The Women Come and Go, for Michelangelo Searching

Can you sculpt back the clock?

- FIORELLA VALDESOLO

Earlier this year Martha Stewart, basking in the flattering light of a shampoo chair at Frédéric Fekkai, posted a pouty-lipped selfie to Instagram, writing, “Absolutely no-reimaging!!! Skin looking good after a mostly dry January and Pilates every other day. By reimaging I mean no filtering my selfie!” The comments section exploded with demands that Stewart confess to the plastic surgery that she, at 81, must surely have had. Stewart’s response? Three more immaculate skin selfies crediting great dermatologists (specifically, Daniel Belkin and Dhaval Bhanusali), diet and exercise, facials at Mario Badescu for 40 years…and no face-lift. With that, Stewart became the paragon of a certain type of woman who, with sufficient capital and time for maintenance, dedicates herself to evading the scalpel.

“I thought Martha looked outrageously good,” says Marcy, a 66-yearold woman living in Manhattan, who immediately booked a consultation with Belkin after seeing Stewart’s photos. “I went in with the same thought, that I didn’t want any cutting,” she says. “A face-lift isn’t me. I wanted something more subtle and natural.” Now that there are so many ways to keep skin looking better longer—from “vampire facial” PRP treatments to thread lifts to ultrasound—forgoing surgery may not be an unrealistic goal. Here’s how far the alternative route can take you, and how to know when it’s time for the knife.

HIIT FOR THE FACE