Time to Lose the Jowls and Saggy Neck with LFL and get peel. Asheville, NC

Set to have a lower face lift on March 11th with Dr. Harley in Asheville, NC. He's had so many great reviews and the result pictures I've seen have been wonderful (thanks to all you lovely ladies who have posted them and shared your stories)! I'm a pretty private person and not as brave as you all are so for now anyway I'm only adding these two pics of my lower face so you can see that these jowls and saggy neck need to go. The jowl area is so saggy that it's caused mild acne scarring I had to droop into long craters that I absolutely hate. I should probably talk to Dr. Harley about that too to come to think of it. I'm also planning on getting my upper lids done but that is not included in the price I posted because I was unsure about that at the time so I didn't get it. Next week is fast approaching now, hope I get as good results as everyone else has!

I'm done now and already pleased...very pleased! Yesterday and mite I did suffer with a very tight head wrap that even left a sore but as Dr Harley stated, it's a nessity. As soon as it came off this mornng I felt much better. I'm loving the look even with swelling a weird dents. Got a peel too. Will writeore later...aqafor in eye an can't see too well. All you girls wit upcoming surgeries...don't fret it'll go well.

Day 4 and all is going great aside from the swelling and the icky feeling skin, today has been the worst of it. The peel I had has caused the skin to turn brown and crusty and it's getting sort of itchy. I tried switching to a regular moisturizer as the directions said to but that lasted about an hour before I went running back to Aquafor. The regular stuff didn't cut it on this leather skin. Hopefully when it's done doing it's thing I'll have smooth, youthful looking skin. As far as the lift, I'm LOVING my neck...been a long time since I've seen it looking like this and I'm very happy to have lost the jowls! I'm looking really rough right now but I can see what's behind all the swelling and decrepit skin and it actually brings a tear to my eye to see glimmers of the old (young) me still there. I'm a very happy camper thanks to Dr. Harley. Thank you to all the ladies before me who helped me make many of my decisions and best wishes to all who still have their surgeries coming up...you won't be sorry. Even looking all puffy and leathery right now I am so happy...I can't imagine how happy I'll be in another week.

...and boy am I getting stir crazy! I admire you brave ladies who just trudge on out there while still recovering. I'm feeling a little freakish at the moment, I think I look a little stranger than I did immediately after. Swelling is definitely an issue though I'm avoiding salt like the plague. I'm thinking sleeping does me in, can't seem to stay off my face at night. Icing helps. I'm also battling the skin peelies so putting makeup on just makes it look worse...the peelies stand out even more. The peel has brought out this beautiful skin I've never seen before in my life! Who knew! Wish I would have done that years ago. I always wondered why some women had gorgeous skin...now I know. I'm raw though and oh so red in areas so even though the sun is shining and I'd love to be sipping some tea outside I think I'll just hide out inside a bit longer. I'm also VERY tight along my jaw and while I know this is a good thing I think I'll be happy when the stitches come out next week and I can start stretching my face a bit. My face goes through stages throughout the day...lots of distortion. Had some major stress when we came home. We kenneled our little dog for two nights which we never do because he's a nervous little boy but we knew with the stress of my face and needing sleep, etc that we needed to leave him home this time while we went to Asheville. Bad move...he developed acute pancreatitis from the shear stress of that and is currently hospitalized. He is my heart and you can imagine the beating I gave myself to have that happen to him because of my vanity...well, you know. The stress and crying blew my face up bad so I got myself together with my hubby's help. He is much better and they expect him to make a full recovery and possibly come home tonight. Unbelieveable what stress can do to a body. Anyway, just wanted to touch base and say that I'm very happy I did this even though I look like a freak...I knew it was coming and I know it'll be leaving, hopefully soon. Hope you all are happy and healing in your various stages.

I woke up this morning and saw the old me in the mirror. Not the old me with the jowls and saggy neck mind you so it's all still good. But I did lose that roundness my face had taken on that added a more youthful look. It was nice having that youthful look but honestly, it didn't quite look like me...something was off about it. While I'll miss that aspect of it, I'm really happy to see "me" back! I look more normal now with my longer face back. I was looking too puffy in the cheeks (think Mariah Carey filler puffy) and weird looking younger never trumps beautiful older. Everyday there seems to be something different to look at and while recovery has been much easier than I imagined it would be, I have to say that I'm very happy that I gave myself PLENTY of time before I have had to see anyone up close who knows me well. It's been two weeks and I still haven't done it but will have to next week. I'm sure for you gals that have had to get back to work earlier than you would have liked it hasn't been easy. I had a peel and I'm still flaking up a storm and makeup just doesn't flow on nicely yet and I have a lot of red areas. Nothing that would cause anyone to look sideways at but enough to make me not want to see anyone socially yet if I don't have to. I'm still not sure what to use for the scars. Everything has healed except for behind one ear...big scab back there that I wish would fall off already. I'm keeping it dry but maybe I should be keeping it moist?? Anyone? I didn't care for Vitamin E nor Mederma. Using Arnica gel in the hairline scars and behind one ear and silicone strips in front of the ears and under chin. They don't always stay well...my husband has told me several times that my chin is peeling off so I prefer not to wear them when I go out. I'm open to any ideas. So basically, for now my update is that I love my skin from the peel even with all the peeling and blotchy red areas and I'm still thrilled with the results from the lift though I do hope it doesn't change too much more! Happy Easter to all of your girls!

Ok ladies, here are some pictures from today, about 2 1/2 weeks post op. Hair is a disheveled mess, tinted moisturizer and that's it for makeup. I'm not much on makeup, never have been though looking at these up close pictures makes me think I probably should be. My lips are uneven because of a chicken pox scar at the tip of one side that removed the pigmentation...it's become much more obvious as the years have marched on and I've lost volume. Lip liner works when I remember to use it, filler was a nightmare. I try not to be in the mirror too much yet and I've never been into selfies at all. I see things in each of these pics that concern me/bother me but I don't want to obsess, particularly at this early stage of recovery. I'm really happy with my neck and jowl area...such an improvement! My skin is much better as well though as the swelling has gone down I can see that the orange peel skin has returned around my mouth though it is much improved. All the dark spots I had from sun damage are gone and my crows feet are much softer. If you look closely at some pics you can see the line where Dr. Harley stopped the peel. One side is white and the other red. I think he said he couldn't get too close to the surgery sites so that may be something to consider if you are thinking about a lift/peel combo...he can't cover the entire area on the sides of the face. At the 2 1/2 week mark I'm still very happy with my results.

Hello Ladies! I haven't been around to check on everyone's progress lately but I do hope you're all doing well. At 7 weeks I am still absolutely thrilled with my Biltmore Lift results! My face has settled down nicely and I could not be any happier with how it turned out. For sure it turned the clock back at least 10 years. Still having to cover my incision marks and probably will still for a while because they are still red but other then the redness they look really good. The chemical peel is a different story. It has been a much more difficult recovery than the lift was. I didn't think at 7 weeks it would still be an issue but I have one large patch of redness in my cheek/jawline area that just wants to stay discolored. I can see that patch on my one week photos...almost like it got a different strength done or was swiped on harder, not sure but it's the same area with the same demarcation line. Dr. Harley has me using hydroquinone cream and Retin A on it but that is causing dryness and peeling (that's normal) and when I try to cover it my makeup just becomes one gloppy, peeling mess. I also have scars where my head wrap dug into me under both sides of my jaw that are still dark so using the stuff on them too...same mess. I know this too shall pass. Initially, I thought the peel was great but I think it was just the swelling I was loving. Pretty much the orange peel skin stuff came back and in all fairness, Dr. Harley said he didn't know if it would help with that or not. Bottom line...LOVE the lift!! Not so much the peel.

since my surgery and I thought I'd do an update since there is some change since my last update. I am still completely happy with the lift, I could not have asked for better results. I really don't have any before pics to compare the new me with. I didn't like the way I looked and didn't take pics but I recently came upon one of me that someone took at a show I was at about 2 months prior to the surgery...what an incredible difference there is! I for sure look 10 yrs younger at least. The best part is nobody has ever guessed, not even my mom and if anybody would have it would have been her. I had about one or two weeks of looking a little squirrely and then I looked fine. The scars are nearly gone. I used Scar Away tapes for the first 2 months and then switched to Bio Oil and the oil is what seems to have really set the healing in motion. Any issues that concerned me cleared up such as a pleated thing by one ear and an indent along the jaw. Even my eyes that I had regretted not doing (Dr Harley didn't think I should) have improved for some reason since the lift and no longer look like they need anything done. The thing that has changed significantly since my last update is that I wasn't 100% happy with the chemical peel I had at the same time. I had some marks that lingered endlessly from the peel and I wasn't sure they were going to go away. Dr. Harley had me use Retin A and hydroquinine (sp?) cream and within a few weeks it all cleared up and my skin is amazing. I hope I didn't deter any people from having it done with my review because I'm very happy I had it done now. For sure, Dr. Harley is the surgeon to go to...I have absolutely no regrets...the results seem to just keep getting better. Oh...I wasn't able to go to my appt for before and after pics unfortunately. Life has had some obstacles and major changes since my surgery that I've had to deal with but I do hope to get there down the road. To all you ladies thinking about doing it...it's not even close to the big deal you think it will be to go through it. It's fairly an easy experience and you'll be absolutely thrilled with your results...honest you will!