57 Years Old, Sick of "Resting Bitch Face" and Turkey Neck. Pasadena, CA

Just had a checkup from my surgeon. Overall, things are great. The only glitch is that I have formed a thick, puffy keloid scar beneath my left earlobe. I have been treating my incisions with BioCorneum and most of them healed well, but this spot was where I had a "spitting stitch" and bleeding, and I guess it got aggravated. My doc is recommending I wait until I'm one year past, and if it hasn't settled down by then, he'll do an in-office fix where he cuts out the scar and sews the edges together into a neat line. So I will wait to see how things go.

Meanwhile, I got access to my official before and after pictures (the ones my surgeon took and uploaded) on the TouchMD site. There are before pictures, and after pictures taken at five months. These pics are no frills, no makeup, no smiling, and I swear, I haven't retouched anything. Also, I just took an after picture of my neck; if you look at my older pictures, you'll see one where I had ugly red streaks and ligature marks. Gone!! :-D

I am still numb all around my ears, but who cares? I feel so much better about my face and have zero regrets about my cosmetic surgery experience.

A fun shot -- not bad for 57, eh?

I just passed the four-month mark for my facelift. At this time, still have numbness and some pain around my ears, but I now know that can take up to a year to resolve, so I'm fine with it. Still treating and massaging the scars on my neck twice a day, although I may have to have a shot of cortisone in one of them, because it's a thick lump, and the doc said the shot will help flatten it out.

But the rest? No complaints! This past weekend, my boyfriend and I went to a big party with about 100 of our friends. I was a bit nervous about it, as this was the first time I was really showing off my "new face." I had made no secret of the fact that I'd had surgery. Oh my, the compliments. People were so supportive and sweet, and so effusive!

I've posted a shot of my bf and me -- sorry I had to block him out, but I thought it was a good representation of my face as it is now. When he saw it, he said, "You look like my daughter!" EW! I told him I most certainly do not. :-)

Seeing my doc next week and he will be taking his own after pictures. This healing process wasn't easy, but I don't regret any of it. Those of you still dealing with the hard parts, take heart. It gets better!