New Year, New Me Please!7 min read
Caroline Hedges
Caroline Hedges is a critically acclaimed researcher, writer and serial entrepreneur. With a knack for making the obscure plain, she is able to distill her research in writing both fun and engaging posts.
The advent of a New Year is a time to celebrate all the joys and achievements of the year gone and appreciate all that we have for the year ahead. It is also a time to consider new starts and changes that we may have put off, or set aside due to bad timing or indecision. New Year’s Resolutions may be a tradition that dates back over a thousand years, but their popularity still resonates with many. I have created many lists over the years – some items pop up over and over again (I really should stop biting my nails!) and others change as I mature and grow. My children and family feature more often, and long gone are the resolutions of my youth to get a man or buy that car. Now good health and happiness feature instead.
Over the last couple of years, I have also started to consider aging and what I would love to change about myself. I would like to point out that I’m pretty happy with myself. The following five items are merely to take myself from gorgeous to absolutely fabulous. So what are the five items I would add to my list?
Number 1: This year I would like to get rid of my fatty knees!
It may seem insignificant to many people, but I really hate the lump of fat above each of my knees. It doesn’t matter how many squats and leg pushes I do at the gym, that fat just refuses to budge. As a teenager, I would drool over photos of Cindy Crawford’s legs, admiring her bony, slim knees that would look fantastic bent and straight – sticking out proudly from her athletic legs. Mine just looked fat and chunky, and boys commentated on them a lot. Over the years I have found other things to stress over, but I would still jump at the chance to change my knees. This year I would love to get liposuction or CoolSculpting and say good-bye to those pockets of fat that have plagued me forever.
Number 2: I am so fed up with sweating all the time!
Come take a look in my closet and you would notice an overwhelming display of black clothes with the occasional pop of white, just to mix it up. Sweating has been that annoying guest that never leaves. The ‘friend’ that makes my life so hard. A problem that stops me enjoying al fresco dining and makes me run for the exit before the lights come on at a nightclub. Clothes shopping is a chore, and I avoid so many social occasions that involve hot places. I even tried to get out of being my best friends bridesmaid when I saw the light, grey silk dresses she had chosen (I put on my big girl pants and stuck half a box of tissues under each arm).
I have tried Botox under my arms, which provided some relief, but it can become costly due to it needing to be repeated every few months. The over the counter treatments left me with itches all night and a severe red burn. I felt like there was nothing else out there to try. Fortunately, thanks to MiraDry, there is something to banish my sweaty armpits for good. It sounds like a dream come true for Sweaty Betty’s, and I am definitely planning a trip to get my armpits blasted in time for summer.
Number 3: Where did my top lip go? I want it back!
I was blessed with some amazing genetics from my mom. A super flat stomach, curves to rival Jessica Rabbit and tiny ankles and wrists. One thing I inherited that is not a blessing is my ‘thinner than a pencil’ lips. While many teenagers would cut out magazine pictures of their favorite movie star, I would cut out pictures of beautiful, full mouths and stick them on my face to see how gorgeous I could really look, if only I had a plump, luscious pout. Lipsticks were not my friend and I was so self-conscious of my lips that I developed a routine of pulling my hair over my chin and mouth when in company. People must have thought I had a moustache obsession.
With the joy of aging, my top lip has finally packed it’s bag and moved to an Active Community Complex in Florida. While it is enjoying tap dance lessons and Bridge, I am left looking constantly disapproving and judgmental. I am the stern housemistress in a Harry Potter film, rather than the sensuous vixen in a film noir.
This year I plan on having my lips plumped. I am going to combine it with some fillers and Botox and treat myself to a Liquid Facelift. It gives your face a temporary lift, plumps out your cheeks, reduces your wrinkles and can all be done with no downtime and during your lunch hour.
This is my wish list of procedures to enhance my beautiful self. Before undergoing anything, I would stress you seriously consider all the facts before you take the plunge. TAKE ADVANTAGE of free consultations to ensure the procedure is right for you.
Number 4: Grumpy Cat Face be gone! I want to turn my frown upside down!
The corners of my mouth are constantly down turned, giving me a permanently angry look that has waiters backing away nervously and strangers telling me to “Cheer Up!” I can either spend my days smiling madly at all strangers or book myself in for a Liquid Facelift and have my grumpy cat face softened and uplifted. Bring on the magic needles!
Number 5: I want to be as smooth as a babies behind!
My relationship with my razor is pretty good. We enjoy a mutual appreciation of smooth armpits and legs, but one place I will never let my razor go is my bikini line. The itching that occurs after a one such rendezvous has kept it far away from my delicates ever since. That leaves waxing or creams. Creams smell weird and are very messy and waxing is extremely personal and has you contortion into strange positions that even your partner hasn’t seen! I limit my personal exposure to waxers to the summer months only, but what if there was another option? Something that could be a permanent solution?
Step forward laser hair removal. It’s not an evil villain style or a “drive your cat crazy” laser, but rather a light treatment that is beamed into the hair follicles to kill them off. It is relatively pain free and there are few side-effects. You will need multiple treatments; but once the hair is dead, it is never coming back. Hello bikini ready body all year round. And maybe I will sneak in some treatments on my upper lip. I really want my daughter to stop pointing out my moustache in public to random strangers!
The Future Me Awaits
I do have other resolutions: learn to play the piano in my family room, up my Goodreads challenge to 70 books, and pass on kindness every day. I probably won’t get everything done this year (who keeps their resolutions anyway), but I got a “Mom’s Cosmetic Fund’ pot from my kids this year. And I’m hoping that I get to cross at least a couple off the list. What are you going to resolve to get done this year?
Invitation
If like me, you would like to resolve a few body nuisances, why not head to see Dr. Chang or one of the cosmetic laser and injection nurses to explore which procedures would be best for you! To find out more whether Aesthetica can help you, contact us online or at 703-729-5553 to arrange an appointment. Dr. Phillip Chang is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Northern Virginia near Leesburg, Virginia and an expert in a wide variety of cosmetic treatments.
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