“Well, my husband and eldest child have gone absolutely mad at me. They can barely look at me! They are furious! I can’t believe my appearance causes them so much anguish when they barely look at me in normal circs!”
She describes the hurtful comments they have made, “Said I look like I’m off TOWIE trying to be 20 and ridiculous… Husband is really really cross. I feel like I’m 15 again! I by the way, love it! Just turned 50 and have 4 kids… I just felt like looking after myself and trying something new.”
Beat the Guilt
We tend to only notice aesthetic treatments when they’ve gone too far, the overly filled trout pout, suspiciously smooth foreheads, or hamster cheeks to name a few of the unfortunate looks, and undoubtedly society will have an opinion on this. The truth is, we walk past hundreds of people every day that have had a little bit of filler in their face or lips, or botulinum toxin in their face (Botox is the product name and it never goes in the lips!), and we’d never know, because the goal of most reputable practitioners is to achieve natural results, that simply enhance your natural beauty.
In an article on the website Mummy’s Gin Fund, aesthetic practitioner Mayoni Gooneratne, director of The Clinic, London, discusses the issue of guilt around aesthetic procedures. “The use of injectables to help treat wrinkles and lines is a topic that causes huge debate and literally can divide a room,” writes Dr Gooneratne, “But whatever your thoughts on it, when used in the right hands, it can give some great, subtle refreshed results.
“Do we blame our celebrity role models who relentlessly pursue youth to the detriment of actually looking real? Certainly Nicole Kidman’s unmoving forehead and Kylie Minogue’s over arched eyebrows have taken Botox into the realms of ridiculous. Lesley Ash’s tragic run in with some permanent face fillers and an associated allergy to the anesthetic used resulted in some serious disfigurement.
“Or does the problem start with us? Are we honestly expecting our partners to think this look comes without any help? Maybe we should stand up for ourselves and say “Actually I need a little help and in the scheme of keeping myself physically and mentally fit and well, this is one way I do it..”
“One of my clients asked me what she should say to her daughter about what she was having done. She was worried about the message she was giving out to her little girl. I said that maybe she should consider the fact that her daughter had a mother who valued herself enough to have a treatment done that made her feel good about herself. That she was important enough to take 45 minutes out of her day to put herself first. In my opinion that has to be a positive thing.”
Split Opinion
Opinions in the comments very much mirror the debate within society on aesthetic procedures. “Sod ’em! Your choice! Xx”, wrote one person, while another said, “Yep, your face, your choice”. One user sided with the husband, explaining their second hand experience of the treatments, “How would you feel if your husband changed his face with an unnecessary procedure that can go very wrong? It seems like self-harm to me, but maybe my view is biased, because I live in Essex where there are many people whose own mothers wouldn’t recognize them anymore, it’s like a form of body dysmorphia.”
It is always our choice what we do with our own bodies, but if you do choose to get a little tweak here or there, make sure you go do your research and go to a reputable practitioner to minimize the risk, and get the results you want.
