49 Yr Old with 53 Yr Old Hubby -- Both Getting Biltmore Lift! Asheville, NC

Oh my goodness!! It has been awhile since I posted an update. Therefore, I am playing catch up by posting my 3-month "before and after" photos. Plus, I am posting my 6-month photos---taken by my awesome hairdresser, no less!! lol!!
As you can see, my jawline was really sharp at the 3-month checkup, and it still looks sharp 6 months after the surgery. I've been using Retin-A (0.25% and 0.50%) and Vitamin C serum to even out my skin tone. Also, if you remember, Dr. Harley injected Botox in the muscle above and between my eyes during my 3-month checkup. I basically got the Botox to give the muscles between my eyes and right above them, a break--which it actually has done. So, now that it has pretty much worn off, I won't get that area injected again. The 3-month break the Botox gave that area was enough time to "re-train" the muscles to behave in a more relaxed way.
Also remember that at my 3-month checkup, Dr. Harley also injected 1 syringe of filler into my smile lines between my mouth and nose. It was enough to soften them up, which is what I wanted. It is supposed to last 9 months to 1 year, at which time, I will have them re-filled.
The last several months has been a whirlwind of activity for me and my husband K. In fact, he has yet to go back for his checkup, and hasn’t been home for almost 2 months due to business obligations. He will be home in about a week for 10 days. While I love our boys, I will be glad when the youngest son finally goes away to college so that I can spend every other week going to see my husband. The two older boys are working with him. However, Christian is just 17, and wants to be a physician's assistant, so we are having him live at home and get his core classes at the local community college, transfer to a university to get his 4 yr degree, then transfer to one of the Georgia schools which offer the PA graduate degree. That boy is REALLY social, so I don't DARE leave the house (or the cat & dog) in his care for more than one night or he'd turn it into something resembling the frat house from the movie "Animal House"!
I do have to tell you, not a lot of people have seen me out and about since my surgery. Because I do a lot of work on my computer, I have been able to dodge large groups of people that I know, and continue to heal. However, several months ago, I was contacted to be the featured speaker for a large organization in South Georgia. Since I know a lot of people in this particular organization, I could not say, “no”. So, I went ahead and agreed to do the speaking engagement, which was last week. Oh my word!!! While I had several people compliment me on the content of my speech, the overwhelming majority of people who engaged with me afterwards, said things like, “Wow, you just get better looking with time!”, “You know, you just don’t seem to age!”, “Have you lost weight?”, and two men both said, “I hope your husband knows how lucky he is to have you!” LOL!!! Of COURSE I let them know that he does, and that I am just as lucky to have K as my husband. The thing is….no one suspected a thing!!! They just thought I had been taking better care of myself and had changed my hair and makeup, which I had. I just told them I had also been using Retin-A, vitamin C serum, and staying out of the sun----all of which I AM doing!!! LOL!! Honey, my 50-year-old ego was sooooo inflated after that event, that I’m amazed the organizers didn’t have to open up another set of double doors just so my head would fit through it when I left!! I was “stylin’ and profilin” for sure!!! The compliments took me back to my pageant days. So much so, that I was tempted to throw my arm out of the car window and perform a pageant “lightbulb” wave as I drove off!! LOL!!
Seriously, something that I credit with helping me escape “plastic surgery” detection is my new straight, lighter, more natural hairstyle. Plus, I now apply less makeup to my face than I used to wear. Not that I wore a ton to begin with, but I find that the softer colors make me look somewhat younger and fresher. In fact, while I DO have a lot of hair, I was finding that with age, I was losing a lot of strands and noticed a bit of thinning. Since my mama did NOT raise a fool, I started using the men’s Walmart brand of Rogaine to regrow hair in the regions I was seeing hair loss. If you look at my left side view ‘before’ photo against my left side view ’3 months after’ photo, you’ll see the beginnings of new hair growth. I had just started using the hair regrowth serum about a month prior to that photo being taken.
Now, months after my checkup photos, my hair is a lot fuller and thicker in the areas where I used it---my hair part, the crown, and right around the front, just above my forehead and temples. I simply use the 1 oz. dropper of liquid, as instructed, on those areas at night before I go to bed. It’s twice the strength of the women’s formula, and you only have to use it once a day instead of twice a day that the women’s formula calls for. So, if you are struggling with hair loss, try the men’s liquid formula Equate brand. It’s made a positive difference for me.
Finally, for anyone thinking of having the Biltmore Lift, I encourage you to go ahead and do it. If Dr. Harley says you need fillers or Botox, I would have that done when you have the lift. He knows what he’s talking about, and has the skill to back it up. My face, neck and eyes are proof-positive of it---and so are many other peoples’ too!!

Gosh, it feels like 5 MONTHS since I have been on RS, instead of 5 weeks, but I''m finally BACK!! Yippie!!! It’s been incredibly busy for our family since the middle of April, with the month of May being jam packed with birthdays & the parties that they bring (my 50th, my mother-in-law's, and our middle son's), Mother's Day, our two youngest sons' high school graduations happening in 2 different states within 24 hours of each other (and the co-responding after-graduation meals & parties), the Military Ball, 2 proms, and a 3 month check up with Dr. Harley (May 31st). Every time I turned around, I was either booking hotels for one of three different states we were in during May, or on the highway in route to one of them (or coming back home from one of them getting ready for another trip or event)! Needless to say, I’m starting the month of June worn slap out and I really missed checking in on everyone here at RS. All of the fast food, cakes, ice cream products, pizza, potato chips, wine, and middle of the night Huddle House food runs (from whichever hotel we were in) left me 6 pounds heavier!! May was one big ol’ on the road food-fest!! You know, I could never make it as a truck driver---I’d end up weighing as much as a “big rig” after the first 6 months on the road!!! LOL!! Honestly, I’m just glad June is here so that life can get back to being somewhat normal. K’s sister and her family from Michigan will be visiting us for about 10 days starting June 20th. It will be interesting to see if they can tell we’ve had any work done. I will post about the 3-month check-up trip to Dr. Harleys in the next day or two. I’m still tired since I spent about 14 hours driving within a 30-hour span of time. But for now, I wanted to answer some questions and requests from some of you guys. Here goes…. 1) PROCEDURES I HAD ON MARCH 17, 2016: Biltmore Lift (neck lift & lower face lift combo); Upper Eye Bleph. Dr. Harley mentioned filler for my nasolabial folds, but I was afraid I would look weird and too “done”. PROCEDURES I HAD ON MAY 31, 2016: However, when I went for my check-up on Tuesday, I went ahead and had Dr. Harley do some filler in my nasolabial folds and also a small amount of Botox in between my eyes. In retrospect, I wish I would have done it back in March. He was right---the Juvederm does soften my lines in a natural way. 2) Since I have a small bruise and a little bit of swelling in those folds right now, I will wait until next Thursday to post update photos of me with the Juvederm and Botox. Our housekeeper (R) is on vacation, and she will take the requested photos of me as I appeared in the “before” photos I sent to Dr. Harley when she gets back. So, those will be coming next week. 3) Lastly, I have posted a few updated photos of my scars. I did not include the eyes since they are barely noticeable, and I am tired. The pictures speak for themselves and my scars are healing nicely. Basic concealer is all that I use on them underneath my everyday make-up & sunscreen, and the chin scar is undetectable where it is placed regardless of make-up. BTW…I don’t have on make-up in the “scar” photos I posted in this update. 4) THINGS I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY: Hmmm…maybe only purchase ONE of the TheraPearl full masks, instead of two. It came in handy the first 6 weeks of swelling. I used it when I wanted a fast all-over reduction of swelling. However, I would recline when I wore it, as it was a bit heavy. But, I liked how fast it worked on my entire face. I also bought 2 eye masks, which I don’t know if I would purchase again as I am NOT someone who likes to sit or lie still with a mask over my eyes....I’m a multi-tasker, and I could not multi-task with that mask over my eyes. It aggravated me to no end!!! Plus, I would have gotten only a 5-7 day supply of Bromelain & Arnica Montana. I preferred eating blueberries and pineapple over taking pills and tablets. The horseshoe travel pillow was an awesome purchase. I STILL use it every night!! Lastly, I would have had the Juvederm done when I had the surgery in March instead of waiting until my check-up in May. I hope this information helps in some small way. For now, I am headed for bed folks! Have a good evening! :)

It has been totally hectic around my house these past few weeks, and won't slow down until June. We had the prom the weekend before last, and this weekend we'll load up 5 teenagers and drive to Alabama for our youngest sons' school military weekend and ball. So, at some point during the weekend, we'll have 6 teenagers to oversee in the hotel rooms we've booked. Thank goodness, the youngest son's girlfriend will take my place as his escort under the saber arch. That way, I can take photos, sit back, and relax for the evening. After that, we have Mother's day, my 50th birthday party bash, two high school graduations (our middle son & youngest son), and Memorial day weekend festivities to get through "undetected", so to speak. LOL!! Our official 3 month check-up with Dr. Harley is scheduled for May 31st.

That being said, any future posts from me in the next 6 weeks or so will be sporadic at best. I've been trying to catch up with everyone's progress, and have enjoyed reading about the recent facelift, neck lift, and eye lift surgeries many you have had. It always exciting to read about others' experiences before, during, and after their procedures. There are some AWESOME women (and men) in the RS community!!! What a blessing and a gift to be part of such a great support system!!!

I had a few requests for a comparison photo of my eyes, so I put together a composite containing a photo from a few weeks before my surgery, and a photo I snapped 2 weeks ago(one month post-surgery)+. I'll try and get a fe w more recent photos together asap. Also, I'll try and get some close ups of my husband's scars and eyes too. He's just not home very often, and when he was home for the prom, we were so busy running around picking up tuxedos, shoes, flowers and the makings of the kid's formal prom dinner (I cooked it, and K & I served it), then recovering from having 8 teenagers hang out and spend the night with us after prom, that taking progress was photos was the last thing on our minds! The man has not been home since!!

In the grand scheme of things, we are both progressing well. For the most part, only those who know our faces extremely well (hair dresser, and children) see a marked difference in our appearances. My parents have seen me a few times in the last couple of weeks and have no inkling I've had anything done to my face/neck. They just think I've lost a little weight and gotten more rest, which is what I'd HOPED would be their response.

As for my husband, he's had similar reactions---nobody has even guessed he's had a facelift or eye surgery!! It's like TracyAnne once stated, "People see what they expect to see." Therefore, they are not looking for signs that we've had plastic surgery. While the differences are dramatic to us, they are very subtle and almost undetectable to other folks. They just think we are aging well, which was our goal from the beginning, and also a testament to the incredible judgement and surgical skills of Dr. Harley. Honestly, we become more pleased with our respective results with each passing day. It's been one of the best decisions we've ever made for ourselves, and we have no regrets about having the procedures and our chosen surgeon. We feel very blessed. :)