“Growing old gracefully” . . . a nice idea until your skin goes south

The idea of growing old gracefully is a nice concept when you are in your 20s. I have always been the kind of person who said I would never get any work done.  I still feel the same way for the most part, though in recent years I have also added the caveat that I will “never say never.” I don’t mind my wrinkles. I have a crow’s feet and laugh lines and I feel like they are well earned. I am 40 years old and I don’t mind looking my age.

At the same time, there are a few things that really bother me. Particularly, my sagging skin. Wrinkles are one thing, jowls are quite another. And in the past years, I have noticed that genetic predisposition in my mother’s family taking shape on my own face. I don’t notice it often, but sometimes in a side-view photo of myself, I will be startled to recognize my mom, my grandma, or my aunt Vi’s jawline in the photo.

I have never really looked into anything to address this, so when Wave Plastic Surgery reached out to me about a  procedure, I was curious but hesitant. Ultherapy is a laser, noninvasive face treatment that tightens up loose skin by encouraging it to produce more collagen. Ultherapy uses safe ultrasound energy to lift and tighten the skin without surgery or downtime. I did some research, and I felt  comfortable with it and decided to give it a try.

My first step to was to meet with the doctor, who looked at my skin to decide if I was a candidate for the procedure. He did notice some laxity in my skin and thought I was a perfect candidate.

They took some photos so that we can compare my skin in a few months. The effects of the procedure are not immediate. It takes a while for the collagen to do it’s work, and they said I will notice a change in 3 to 6 months.

The next up was for them to draw out the quadrants on my neck and jaw line. And then, the procedure started.

I will admit, the procedure was rather painful. Most of that pain can be mitigated by taking Vicodin, but I had to drive myself home after the procedure so an Advil is the strongest pain medication I got. There was some involuntary crying, and some moments I almost quit. But I managed to stick it out for the hour, and after that, there was no residual pain at all. In fact, this is how I looked just before I drove home:

I am excited to see the results in a few months. I will keep you posted with some before-and-after shots. Thanks to Wave Plastic Surgery for the complimentary treatment and for the great care they gave me! I was really impressed with their office and staff. If you would like to try their services, they have extended an offer to RATM readers for a free PGF (Platelet Growth Factor) treatment when you book an Ultherapy session.