
Lifting years off your face I finally gave in to the four-figure price tag of an ultrasound skin tightening treatment in my mid-40s. And what a difference several thousand dollars make. Three weeks post-treatment, the loose flap of wattle beneath my chin and the hanging jowls that bookended my cheeks had visibly tightened and shrunk, taking a year or two off my visage, or at least making me look like I had just returned from a relaxing holiday. Like other middle-aged women, I still felt that there was much about my face that could be improved, or at least a couple more years that could be erased from it. In particular, there were the deep lines around my mouth that spoke of, among other things, the 15 years I had dedicated to smoking cigarettes in my 20s and 30s.

Annette Tan is a freelance writer