One down two to go!

So I’ve had my first treatment and I my initial reaction was “is that it!”. I think I had worked myself up into such a frenzy that when I actually had treatment I was amazed how quickly it was over!

There’s no getting away from the fact that it’s not the most pleasant experience but the pain is momentary and helped considerably by the lashings of anaesthetic cream I had smeared across my face.

I was a little concerned about bruising after the treatment as I was presenting Bafta at the weekend but my face looked fine after treatment.

I did get a strong telling off from Angelica for not using a sun screen, especially as I spend a lot of time outside around the wildlife park, so I’m off to buy myself some SPF and am looking forward to my next treatment.

Appointment is booked!

Well, I’ve booked my appointment with top surgeon Angelica Kavouni at her Harley Street clinic for my first Sculptra treatment. It’s in a couple of weeks and it’s just hit me that I’m actually quite nervous! The whole needle thing is worrying me slightly, although having been through child birth, I think I have quite a high pain threshold so how bad can it be!

Nerves aside, I’m excited to see the results, although I won’t see any changes overnight. I’ve done a lot of reading up on it and it’s a technique used in medical circles for years so is tried and tested rather than some new fad. It stimulates natural collagen production, so it takes a while to see the results and you have to build up the treatment over a number of visits.

I am hoping to see visible results overall on my face, a fresher, well-rested face, more youthful-looking again – with a bit of luck!

I have always spent what I would consider a generous but not crazy amount on skin cleanser and moisturiser and I think I have been quite good over the years. I think I probably looked my best from my 20s to my mid-30s. Where I have been guilty is the blatant love of the sun, even though we don’t get much!

This is the first cosmetic procedure I have had although I always used to imagine I would have breast implants but luckily, through time, have realised that I have enough. Would just like to make them look 20 years younger!

I never used to worry about ageing

I never used to worry about ageing, but over the last year or so I have caught the occasional reflection of myself looking tired with funny jowls at the top of my jaw and either side of my mouth. I’m not entirely sure how I even got to 45, I’m sure I was only 20 last week. I have decided it is time to give myself a bit a makeover for a change, and it’s going to take a little more than some mdf and a lick of paint!

Working in TV, I knew a few people who have had a little help to hold mother nature back, and some of them look really great and surprisingly natural. I have been thinking about having some sort of procedure for some time, and the first thing decision you face is the knife or the needle? Personally for me, the knife seems too extreme at this stage, as I am quite happy with the way I look, I just feel I need a bit of freshening and revitalising! So decision made, the needle is it, but which one? There are so many different things you can have done that it is quite difficult to know which way to jump.

I don’t want anything like Botox, as although I have seen some fantastic results, I’m concerned about the sort of thing they put into your face. I also want a more natural look that lasts longer. And so, having done a bit of research, I have decided to try something called Sculptra, an injectable treatment that stimulates the body to produce collagen to put back the volume time has lost and smooth away those annoying little lines that have cropped up.

This treatment is something that appeals because it just seems like it is more natural. It is prompting my body to do something itself rather than physically filling, cutting or freezing anything. I’m not expecting people to say “hey you look 25”, I just want my friends and family say I look well, healthy and fresh.

My husband Colin is not convinced. He’s never understood why women get “things done”. Of course, us women know that for the majority of us, it takes a bit more than nature delivers to look naturally attractive. Female and gay friends are all fascinated to see the results and are all looking for the same youthful looks.

Anna