Anyone done a 10 years younger makeover on themselves?

[Lovingthemalbec]

Just watching the old shows. I feel so old, fat, washed out. I’m only 43 but probably look around 53!

I neglected myself looking after my ASD DD nearly 13 and drastically let myself go. Is it possible to pull it back? Has anyone drastically changed their looks / image? It won’t be 10 days in my case but maybe 10 months??? Is it possible? How should I start? I have a hair appt at the weekend so was going to get a restyle and Colour consult to hide my aggressive grey. What are the best steps?

Wow, @Kate0902900908 and @Wagsandclaws! I'm impressed with your dedication and bravery. I'd like to make myself over but I wonder if it would be worthwhile - would anyone be able to tell the difference! Considering chin/jaw lift as I'm starting to look basset houndy. Thanks OP for starting this thread! I hope more people post with inspiration!

I did but accidentally! Dirt cheap too.

During lockdown I was bored one evening and decided to give myself a fringe. A proper fringe too (think Claudia from strictly!)
Best thing I ever did, I'm 50 and people now look genuinely shocked when they find out my age.
I look so much more fresher and put together everyday because of it too.

Being overweight ages you significantly. Start small and keep your targets achievable. Plan some nice (non calorific) treats along the way to keep you motivated. A good haircut and healthy skin can take years off. Look at your diet and see where you can make improvements. And enjoy the new you!

What @felulageller has said. Regular exercise has made the world of difference to every aspect of my being from skin, sleep, strength, mental, emotional, posture. I do a lot of yoga and walking.

Yea to water and cutting out sugar, junk and alcohol. I really don’t believe great skin in our 40s can be achieved without working on your insides.

If you haven’t had much physical activity, it can be hard to start a regular routine but really push yourself through it as it will pay off. Blood circulation makes all the difference. And you sound like wonderful mother caring for your DD. Now focus on yourself. You can do it

@Kate0902900908 this was me too, I lost six stone and my body isn't great but my neck upset me so much that I had it fixed.

Really interested in the composite bonding on the front teeth. Mine aren't too bad but is like them to be a bit brighter!

@SquirrelFan honestly I'm the least brave person but I hated it so much that I had to do something it was making me very down, seemed such a shame to lose all that weight and be upset about that really.

Ive attached a photo - top two pics are me before surgery - you can see the saggyness on my neck, Bottom two are recent pics.

I actually thought the lower face lift and neck lift would just sort out the neck area but it's given me a jawline and everything! If you are considering it id say don't hesitate, I'm 50 now and feel like I should have done this years ago. I had it done under local anaesthetic as that was what I wanted, 2.5 hours and I was off the table in 45 mins and on my way home.

Oops couldn't attach pic - here it is.

@Wagsandclaws You certainly don't look 50! Thanks for the inspiration! How did you choose your surgeon? I get so confused when I look at the options...

@SquirrelFan the 'real self' website is a good place to start. Then I'd see how many examples you can find of the work online that your surgeon has done.

I wanted to use mine in particular as I have a thing about not going under a GA so it needed to be done under a local. I'd seen him on tv as well and he seemed very very professional as well as having an excellent ethic ( he has turned away people that I know who most definitely DIDNT need any work done just yet ) and that seemed like an excellent place to start.

I live in Somerset and my surgeon is in Kent so it was a little way away but nothing too much if you consider that lots of people go abroad for work.

My surgeon does several lifts A week as well as boob and tummy ops. Tbh if he offered a tummy tuck ( he doesn't ) under a local I'd get that done too.

In all honesty it was so worth to. I had to save for a while but I would have it done again because of how much more confidence it's given me.

@wagsandclaws you look amazing, who did you get it done by? I think I might save up for this in a couple of years. Watching this thread for ideas! Does anyone know if you can have kind of halfway
botox? I had botx once and it was very good and well done but I just don't feel completely smooth is what I was. I want something kind of in the middle.

I have recently started using my slendertone face which I bought a few years ago but never actually used, I can definitely see a difference. I have cheekbones suddenly!

@badkitty you can ask for 'baby Botox' it's just a smaller dose and it imposes lines as opposed to getting. Rid of them completely. I like it as it's a nice natural look but I have a mega dose as my forehead is a hot mess without it 🤣

Amir at Bella Vou in Tunbridge Wells was my surgeon. He is highly recommended by me and you can see lots of examples of his work online.

As I said he is a good 3.5 hrs from me but was well worth the trip. My Dd ( 29 ) drove me home the same day and I'd say the worst of the swelling was over within a week.

*reduces fine lines not imposes

@Wagsandclaws I thought you'd had something done to the upper face! It looks like you had good cheekbones and bone structure which probably helped.

I'm considering eyelid surgery in a few years, when I'm approaching 50. It doesn't need doing at the moment, just puffiness in the mornings, but I can see it will head that way eventually.

Yes eyebrows micro bladed was my kick start. Have been trying to loose weight, but some set backs with the kids have made this hard. But I put on some mascara each day and I'm trying to improve my wardrobe again. It's easy to frump it at home, so slowly getting nicer casual stuff. It's hard on a budget, but also a positive attitude really helps I get worn down my the kids too, so I know this isn't easy. Also just regular haircuts nothing I can't maintain in terms of colour and taking vitamins.

@ribbonflowers I do have fairly high cheekbones but I have also filler in my cheeks to make up for the volume that was there 10 years ago which I think sort of helps with the 'scaffolding' so to speak.

I also have tear trough fillers due to having quite bad eye bags.

I did have scars on my temple
From the op as well as in front of and behind my ears. I think that might well have helped with the under eye wrinkles a little bit with that even through it was not a full facelift ( he just called it a lower face and neck lift ).

I am also wondering if 5 months of retinol and obagi under eye cream has made quite a difference, maybe it's a combination of the two!?

Tis all smoke and mirrors really, the thing is you need to be happy with what you see every day and there is nothing wrong with contentment in growing old gracefully it's just not for me ... yet!

Might change my mind in a few years who knows 🤷‍♀️

I’m mid sixties started with hair being chopped, nails, as in pedicure manicure , lost over two stone changed my eating habits completely exercise now ( never did) go walking everyday loving the new me, bought new wardrobe of clothes, not tried any creams whatsoever, but probably will do as I go along, would love to lose another stone, I won’t be using Botox or anything, each to their own of course whatever makes you happy, but not for me everyone says I look younger and much better, I’m over the moon

I am 42 and have never felt so bad about myself. I go to work every day feeling really uncomfortable in my work clothes, I am about 4 stone overweight and have tried every healthy eating plan going, but nothing seems to help.

I feel your pain OP :-(

What makes me feel better, however, as was said above - hair, nails and face. I would also add teeth - I bought some teeth whitening strips which help a bit. I make a point to moisturise my face and apply some basic make up.

I wish i could escape to some sort of retreat for a full weight loss and make over. Wouldn't it be amazing to go away and come back a new re-freshed me.

Thanks @wagsandclaws. I did wonder for a moment about why I would want to impose fine lines! I might give baby botox a go.

I went back to work after a 9 year career break about 18 months ago. I've also got divorced in the last year. This year I'm finally getting myself together a bit. I've bought a lot of clothes on vinted recently which has been fab, I can't afford a whole new wardrobe otherwise but there are some amazing bargains on there.

@badkitty I've heard good things about vinted, the trouble is I'm still a size 16/18 ( down from a size 28 ) and due to my extreme apple
Shape what fits on the legs doesn't tend to fit on my stomach so I need to buy new so I can return if they don't fit.

Yes do give the baby Botox a go, the good thing is it'll wear off soon enough if you hate it.

I'd like to look into composite veneers this year or next, my teeth aren't bad but they are not as bright as I'd like. Plus the enamel is quite see through at the bottom of my teeth and I'd smile more with my teeth if I had more confidence in them.

It's hard if you haven't got much money to throw at improving yourself. 10 years ago, even 6 tbh I wouldn't have been able to do what I'm doing now but I do believe that small changes can make a huge difference in the way you feel about yourself . At 5.5 to be 12.4 or so would have been impossible for me to imagine until I got here. Still need to lose another 2 stone really but I'm really happy otherwise.

@Wagsandclaws you look absolutely amazing! Can I ask how much your lower facelift / neck lift cost please? Hope that is not too nosey, but it is something I am considering in a few years. I don't mind a lined face tbh as I think it adds character and can be quite beautiful. but I am not looking forward to getting a saggy neck so I am intending to try and avoid it if poss ;)

I am also really glad to read a few posters have had good results from getting their brows microbladed / lip blush done. I am a microblading and PMU artist myself and I love being able to improve my clients confidence.

@planetme I had to save for ages as I was thinking it was going to be 6.5k but it was 10.5k so very, very expensive.

I chose my surgeon based on the fact that he did loads of facelifts a month and I could see examples of his work online I also had it down under a local as I wanted to be up and off home asap after my operation, I was on my way home within 40 mins!

I can honestly say it's the best thing I've ever done for myself and it's made me take better care of my skin and eat healthily Ect.

I've added a photo of me before ( and my neck after the weight loss ) the top two are before and the bottom two after. I feel at 50 the best I've ever looked.

I agree about lines Ect, I don't mind a few around my eyes and the odd one here or there but the lower face lift and neck lift really has reversed the years, for how long I'm not sure but it was really clever and I got the result I wanted.

I’m 35 so I don’t think I can really make myself look 10 years younger but I’ve had a little bit of a glow up lately.

I started off with therapy for binge eating disorder and then saw a psychiatrist privately and was diagnosed with ADHD. From there I’ve been able to work on myself and what I want out of life much more easily, so I felt I had the mental space to work on where I wanted to be with my appearance and health.

First and foremost I’ve shed the majority of my excess weight and with that I look a lot taller and leaner and feel generally more flexible and supple.

I clung onto my long jet black hair (safety blanket) for years as I believed it to be glam and easy to dress up with a few curling tong curls but in the day to day I was always wearing it scraped up in a bun. I chopped it off into a long concave bob and gradually started going brown rather than black, and I’ve now got to the point where I’m starting to have full heads of blonde highlights so that I can hopefully grow my greys out elegantly and step off the hamster wheel of root regrowth appts 3-4 weekly. I now just curl my bob, hair spray it, and then run my fingers through it all to loosen the curls and away I go. I use olaplex shampoo, conditioner and oil and I wash it as infrequently as possible, usually once a week (or twice if forced due to getting sweaty/cooking smells/bonfires etc).

I got Botox in my crows feet and eleven lines along with a bit of a brow lift, which has made a big difference! I’ve also had Profhilo, subtle but seems to have made a difference to the plumpness and youthful glow of my skin. Considering tear trough filler bit wary of migration and other complications so still researching that.

I really simplified my make up bag into just the bare essentials, as I think I was overcompensating before by being very, very made up (drag queen like) before and no longer find that necessary.

I got my old microblading redone by a lady who does a “blade and shade” - where her technique is part tattoo machine and part microblading - so you can get the lovely soft fluffy hair effect at the front of the brows and a more sharply defined tail.

I also take a multivitamin, iron, biotin and vitamin D every day, with an actimel.

I assume the combination of things has been quite successful as I am constantly being showered with compliments at the moment. Losing the weight gave me the desire back to care for myself again and make the best of me. My wardrobe has become much more colourful and extravagant and I dress intentionally every day.

Also nails, I get BIAB gel nails every four weeks. Much stronger and more robust than normal gel and really helps to keep nails strong. Hand cream and cuticle oil whenever i’m sat twiddling my thumbs (waiting for an appointment, at my desk, before I set off on a journey, etc).

And composite bonding on my two front teeth to close up the big gap that I had, it made them look wonky and goofy.

@ZealAndArdour I can vouch massively for tear trough fillers.

I have bags for days and it's made a huge difference, I have them done about every 15 months

Hope your hair appointment went well OP!

Just coming on to add that Aldi/ Lidl do brilliant moisturisers nowadays, do give those a try - plus Primark does cheap make up, if you don't like it, just wash it off - but gives you an idea of colours/ products you like! Wilko also have a good own brand make up selection.

For me I like plenty of moisturiser, bit of tinted moisturiser, blusher (really does make me look more alive!) and some tinted lip balm. I know quite a few people who like Benefit lip stains (available in different colours), you can get sample/ travel sizes to try before investing £££.

I've bought a few bits from Vinted now so can recommend that!