To anyone who's spent significant money on their appearance...

[anmila]

I'm thinking things like Invisalign and so on. Anything that costs in the thousands but is an investment for the rest of your life, if that makes sense.

Sounds stupid but after last night's royal ear pinning thread, I remembered how much I hate my ears. I'm not super self-conscious anymore (I was as a child) but I make a conscious effort to hide my ears, and I do dream of being able to wear nice earrings and put my hair up! Similar thing with my teeth, they're not absolutely awful but I'd definitely smile more if I got them straightened.

So my question to those who have spent money on these kinds of things - was it worth it? Did you have to reach a certain level of self-consciousness/dislike/whatever to know it would be worthwhile?

I have savings which I could spend on these treatments but I'm constantly debating whether they'd actually have a big enough impact on my life to justify spending those amounts. I know it has to be me that makes the decision, but any experiences or advice would be very welcome!

Thanks in advance :)

I spend £150 on lip fillers every 6 or so months for the past 2 years.

My natural lips were ok, just uneven. One side was much thinner than the other and I wanted symmetry.

First got 0.5ml to create symmetry. Then when it was time for my next top-up I decided to get 1ml because I wanted increased fullness.

Have continued to keep getting 1ml and my lips are a reasonable size now. Not obviously fake, but if I told you you would notice it, if that makes sense?

Best thing I've ever done for myself, I'm extremely happy and it is worth every penny. Only thing is once you get one thing done you start to want other things doing, requires a lot of self-reassurance.

Botox, filler of different types, thread lift, peels

Breast reduction and upper eyelid surgery, plus Botox and lasers. Yes, all worth it.

Botox, small amount of lip filler every six month, breast implants and had my teeth straightened.

All worth it.

This is a bit embarrassing but a labiaplasty. Cost 3.5k. Worth every penny. I feel so much more confident and comfortable now.

Laser hair removal on my face went well into the thousands. I have PCOS and more than a normal amount of hair growth on my face. It was increasingly getting worse, I had to deal with lots of persistent ingrowns which damaged my skin and left behind awful scars. So on top the hair the scars made it look like I had herpes I'm exaggerating but that's what it felt like to me. Laser was just a practical means to it all where other forms of hair removal had drawbacks and it would undo a lot of the scarring so I didn't really hesitate about it at all.

I didn't really understand how much it was bothering me until a few session into the treatment when I wasn't constantly observing for hair growth and noticed how much mental energy I was spending on facial hair until I didn't have to anymore, so very much worth it to me.

I didn't have unrealistic expectations though and I think that matters in how someone experiences the outcome, eg. if you think your introverted self is suddenly going to become the life of the party because you got a boob job, you're more likely to come out disappointed with the reality of a physical change.

Being able to wear earrings without feeling self conscious about it seems very realistic WRT expectations. Be pragmatic rather than fantastical about it and your expectations are more likely to be met or exceeded.

Breast reduction - life changing. Wish I'd done it years before. Would have been worth it even if it had cost double what it did.

Botox. I was very self conscious about my 11s. Never again, I had swelling and lots of headaches. Being slim and keeping hydrated makes me.look better than that ever did.

Sorting out your teeth can be important in terms of health and not just looks.
Aesthetically, I got rid of my double chin and get Botox and fillers. It’s worth it for me.

Teeth here. A lot of money well spent. Massive improvement on looks, self esteem. Simply life changing.

Botox every three months, nails every 3 weeks, hair extensions every 3 months, colour every 6 weeks, lash lift every 6 weeks- totally worth it

Thanks everyone, definitely interesting reading all the replies and so happy to hear about everyone's positive experiences!

I think I'm going to get some consultations booked, I think I'd end up going down this route eventually anyway so might as well go ahead now and get some more years benefit

Jojo how did you get rid of double chin?