Someone once said that after 40, it’s all “patch, patch, patch.” That’s a brutal but accurate assessment of which those of us over 60 are painfully aware. As much time, money, and good genes you have to offer in exchange for physical attractiveness, that dewy youthful radiance of your teens and 20s is ancient history. That said, over the years as youth fades, you can expect to acquire in its place a certain set of character traits that can help compensate for all the delicious lost collagen and those fabulously fluffy fat cells. Combine that with all the emerging breakthroughs that science and technology has to offer these days, and you can look almost as good at 60 and older (albeit different, you understand) as you did a couple of decades back when you were dreading the reality of turning 40. Ironic, no? What Mother Nature no longer provides, your friendly family cosmetic surgeon or dermatologist now does. True, all these anti-aging miracles don’t come free, and therein lies the rub.

If you are among those whose budgets are in need of a radical lift, you can take considerable comfort in the fact that your friends and family love you anyway, and they embrace your growing maturity. On the other hand, if you are determined to find a bargain basement path to looking younger, you might as well known that regardless of the size of your budget (high or low), many of the best products you are likely to find are currently on sale at your local drugstore. In fact, some of the most reliable are manufactured by such mid-range but reliable companies as L’Oreal and Olay. You might also find surprisingly effective tightening properties in an inexpensive facemask distributed by Queen Helene. Unless you’re a high fashion model well versed in beauty secrets, you are probably unfamiliar with a lesser-known use for Preparation H. Dabbed discreetly over your under-eye bags, it has been known to send them packing for a good four hours. Drinking lots of water is one of the cheapest ways to plump up your face, and it’s absolutely free. (Evian is nice, but an unnecessary luxury in this instance.) Also, steer clear of cigarettes and second-hand smoke. I know of a woman barely 50 who has developed the characteristic accordian-pleated upper lip of a woman of 80 or more, and she has no one and nothing to thank for her premature lines but her recently abandoned nicotine addiction. Your skin will also thank you for wearing a sunblock of about 15 or 20 SPH, or you might even consider avoiding the sun altogether. And please note that even on a cloudy day those rays play havoc with your skin. Nothing but darkness is to be trusted when it comes to the harmful effects of sunlight on your unprotected delicate facial tissue. Considering your chronological age, it may be too late for you, but none too early to scare the hell out of your children and grandchildren. Use your own damaged epidermis as evidence to make your point. Nothing teaches a child better than “show and tell.”          

You’re only as old as you want to be.

When face- and body-lifts first came into fashion, it was women leading the pack. Men, after all, were men. And men, it was agreed by both sexes, fared better with age than women, who were and still are expected to look eternally young at the risk of losing their sex appeal. Where men were often seen as virile and fascinating with a bald pate and a turkey neck, women, on the other hand, were perceived as used up and frail. But men’s egos being what they are, and appearance having a great deal to do with their success in the board room as well as in bed, men are increasingly willing to go under the knife in order to cut 20 years of living off their faces and their necks—and even their bellies. At last count, and it was recently tabulated, men are almost as likely as women to resort to a nip and a tuck when the mirror starts delivering them more bad news than they are willing to handle.

With all the new procedures and products racing down the pipeline at dizzying speed, options run the gamut from an injection of Botox or Restylane to a dermabrasion or feather lift, or on to a full facelift and/or body sculpting. The good news is there is something for nearly every budget, gender, and demographic. Even in such money-is-no-object spots as Beverly Hills.