Question:
When losing weight, did face begin to age in looks?

Hi ladies. I have been on my pre-op diet from the doctors and I have noticed some weight loss in my face and around my eyes it looks alittle dard or sunken in and my cheeks are beginning to hang near my mouth to the point of making a line near cornors of mouth. (like goulls) What can I expect after the surgery with alot of loss? Any exercise for the face, creams ???? I am 47 and looking even older. Any suggestions? Help. sandy    — sandy W. (posted on April 8, 2002)

April 8, 2002
Hi Sandie, I haven't yet had the surgery but I have a friend who has and she did what I can the vowel exercises. It is just mouthing the vowels of the alphabet in an exagerated way. She did this to lose that double chin and tighten the muscles in her face. It worked as far as I could tell. I say its worth a try. She did it when she watched t.v. or whenever she was alone. Hope it works for you :)
   — Laurel C.

April 8, 2002
The only place I've noticed saggy skin is on my neck. I can pinch it and it just stays looking pinched!! It's absolutely horrible!! Until I can have plastic surgery to get rid of it, if anyone knows of a good firming cream that works on the neck, I'd like to know too.
   — Patty H.

April 8, 2002
I was having the same problem (I'm 46) the first month or two. I started using Avon's Retroactive and I swear by that stuff. My face looks absolutely better than it ever had and I am 4 months out.
   — Terri H.

April 8, 2002
Sandy, I was just whining about this to my sister this morning. I'm almost 4 months post-op, down 70 lbs and over halfway to my goal. Of course that is thrilling to me. But I've got these little lines around my mouth area that were never there before. When I first lost my double chin my neck area was crepe papery looking but that has gotten much better. My sister says I am the only one noticing these lines but they really bother me. I think I'm going to try that Avon product a previous poster recommended. This is one of several times I've seen that highly promoted by someone. I do have to say that if I could trade my weight loss for a younger looking face, I wouldn't do it in a million years. I'm 44 and don't expect to look 20. Wrinkles and lines won't kill us, morbid obesity most likely will.
   — Donna L.

April 8, 2002
I'm 44 and certainly look older and more wrinkled EVERYWHERE now and I hate seeing all the lines in my face. But it is preferable to the having the 131 pounds I lost back again. So I look at it that way.
   — Danmark

April 8, 2002
Hi, Sandy. I am 11 months post op, down 127 lbs. (maybe 50 or so more to go, we'll see...!)I am 40. I do notice some extra lines in my face (the ones that formerly were plumped out with fat!), but I have to say that overall, weight ages you like crazy. Even if you have a few extra wrinkles, you will look much younger with the weight off your face....I also have cornered the market on Oil of Olay products (active hydrating cream rocks...) Good luck and don't sweat it too much!
   — Mary Ellen W.

April 8, 2002
There is a medical wrinkle cream out there called kinerase, ask your dermatologist about it, I love it. Also, I am a medical aesthetician and I do chemical peels and microdermabrasion treatments on patients all day long for wrinkles.
   — Karen E.