WHEN YOU ARE OLD
by William Butler Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
Well, Yeats was right because, by my mid-fifties, my eyes no longer had their soft look but bore deep shadows.
This is what 50 looks like!
At the age of fifty, one’s skin around the eyes begins to change—and not for the better. There, the skin thins and collagen is lost. There’s puffiness, swelling, dark circles under the eyes, wrinkles, and crow’s feet.
What’s a girl to do?
Well, I can tell you what I did. I began looking for a plastic surgeon.
First, I had tried everything else. I applied all kinds of creams, serums, concealers, you name it. I wasted a lot of money with no success, and I finally gave up.
My mother’s bags under her eyes were pronounced and very, very aging even in middle age. I was only about 53, and I did not want to look like that yet. So, I went to see a plastic surgeon.
He corrected this with something called blepharoplasty and a brow lift. Blepharoplasty is a procedure used to correct drooping upper eyelids and eliminate puffiness of the lower eyelids. The technique brightens the eyes, leaving a more youthful and rested appearance.
It opened up my eyes, and for at least two years after the surgery, I did not even need to wear concealer. What a wonderful thing!
Now, it is over six years later, and I still do not have bags under my eyes. I have been very happy with this procedure. I do apply concealer and makeup under my eyes now, but that seems to be all I really need.
After my eye surgery and a change in my hair color.
At the same time as the blepharoplasty was done, he also did a brow lift. A forehead lift /brow lift is a cosmetic procedure that restores an aging or drooping eyebrow to a more youthful position, giving the area above your eyes a softer and more refreshed look.
Six years later, my forehead is still smooth, and I still do not have those two parallel creases between my eyes, though they are beginning to appear when I worry too much for too long a period. I don’t need Botox anywhere on my forehead. This part of the surgery was also a huge success for me.
I do use Botox, though. My upper lip is very thin now, and they apply a little to the two highest peaks of my upper lip. I’m not sure how this works, but it gives my upper lip a little fuller look. It is as if a bee (only so slightly stung my lip), and it swelled just a little. Actually, I’m sure it must relax my lips so that they appear fuller. All I know is it works.
I also use a little Botox on my crow’s feet. I try to get in about once every three months, but I don’t get there exactly every three months. I’ll let it slide sometimes up to six months since I really don’t mind the crinkles at the corners of my eyes. I always thought they gave older people character, and let’s face it, I am getting old.
So that is what I’ve done to my eyes and lips, and I’m very happy with the results even as I enter my sixties.