MEDIUM RARE 

Your face is your fate; in other words, your fortune. That’s what the old folks used to say.

It would seem that indeed, beauties are born, not made, but that kind of thinking is so old-fashioned, given that no one dares to call anyone ugly in the age of inclusivity, good manners and human rights.

It is still true, however, and perhaps more true now than ever before, that the prettiest girls are the most insecure. The smallest sign of imperfection and they’re off to the dermatologist or the eye doctor (who will tell them crow’s feet are nothing to be ashamed of). It’s the prettiest faces who need (or want) fuller lips or bigger eyes or a more sculptured nose. The rest of us can only wonder, but what for, why in the world —?

If your face is your fortune, but you don’t end up being a beauty queen with a crown, you could still be the object of someone’s affection — a friend, lover, poet? For the romantically inclined, Shakespeare put it in a few magical words, “Who loveth, if not love at first sight?”

Without tripping on the romance angle, girls today have all the freedom and every right to seek a doctor who they are hopeful can help improve their look or looks. In my case, as a former classmate of the lady whose son, Marco Protacio, owns You+ Intelligent Aesthetics, I was lucky I joined a raffle during a party, because I won the highly prized “Ultherapy” rejuvenation and anti-aging treatment as the service is described — not a tornado could stop me from visiting the clinic, ultra pronto!

As it turns out, there are many degrees of slowing down the ticking of time. There are procedures to refresh, refine, renew, revive, brighten, or illuminate the skin. Men can ask for face and body contouring — why men only?

The best part of what I experienced was a gentle massage and cleaning of my face with a cream that felt slightly warm. Some hours later, when I reached home, I forced my son to look at my face and tell me what he saw. I had to prod him, “Don’t I look younger?” He replied, “If you say so!”