king, and where an undeniable cult of youth prevails. And that, no need to look further than some stars to understand it! We should therefore remain young and beautiful throughout our lives, but let it be entirely natural. As if by artificially cheating, we were cheating and trying to make ourselves the equal of the gods by rising above our human condition. Because after all, eternal youth is indeed this chimera that alchemists have tried to achieve throughout history, and which transhumanists nowadays seem dangerously close to, which is not without raising many ethical questions. . Some think that the first man to live 1000 years would already be born. But we are not there yet, and in the meantime, it is therefore a question of acting "as if", and if not of countering the aging of the body, at least of attenuating its external signs.
And if it remains for that always possible - and certainly healthier! — to go on a diet and exercise, a slightly more radical and expeditious solution is that of cosmetic surgery. More and more seniors would be tempted by injections and other surgical procedures, which is not without raising some eyebrows. What is often criticized for this type of intervention is to distort the person, to give artificial features, closer to the doll than to the human. And it is true that a face too scarred by surgery can be disturbing, as facial expressions are sometimes frozen. However, these are only people who have had an abusive use of it. And it is precisely these that we retain, and which give its sulphurous reputation to cosmetic surgery. But successful surgery is precisely the one that goes unnoticed! As with many things, it is all about knowing how to make sense of things, and using it sparingly. No question of completely swallowing the facade, to authorize the expression, but quite simply to make some adjustments here and there on areas considered particularly sensitive or at the origin of complexes in the patient. The idea is to remain recognizable!
A piece of advice is therefore to first talk to your doctor, or your surgeon, in order to be well aware of the result that the operation will give, but also of the modalities of this one:certain treatments are definitive. , others on the contrary to renew regularly. After all, you don't change your face like your shirt, so it's better to be well informed before going under the knife. These health professionals will also be able to inform you about age-specific difficulties. Fragile health will require special precautions:general anesthesia, for example, is not as harmless for the elderly as it is for a young person in the prime of life. However, just as cosmetic procedures have become more refined to give more natural results, they continue to become safer with technical progress. Aesthetic operations are certainly not the heaviest, and a careful prior assessment of the state of health of patients is therefore sufficient to rule out any risk to their health.
And, precisely because these operations are still quite radical and will lead to permanent changes, do not hesitate to raise the subject with your loved ones. It is important for seniors and anyone else having these types of operations to ensure that they fully understand the implications of these operations.
As for the choice of doctor, the most reassuring remains the recommendation of a loved one who has already taken the plunge. It is of course possible to find information on the internet, but nothing beats word of mouth. Keep in mind that even if a doctor has been personally recommended to you, the main criterion to rely on is still your instincts. Choose someone you seem to relate to.
The reasons that push seniors to have recourse to cosmetic surgery are essentially the same as for the rest of the population:they want to continue to please and to please themselves. These days, they generally remain active well into old age—therefore no question of feeling excluded or set apart in social competition. Especially since with the normalization of divorce — we no longer grit our teeth in an unhappy marriage in the name of social and family pressure — and remarriage after widowhood, they can even at an advanced age end up on singles "market" and frequenting dating sites. Some of them are even real heartthrobs — great good for them! In short, there is no age to seduce, and let's face it, appearance counts. Especially at an age when the body is withering:it can be hard to have or maintain self-confidence, when you feel like you are withering.
Among the favorite treatments of the elderly are therefore all those aimed at combating wrinkles, whether they are those appearing around the eyes, lips, on the forehead, or even cheekbones that sag. These are the famous facelifts. There are several methods for this purpose. Two of the best known and democratized, because also the least invasive, are botox and hyaluronic acid. Both have largely replaced surgical facelifts for minor procedures. One bite, and voila! While both have the same aim — to "tone up" the face by making wrinkles disappear — they work a little differently. Where botox will smooth out the muscles causing wrinkles, hyaluronic acid works instead by filling the skin and adding volume to it. You should know that facelifts are temporary. Botox only acts for a few months, for example. And if, contrary to rumours, the skin is not "worse" at the end of its effects than before it began — we do not find ourselves "hostage" to the injections — it will therefore be necessary to renew the treatment to maintain the effects. In addition, their duration will also depend on the lifestyle:exposure to the sun, smoking or poor diet have notoriously deleterious effects on the skin, regardless of the treatments to which it has been exposed. Cosmetic surgery does not exempt from leading a healthy life, arguably the best makeover of all.
Wrinkles are not the only signs of aging. It is now also possible to remove age spots with lasers, or to rejuvenate the look with blepharoplasty (corrections of droopy eyelids) or other eyelid-related operations. In short, seniors are clients of choice for the beauty industry, which has understood this well by developing a myriad of operations aimed at rejuvenating their features.
The marks of age are not only felt on the face, however. With age, the chest falls for these ladies, the hair falls for these gentlemen, and the body retains more fat for all of us! It is for this reason that the silhouette tends to sag with age, that we gain weight more easily where the metabolism did its job better before, and therefore that we pay more for the slightest small difference. Breast implants, hair implants, liposuction… So many operations aimed at remedying the problems raised.
Finally, it is always possible to choose other types of operation, which have nothing to do with age. It's never too late to improve your appearance and give your self-confidence a boost, by erasing a trait that has long complicated us. Rhinoplasty or ear operations (for protruding ears, or lobes deemed too large) fall into this category.
If you have to recognize one thing about cosmetic surgery, it is that it now covers most needs, and that it will be difficult for you to find an operation that is not feasible... provided you find the right doctor and have the necessary budget. Because of course, know that in addition to reconstructive surgery aimed at helping a patient to rebuild himself following a traumatic accident or to remedy a malformation, surgery for purely aesthetic purposes - called "comfort" - is entirely the patient's load.
