Plastic surgery to correct an accident or a physical "impairment" is one thing. Spending lots of money to "improve" your looks the way you think they should look, is another. If it's superficial, the latest thing etc, and unrealistic.

It showed Heidi Montag going under the knife yesterday. What is she, 25? Her mother was in tears and so upset with her and kept asking her why she wanted to look like Barbie? They had a falling-out and Heidi hasn't spoken to her mother since, and her mother was kicked off her property when she went to see her.

There is a limit. Would I do botox or the lip injection thing? Nope. At one time I thought the liposuction would be cool, but I saw how they did that on tv......no wonder the patients are black and blue! It didn't always work anyway, and could get lumpy.

I had a growth behind my earlobe and finally got referred to a top cancer surgeon (after seeing several other doctors prior).
He went in and took it out and the scar was identical to what they do with a facelift.....behind the ear, down the crease in the neck. I joked that he could do the other side and do some tightening. But I didn't have wrinkles then (or now). Couldn't see the scar then or now. My right side of my face and ear was completely numb for a number of weeks, and the only lingering effect is that my right eye is dry and I use drops periodically.

There was a time that if we had the $$$$, I might have had my boobs done. I've always been not very well endowed. Other than that, I guess I might consider an upper eye lift, because after many years of stretching them, putting on eye makeup, gravity and old age, they droop quite a bit. My Daughter is considering that face lift they are advertising on TV , I think it is call the Lifestyle lift, but I;m not sure.

Kelly Ripa just makes fun of her small boobs. They have not held her back

I fell when I was a kid (about 10) and needed a dozen stitches in my forehead. I still have a scar but it's barely visible. I cover it with bangs. I would never ever have plastic surgery of any kind. I also have a keloid scar on my right knee. I can't stomach the thought of a needle anywhere near my face. I get kidney dialysis three times a week, they stick two big IV needles in my left arm each time. That's more than enough for me. I pretty much like my looks. I have never been "beautiful" but at least my face looks normal. I saw a girl on TV once who had Elephant Man Disease.(Neurofibromatosis). She had lumps all over her face. All she wanted was to look "normal" and not be stared at. I have what she wished for- I'm "normal" and no one stares. A female boss once told me I have a beautiful smile. That's fantastic!

Yes I might.........I have often thought about doing a little something and my DH said, Go ahead if you want to do it....but I guess I'm kind of chicken. My husband has Italian skin and even at 71 doesn't have a single wrinkle...I, on the other hand have enough for both of us. I am beginning to get deep lines from the corner of my mouth and I hate that. I feel like I am drooling on myself....

So yes I would do it.....and may even do it at some point.
Everyone talks about Joan Rivers but I think she looks fabulous....her skin is tight but she doesn't have that stretched out look. For her age, I'd damned sure trade.

I can't think of anything that I would want done other than some cosmetic dental work. I have a cousin and a very close friend that both had breast reductions. If I were in their position I would have done so as well, one had 3# removed the other was nearly 7!

When I was a child I fell on a milk bottle, ended up with a huge scar, from ankle to knee, that took 28 stitches to close. Had the opportunity existed I'm not sure if I would have had that fixed or not. Today I seldom think about it, actually I never really did and it never stopped me from wearing shorts or anything else, including my cheering uniform in high school.

If I had the money to splurge, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Get rid of the baggy eyes and drooping chin and neck wattles. Oil of Olay just ain't hacking it anymore, no matter what I try. I see nothing wrong with it if it makes you feel better. Heidi didn't need a thing done to her beautiful face, IMHO! But she isn't any way close to being 70!

I'm going to get dental implants...but I can live with my wrinkles.

I admire the actress Diane Keaton. Although she could well afford it, and it is the norm in her profession, she has never had any "work" done, and never will.

She has the normal fine facial lines of a woman her age, and I think she looks great.

If I had the extra money, you bet I would have it done. I would then go to one of those swanky hotels that they have for cosmetic surgery and let them pamper me.

I am strongly considering having a face lift - I want the new procedure, where they run the sutures under the skin. I plan to check it out in the near future.

30 years ago I had breast reduction surgery. Best thing I ever did! The surgeon told me he never had unhappy patients who reduced. He said patients who enlarged their breast often regret it.

If I had the money I would have my nose done. It looks fine from the front but I hate it in profile. I had my nose broken by a basketball hitting me in the face in HS. I was a spectator! I have a bump where it broke so I would love to have that fixed.

I'm also built funny. No hips, no butt, plenty of belly. Would like to move the belly to the hips and butt. Not gonna happen though. At 60 I figure I'm too old for it to matter.

Linda

I think a case like Moni's is a good thing... But when these women do the puffy lips and botox that makes the face look so awful, not so good! It is not normal when your face doesn't move when you smile. Joan Rivers looks "horrible" with her plastic looking face. It looks like a mask..

I don't love my face but I can honestly say that there isn't anything I would have done right now even if I had the resources. It's not like anything stands out - I'm just not that pretty but I don't think I'm ugly (and if I am, as I don't think so, that's all that matters).

My body is also not great but most things can't be fixed - my butt is pretty flat and I wouldn't have butt implants. My calves are huge - what can you do about that? Nothing really. I have a gut but if I lose more weight it's something I could live with. I don't have any stretch marks on my stomach.

The one thing I might actually do is have my boobs lifted. They've always been saggy and age hasn't helped. I don't really need implants but I think the lift with implants look better. But, until I can afford it, I can live with myself.

I need to get my upper eye lids "tighened" They affect my vision sometimes. Been putting it off.
I was offered a free "tummy tuck" a few years back and refused it. So I guess I would say only if it was neccessary, not for vanity reasons.

Always wanted a breast reduction, but everyone kept telling me if I'd lose weight so would my boobs. Well, I lost weight but they didn't get as small as I wished!

I guess I can relate this story on a forum where no one really knows me: I weighed my breasts once (no easy task). One weighed 6lbs. the other 7lbs.according to the bathroom scale. That's 13 extra pounds I'm lugging around! hee hee

If I were a lottery winner I might consider something like a bit of a face lift or eye lift type of surgery. But otherwise I don't think it's practical & not money well spent since you have to "keep it up".

I do think that society has a bit of an imperative for the high profile/celebrity type people to upgrade their aging features. Diane Keaton may look fine for a woman her age (64) & have been blessed with good genes, but those celebs who don't age prettily (like most of us) & look OLD are looked on with askance! Look @ Mary Tyler Moore's neck, Oprah's baggy eyes, Carol Burnett's sags.,,, we NOTICE when they really get to looking old & wrinkled. Marie Osmond is 51 & looks MUCH younger even without the puffy lip, but I believe that she feels that imperative to keep her looks as young as possible. It's what the public "expects". We're shallow that way & also in denial about aging.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with aging and looking your age. Wrinkles are nothing to be ashamed of, though our society acts like it's shameful to become wrinkled.

I've had quite enough medically necessary surgeries, thank you.

If there were a non-invasive way to improve my looks, I'd do that. There's nothing wrong with trying to look nice. After all, I wear mascara and lipstick and have my hair styled.

No, I wouldn't; it is too late now anyhow. I have face wrinkles, but as the saying goes, I've earned every one of them!

lynn_d, I have had both knees replaced so I have scars on both legs. They are wrinkly now too. Like you, I still wear shorts; bathing suits also. I often wonder if other people think I shouldn't, but if it bothers them, they just have to look somewhere else.

What anyone else chooses to do is not my concern. Some cases have turned out so badly though, it is sad.

Sue

I have no desire for cosmetic surgery at my age. At my 50 year high school reunion last month, a friend asked if I had had a face lift! I took it as a compliment.

Friend I went to high school had a very crooked nose. After college, passed her on the street, and I didn't recognize her.

What a change for the better, when she had her nose fixed.
And sure helped in her self esteem.

I think when you look in the mirror and see a tired old lady looking back you have the green light to get a face lift. It all depends on your lifestyle and whether or not it bothers you. I don't want to look young again, but I don't like eye bags, drooping lids, and turkey necks. If I can afford a facelift, yes I will get one. If you are comfortable with the way you look you've just saved a bundle.
As for Diane Keeton, we don't really know what she has or hasn't had done. Jane Fonda had a facelift and looks very natural.
Donna

yes i would to a small degree. i am going to get my face lasered next yr, lots of sun damage and it's preemptive on aging. i don't see myself getting any other facial things done, thou as i get older i may change my mind. other areas...i'd get a tummy tuck or lipo when i lose more weight. i have a friend who manages a medical practice for one of FL's famous plastic surgeons. despite the new plastic surgery tax their business is booming big time. here in orlando everyone is all about having stuff done. i know several women and a few men who have.

it doesn't bother me if people do have plastic surgery, it's their $$ they can spend it how they want. plus all of that is money going into the economy, that industry here in FL is HUGE. ~ liz

TO GOOD36: Your health insurance will pay for your eyelid reduction if your doctor will verify that it is affecting your ability to see - check on it, then go for it.

I had to have it done after my cateract surgery, and there wasn't much too it - no scars, little pain - if you have questions, either email me or start a new post and there are others who can speak about it, too.

I'm another one that thinks Joan Rivers looks like crap...come on, at her age she should show some wear! I think she looks fake and ugly. IMO
Question? Is dentures considered cosmetic surgery?

I have had one surgery my whole life, and it was a breast lift almost 20 years ago. I was doing my anesthesia thesis at a plastic surgeons office, and saw how great these women looked afterward. Since I had my kids I was saggy and not happy about it. I loved the result, but now am certainly not as perky.

As to more? I'm not sure. I might do a minimally invasive face lift when I need it, but only time will tell.

Good36, Kayjones is right--that procedure should be covered by insurance if it affects your vision. It's called a blepharoplasty and usually done with only local anesthesia.

Donna, many folks will pretend they haven't had anything done, but I'm acquainted with Diane Keaton and have seen her close up.

Her face looks totally normal to me for a lady her age, with the same little wrinkles and whistle marks that I have. She's not vain at all, and I believe what she says.

I can't swear that I wouldn't have anything done myself. My neighbor had her eyes done and it does look natural. A neck lift would tempt me too.

I will probably get the blepharoplasty (eyelid lift) sometime next year. My upper eyelids have become very droopy in recent years and nothing makes them look better. I've been told over and over that I look "so tired" and that I look angry, and I know it's because my eyelids make me appear that way. I would love to get the full facelift if it weren't so darned expensive!

I would love to have two chins removed, I only need one. LOL

I had cosmetic dental work...veneers on the upper and two implants. It dental implants were not cosmetic....I needed two molars done.
I have a tendency to develop keloid scars so I would not consider cosmetic surgery.
My lips are too skinny, I have wrinkles and three keloid scars from necessary surgeries but I can live with them.
And, undergoing general anesthetic at my age is not something I would elect to do. Too risky with my history of asthma.
I rely on my inner beauty.

I think most of us have done things for cosmetic reasons at one time or another. Teeth straightening, lasik, mole removal, wart removal are often done for cosmetic reasons rather than health although often the reasons overlap.

I think cosmetic surgery is great for someone who really has an issue that has always bothered them for most of their life. It's great for reconstructive purposes also.

I can understand people wanting to change something that they were born with that detracts from their looks like huge ears or a crooked nose etc. I can also see having surgery for something that makes it hard to wear things. Big breasts or huge arms for example. I would have arm surgery if they ever came up with a way to do it with less scarring. Right now the scars from that surgery are almost as bad as the arms. from what I've read most end up covering the scars with long sleeves. So what's the point? I'd love to be able to wear short sleeves and go sleeveless and wear clothes that don't bind.

But cosmetic surgery to fit in with the fashionable face of the day or to take away natural aging I would never do.

It's not worth the risk of anesthesia.

Maybe a breast reduction.. if I had extra money just laying around. Like others, I do wish I could afford to have my teeth all fixed up so they looked nice. My lower teeth in the front are so small, and all of my teeth are that yellowish white color. I'd like to whiten them, but I have a couple of crowns and an implant that match the current color and I suspect they'd stick out like a sore thumb!

I'm way too cheap to have cosmetic surgery that's not covered by my health insurance. Well, I have had two dental implants, but that's because I had two visible holes toward the front of my teeth.

If genetics mean anything, I'll probably need the eyelid lift at some point.

The thing I always think of with cosmetic surgery, though, is that we see so many celebritties have it and end up looking so terribly unnatural. If they, who have tons of money and their choice of the best surgeons, can't get it right, what chance does an ordinary person have?

I wonder about that too Joann. I don't know if it is a fluke or why some come out looking so bad.

Maybe some feel like I do. I wouldn't want a major change or even to look younger, but I would like to look rested instead of tired all the time.