mum wants to buy her youth back

if she can afford anything tell her to pay for therapy and accept herself the way she is..otherwise, sure she can blow hundreds/thousands on creams, laser, derm abrasion but it is a losing battle..

Pics or ban! :P

Yeah, those creams are nothing but a bunch of hooey. For instance, the 100s of dollars separating Clinque from Estee Lauder, and they come from the same factory, they're the same cream. Now they'll be a nice moistrizer, but they won't make you look younger.

If she can afford anything, I second the therapist to help her accept herself, perhaps a fitness club membership if she doesn't already work out, to be the best herself she can be -

And how about a better photographer?

Calling Penn and Teller on this one.....

/I'm not one of these idiots who are anti-anyone-getting-work-done because no one rule suits everyone. Just if she doesn't want procedures done, these are her options.

Old people can look beautiful if they know how to dress and pose, but if she insists, the most advanced anti-aging technology is called Adobe Photoshop CS III

Why see a specialist when you can ask Head-fi?

I also recommend therapy. Women go through mid-life crises just as men do. This is normal, and it's not about her face... even though to her, that's what it may seem like what it's about. People going through these periods sometimes fixate on an aspect of themselves (if I only had a nosejob, or a nicer car, or a younger wife, or whatever, I'd be happy...) as a way of not working through the real issues floating through their subconscious. And it certainly won't be hard for her to find cosmetic practictioners who are willing to indulge her, but that won't fix the underlying issues. Therapy will help. If you can't cross that bridge, perhaps enroll her in meditation or yoga classes, or insist she take some time off for a nice vacation, perhaps with a girlfriend, to get away from the family and think.

Give her a couple of grandchildren and she will forget about herself.

I live in an area of Florida where plastic surgery is very popular. No matter how "perfect" these women look, there is an obvious unnaturalness that makes me slightly uneasy in their presence. It's as if that need for perfection or approval or for a youth that has passed, is announcing even before you meet them, "I'm not okay with me." Spooky.

I'm a middle-aged woman (46) and some days I just look in a mirror, or catch a glimpse of myself in a window and think, "What happened? Who the heck is that? I don't feel like that person."

I no longer have the beauty I had in my twenties or thirties, but on the other side of things, I'm learning a different kind of beauty others may not recognize, especially younger people, but that's okay. As I have learned to accept myself, I've become much kinder to others, but less willing to accept crap from anyone. As attractiveness becomes less of a focus, I have more rewarding relationships with men and women (platonic and, happily, not so platonic) as they're based primarily on what inside each of us. I can honestly say I'm more comfortable with who I am, what I want, my likes, and dislikes...the whole thing...I'm, well, a happy person. I don't think I could say that when I was young and used, however unconsciously, other people's attraction to me as a guide for how I should feel about myself.

Don't get me wrong; I try to take care of myself physically and believe in looking healthy and fit. Accepting aging is not the same as letting everything fall apart, and I've had a few good role models to help me on my way (grandmothers, mother, and my elderly neighbors). Some of them are stunningly beautiful even when wrinkled up, and a bit saggy. They are strong, centered, active, self-possessed, smart, kind, and giving. People like them and they like people. I want what they have even if I'm in no rush.

The most beautiful women I know learned to grow old gracefully. Your mom just needs to find a good ladies like that and stop comparing herself to what she can no longer be. Growing old is what we're doing; doing it well can be an interesting new adventure.

QFT

It's all about yourself these days, I guess...

I've got the perfect answer for your mom! It's called The Perfector and it really does work! See here: http://www.perfectorskincare.com/about_us.htm

One of my former finacees (yes, I have more than one of those) owns a spa in South Florida and offers this treatment. I've seen the results first hand and even after one treatment there are noticeable results. They recommend doing a series of 12 treatments which will cost about $2k and the results are permanent (or I guess at least semi-permanent in the sense that the ageing process will continue).

Relative to microdermabrasions, this procedure is light years ahead of the game. It's definitely worth checking out because it's totally safe, non toxic, and non invasive. Essentially they treat the skin with some conductive oils and then use electrocurrent wand devices for about 15 minutes to ever so gently shock the skin, thus making it softer, more subtle, and smoother.

Anyway, it really does work and over time the effect is to actually repair some of the damage caused by sun exposure and the ageing process itself. An added advantage is the the results look completely natural (unlike a face lift or other forms of plastic surgery) because it conditions the skin without actually removing any of it, so your mom wouldn't become a Michael Jackson looking creature!

The comparison that I like to make is to teeth whitening in the sense that it defintely works but it can't give you better teeth than you had to begin with. Will they get whiter? Yes. Will they stay white forever? No, you'll have to do it again at some point. Will it get rid of the big gaps in your toothy grin? Heck no!

Same with what The Perfector does for the skin. It works and in a very significant way, but the results won't last forever, and it won't turn a leather faced woman into a beauty queen no matter what! Yet, it can easily take 5-10 years off of someone's appearance, depending on what sorts of skin issues they have to begin with. But still, it won't get rid of hyperpigmentation, couperose, rosacea, or most other skin disorders.

Gosh... enough about skin! You don't EVEN want to get me going about makeup! That's even worse. I know more about makeup than any man ought to, but that's because this business is her passion and we spent 6 years together.

introduce her to head-fi then she can worry about her ears rather than her face.

25 forever!!! w00t!