I’ve had a second facelift – but this time without the scalpel!

March 27, 2019

Eight years after her first tweak,TV news anchor KAY BURLEY makes an unabashed confession: I’ve had a second facelift – but this time without the scalpel!

Kay Burley tucked away excess skin with a facelift to celebrate her 50th birthday
She had a reaction which left her skin puffy and swollen for longer than usual
Experts recommend having another facelift between five and ten years later
Kay tried to achieve the results without a scalpel using ultrasound therapy
She visited Smooth Synergy Cosmedical Spa in New York for the procedure
Results develop over at least three months and can last up to five years

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For my 50th birthday eight years ago, I gave myself a present: a facelift. It was a procedure that gave me back a measure of confidence I thought had gone for ever.

But like all good things, facelifts don’t last. The experts say you’ll need another one between five and ten years later — so I’m in the sweet spot for a second tuck.

And until recently, you could read it in my face. Looking bleary-eyed into the bathroom mirror at 6.30am every day, I was forced to admit that Mother Nature was finally gaining the upper hand.

You may accuse me of vanity or failing to ‘age gracefully’ — whatever that means — but I really didn’t want to succumb to drooping, telltale jowls. So I tugged upwards on my jawline, scrutinised the effect in the mirror, and asked myself whether it was time for another bit of help.

The thing is, having been through it once, I wasn’t keen on another lift.

Kay Burley (pictured) who previously underwent a seven-hour facelift, spoke about her experience of trying to recreate the results using ultrasound therapy

The seven-hour procedure involved tightening my neck and tucking excess skin behind my ears.

Although I had an expert surgeon, I didn’t react well.

My face was left puffy and swollen for much longer than is usual, and I couldn’t return to work quickly.

I missed a fabulous trip to Florida to present live from the launch of the last Nasa space shuttle. Instead, I spent a month or so hiding from sunlight and investing in deep-tissue facials to reduce the swelling.

Thankfully, in the intervening years a new treatment has emerged that promises results as good as a facelift, with no need for the surgeon’s knife.

Called Ultherapy — short for ultrasound therapy — it has been praised by many celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and my pin-up role model, Christie Brinkley.

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Non-invasive and not requiring a general anaesthetic, it is a skin-tightening procedure that uses high-intensity ultrasound to penetrate and heat deep layers of skin — the same area a traditional facelift targets. The treatment tightens and lifts skin and also, unlike a traditional facelift, stimulates cells to boost your natural production of collagen.

A good practitioner will charge anywhere from £700 to £7,000, depending on the area to be treated. Experts in the UK include Dr Ariel Haus on London’s Harley Street, who says it is a good solution for those who may find a facelift too much for their skin: ‘If a patient has thin or sun-damaged skin, Ultherapy allows me to target multiple levels of deeper tissues.’

Dr Tracy Mountford, at the nearby Cosmetic Skin Clinic, which has carried out thousands of Ultherapy procedures over the past five years, points out that you don’t have to deal with all the downtime that I had found such a drag, either.

It sounded like a solution — but could it really deliver results?

Kay (pictured before) had three-hour non-invasive treatment Ultherapy at Smooth Synergy Cosmedical Spa in New York

I decided to take the plunge. Ultherapy is so quick, I squeezed the procedure in during a business trip to New York, popping into the Smooth Synergy Cosmedical Spa run by Nicole Contos.

She looks amazing, with skin so smooth you could stroke it — so I put my face and neck in her hands. Of course, there are those who say the ‘natural’ look is best. Some people, mostly men, tell me a tighter face looks unnatural and that laughter lines — or wrinkles, as I call them — are a better look for a mature woman.

Nonsense. Women, especially those in the public eye, are always more harshly judged than their male counterparts and I won’t play second fiddle when I know I can hold on to looking fabulous for a few years longer.

I have facials at least once a month, cleanse and moisturise with Elemis or Environ products religiously and use a face mask twice a week. I use eye creams, serums and hydrogel masks. Although I’ve dabbled with Botox and fillers, they have never really done it for me. But I haven’t shied away from more invasive work. As well as a lower facelift, I’ve had a brow lift and the bags removed from under my eyes.

Both procedures left me out of action for at least a month.

It all sounds like a lot of effort to look good — and it is.

But honestly, I’d say it has absolutely been worth it. I wouldn’t dream of exchanging my smooth skin and relatively tight jawline for whatever ‘the natural look’ might have left me with. So, I was already something of an expert by the time I lay down on Nicole’s couch for the three-hour Ultherapy procedure.

She assured me I’d be fine to fly home to London that evening — a revolutionary concept.

Still, I felt anxious. The sensation of being zapped with the ultrasound waves is often compared to an elastic band being snapped on your face — and I would experience that up to a thousand times during the process. I was also advised that my deep tissue might feel hot and uncomfortable. Pain and I are not good bedfellows, so I accepted over-the-counter painkillers and a mild sedative.

Then it was time to choose some distracting music on my phone, pop in my earphones and lie back.

Kay (pictured after) began to see the results of Ultherapy a month after the treatment which promises to tighten and lift skin

The Ultherapy machine maps your face into segments, then ultrasound imaging is used to advise the therapist how many pulses are needed in each area.

Ultherapy involves ultrasound waves ‘depositing tiny amounts of energy to clearly defined depths under the skin’. This apparently jump-starts the skin’s regenerating process.

The first few pulses were uneventful and after a few minutes I was wondering what all the fuss was about.

But it’s a long procedure, and as the drugs began to wear off the discomfort of each ‘snap’ increased. My face also felt warm, but not uncomfortably so — to be honest, I wasn’t sure if it was the procedure or a menopausal hot flush! The snaps were monotonous and relentless, and eventually I needed a local anaesthetic injection, which brought blissful numbness.

UK practitioners have different views on pain relief and tend to offer a cocktail of painkillers and antihistamines, to reduce swelling. I would advise taking everything on offer, as it wasn’t the most relaxing three hours I have ever spent.

Afterwards I felt hot and in some places, particularly around my neck, rather as if I’d walked into a door. Nicole warned me there might be some bruising for a couple of days, but in fact there was nothing, not even redness.

Leaving the clinic, I was sure every passer-by was staring at my puffy face. Of course, they weren’t. And back in my hotel room, the mirror revealed that I looked exactly the same as I had done hours earlier.

That is certainly not what you’d hope for after a facelift — but Ultherapy is different. It has little immediate effect but the results develop over at least three months, getting better and better as your treated skin produces new collagen.

Some people book a second treatment after six months to ‘top up’ the results.

Once at its optimum, your plumped-up face can last for between one and five years, depending on genes and lifestyle.

So, did it work for me? Well, it has only been a month since I had the treatment but I am already enjoying the results.

I was at a fabulous Mayfair event this week, packed with ladies who lunch and know a thing or two about beauty treatments, and I was complimented many times on my glowing skin. Lots of envious lunch companions asked what I’d ‘had done’.

Now, unlike before, I can’t wait for time to take its toll on my skin, knowing I’ll look younger and fresher each day.

Mother Nature will just have to wait a little longer.

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