POSTED UNDER SMAS Facelift Reviews
51 Year Old Wants Her Face to Match Her Sunny Outlook - Wayne, NJ
UPDATED FROM Dovima
8 years post
June 2024-Still holding up well years later!
WORTH IT$25,000
I took these pics this morning in natural light. Used zero filters so you can see how well the facelift held up over the years. I was very busy this past year caring for elderly parents and moving, so I have zero Botox or fillers. I tried fillers many years ago but dislike them. Lip fillers dissolve on me in only 4-5 days leaving ZERO result. I am the only person who has tried lip fillers three separate times (including way overfilling once) and had them all dissolve within the week as if I had never had them at all. There’s a couple thousand dollars down the drain!!! Anyhow-someone asked me how Dr. Wise’s work held up so here I am posting an update.
Dovima's provider
UPDATED FROM Dovima
1 year post
Pics from my last post
Forgot to add these pics. Two have very light filters-Ava Filter #1, the others unretouched like most of my posted pics.
Replies (5)
November 8, 2017
I just wanted to post a BIG thank you for your detailed pics and posts. I, too, have VERY short hair (although in my case not by choice as it's "thinning" as they say ;) There are pretty much no other women with super short hair, so I didn't have a lot of comparisons/examples. (I also tend to wear funky glasses-now if I could just get my clothes to be as stylish as the glasses).
I'm just over a month out and so far I'm tracking extremely close to your results and am healing pretty much as you did as this point in time. It helped me so much to be able to look ahead to your progress at 6 months and at a year, as it's so hard not to start freaking oneself out about things like scar prominence, swelling, jawline, etc.
I'm with you in that I'm open about having had it done (not going to hide it so well with super short hair, so what the heck!). Unlike you I'm a little bummed about the fat transfer loss, but mostly because I also had a lip lift and now have an upper lift that I've NEVER had before. I didn't have as dramatic a change as you did (in fact sometimes I need to look at my before. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I hate that I've become sort of obsessed with looking better, but mainly because it was a lot to go through if there isn't a significant improvement.
Thanks again. Every time my patience slips just a bit I can come back and look at your comments and photos. How funny is it to now be looking forward to being 6 months older (ha!!! When things have settled down quite a bit, of course).
Next up is going blonde to try to deal with the white scalp/thinning DARK hair. And you've also inspired me to get a makeover soon-if nothing else it's a good way to learn about some products to protect from skin cancer. I'm guessing makeup has come as far in the past 30 years as everything else has-hoping it can feel lightweight and not come off on everything like in days of yore ;)
November 27, 2017
Hey I just saw your comments today. You look great! Let me know if you love your lip lift. I HATE my tiny lips and draw them in like I draw on my eyebrows! Thank you for your words! I am still super thrilled that I was able to help other women with my posts.
Good idea to bleach your hair blonde as that helps hair look and feel fuller. Yes, do NOT fear the old makeover. Just keep going to people whose style you like, and don’t feel pressure to buy anything unless you REALLY love it and feel great in it. As a former makeup artist, who is still abnormally obsessed with makeup and beauty products in general-(I sometimes think of doing a YouTube blog on this stuff because I see awesome people but not that many women doing it that are 1) older 2) trendy fashion risk takers 3) have decades of experience. Also, I would hope to be funny-because God knows, the human desire to look good is very funny.
Do NOT give yourself a hard time about caring how you look. Many people are visual people. I think it’s human nature to want your inner beauty and soul to be partially reflected on the outside. Of course, there ARE really superficial people who think that looks are everything-I try to avoid THOSE people or at least remember that they are probably in a lot of inner pain if they are overly fixated on outer appearance. The psychology of appearance is something that could be researched and written about forever. I bet it’s kind of freeing, in a way, to be one of those people who don’t give a fiddle what they look like. I just believe I was born “wired” this way, and I accept it and try not to be too self critical. You’re certainly not harming another human being by caring about how you look.
The good news is that makeup HAS advanced tremendously in 30 years. I’ve been using it for 40!!! I think the biggest advancements are in the last 10 years. Go for a tinted moisturizer instead of traditional makeup. To help protect it from skin cancer and premature aging-buy a tinted moisturizer with nothing less than SPF 30. (A lot of products have SPF 15–that is not enough for various reasons. If you want brand recommendations-then private message me. It would probably be tacky for me to mention brands on here.
Keep the faith on the future improvements. You are still healing at this point.
November 28, 2017
I would *love* some recommendations on perhaps some products. I have Celiac Disease and so products that I might lick off (lipstick, moisturizer with SPF, etc) have to be gluten free (until there's a cure when I'm 80 or so, ha!). So far I can't find anything beyond SPF 15, which is frustrating! I'll send a note tonight or tomorrow and see if you have recommendations for manufacturers, etc. I was waiting a bit for the scars to heal, but honestly I think it will take another 4 months for them to change much more than they already have, and I'm not that patient :) Thanks again!!! The best part has been feeling more feminine. Learning a bit of light makeup will be icing on the cake.
November 8, 2017
One year post op the results are amazing! You are pretty, sunny, glowing <3
November 10, 2017
Almost 14 months later, my ears are still numb where the incisions were. I also had them tacked down so they look shorter. How they can be numb yet hurt at the same time, I don’t understand, but they do. Is your ear numb at all?
November 27, 2017
Thank you, ladies! Mary—about your numbness 14 months later. My ears feel very slightly numb. The ONLY time I notice residual numbness is when my husband touches me very gently there-where incisions were-then I realize the area has a small loss of feeling. It is now over a year and a half post op for me, and I realize that I may not regain 100% sensation. It is VERY subtle for me. On a scale of one to ten, I would say the numbness is a two or three. Outer edges of ears not numb at all-but where stitches were near where face and ear attach-and behind ears, that is where the numbness is.
June 25, 2019
Mary, I’m almost a year post-op and I still have the same (in the same area) - both pain and numbness. Pain is minimal (it’s more like a faint nerve-underneath-the-skin kind of pain), but the numbness is still acute.
UPDATED FROM Dovima
1 year post
Still Happy Nearly a Year and a Half Later!!!
Hey Ladies (and gentlemen of course),
Just checking in to say "hi". I'm doing great. Still a happy camper. Went to 35th High School reunion in July and people were incredibly fun, nice and full of compliments. I, of course, am not that woman who claims I "did yoga and started drinking a lot of wheatgrass juice". When people said "you look amazing", I said well, "thank you and my surgeon and Jesus, cause I had a facelift over a year ago". Like those giddy movie stars at awards shows, I FORGOT to thank my husband! Let's face it, I always think, that man basically paid for a new car--but instead of a new car--my face got refreshed. Plastic surgery is sort of a team thing, if you're married. If my husband, for instance, went through "manopause", and asked me if he could buy a midlife crisis car or take a luxury vacation with a bunch of male friends--well, I would shoot down that expenditure immediately. So I am truly grateful that my husband 100% supported my decision. (Then again, he doesn't have to see resting [RS bleep] face again for a long, long time because I look too perky now). Lol.
Just checking in to say "hi". I'm doing great. Still a happy camper. Went to 35th High School reunion in July and people were incredibly fun, nice and full of compliments. I, of course, am not that woman who claims I "did yoga and started drinking a lot of wheatgrass juice". When people said "you look amazing", I said well, "thank you and my surgeon and Jesus, cause I had a facelift over a year ago". Like those giddy movie stars at awards shows, I FORGOT to thank my husband! Let's face it, I always think, that man basically paid for a new car--but instead of a new car--my face got refreshed. Plastic surgery is sort of a team thing, if you're married. If my husband, for instance, went through "manopause", and asked me if he could buy a midlife crisis car or take a luxury vacation with a bunch of male friends--well, I would shoot down that expenditure immediately. So I am truly grateful that my husband 100% supported my decision. (Then again, he doesn't have to see resting [RS bleep] face again for a long, long time because I look too perky now). Lol.
Replies (4)
September 19, 2017
Your lighthearted honesty, is music to my ears. I have gained so much from all the wonderful creative and courageous woman who have shared their journey on RS, I'm traveling overseas and booked for early Oct. You are a treasure Dovima.
September 19, 2017
Thank you both! Congrats on the overseas trip. I agree-I wouldn't have had the courage if it weren't for all the people sharing stories in here, info and community support!
November 11, 2017
Thank you so much for taking the time to document your year plus. I am scheduled for SMAS face and neck lift with fat transfer in one month. I think I've read almost everything but only remember one reference to your transfer from thighs and your dissatisfaction with longevity as with fillers. Where on your face were the fat injections and do you still believe they dissipated within months? Anything else you'd like to share would be much appreciated as I can as more questions and drop this add-on if of little value. Fyi, I have a thin face and have had filler in lips and cheeks with good but short term results.
Replies (3)