I am a 35 year-old male who evidently got in the wrong line for skin when I was waiting to be born. As a teen, I had a terrible, terrible case of acne that left my face severely scarred (something like the singer Seal's lupus scarring) to the extent that people have asked me if I was in a fire. I also have stretch marks all over my body, but that's another story--I only mention it because I guess it suggests how prone my skin is to scarring. Around age 20, I had five microdermabrasion treatments, and over the past five years I've had four Fraxel laser treatments. (Repair, I believe; all I know is the machine was turned up to the highest setting for three of the treatments, just below ablative level, according to the doctor.) Over the past year or so, the skin under my eyes has thinned significantly, and the veins and flesh that show through are dark and make me look exhausted.
The Fraxel treatments worked far better than I expected them to work, and my skin really doesn't look bad when the lighting is in my favor. When it's not, though, as in this picture, I frankly feel like a monster. I think I would accept aging better were it not for the scarring I've lived with all my life, but it's really getting to the point at which I never want to be in public, and some days it's hard even to get out of bed to go to work. So anyway, I'm using all sorts of anti-aging topical creams and solutions, etc., and I will probably get another Fraxel treatment this year, but I'm actually considering (obvious from the title of this post) looking into a mid-facelift or cheek lift. I am 35 years old, and I know that's young for such a procedure, but I wonder nevertheless if I would be a candidate and if it would work at all. When I pull up lightly at the skin on my temples, the pitting that characterizes my face is much, much improved. At this point, I would also consider fillers, but because of the nature of my scars--I need something to smooth out the broken down collagen under the skin, not fill in a wrinkle--I don't know that it would work at all, and in fact I'm very concerned that a filler would not distribute evenly and might exacerbate my condition. I'm really not concerned with wrinkles. I have a couple of large creases across my forehead, and I'm developing smile lines next to my mouth, and I'm actually fine with that. That comes with getting older.
But I am really tired of being a prisoner to the damage I see in my face. Are there any options that would really make a difference, or do I need to wait until I am 45 or 50 to be considered a candidate for an actual surgical procedure that might improve my skin's appearance? (And if so, would it even work?) I'm not looking for perfection, and I certainly do not want to look like Bruce Jenner or a Real Housewife of Anywhere, but to be able to stand in direct overhead light and not want to run out of the room crying would be really nice at some point in my life.