A woman has stunned social media users after sharing her stunning transformation following a $14,000 facelift in Mexico.
Michelle Wood, 50, traveled from the US to Guadalajara at the end of May to undergo plastic surgery as she wanted to “feel and look more rejuvenated”.
After documenting her journey on TikTok, she has gained 197,000 followers, with people saying she now “looks 25” and saying it’s the “best facelift they’ve ever seen”.
Michelle turned it around first video – which went viral with 21 million views – outside San Javier Hospital just before she went under the knife with her surgeon, Dr Maribel Belmontes.
He spent a total of $14,300 (£10,407) on the surgery alone, but then spent an extra $1,000 (£727) on a recovery home which included food, transport to and from appointments and care.
While her previous photos showed quite a few visible wrinkles and other signs of aging, she was left with a remarkably smooth complexion after the surgery.
Speaking about her newly toned and youthful look, Michelle said: ‘I still don’t recognize myself and I think part of that is because I’ve never looked like this. Even in my 20s I never looked like this because I was very, very fat.
“I’m ecstatic with my results, I love my surgeon, I think she did an amazing job.”
Michelle Wood from the US stunned social media users after sharing a video of her stunning transformation after a $14,000 facelift in Mexico (pictured before)
TikTok users were left in a state of disbelief after seeing Michelle’s results, with one commenting: “Ok now this freaks me out, you look 25!”
Another said: “Holy bananas! This is the best face lift I have ever seen.
A third wrote: “Omg I thought I saw a 25 year old talking about her facelift. I went back to watch your previous videos because I was wondering what you looked like before and I was amazed!!!! Are you over 50???!!! Wow – amazing.’
A fourth asked: “Do you need a new ID now?? You look thirty years younger!!’
Michelle explained that because she looked years younger than her ID photo, her surgeon had to write a letter to passport control explaining that she had undergone a major facelift.
“I wasn’t even questioned, I swear they didn’t even look at my picture when I went through immigration or customs,” he said.
He also said anyone looking to have the same surgery should turn off their phone’s facial recognition before going under the knife, as the system won’t recognize you afterwards.
Michelle said: “If you’re planning to have any facial plastic surgery, make sure you turn off your Face ID on any apps because they won’t work.”
While her previous photos showed quite a few visible wrinkles and other signs of aging, she was left with a remarkably smooth complexion after the surgery (photo after)
People said she now “looks 25” and said it’s the “best non-celebrity facelift” they’ve ever seen
Before going under the knife, Michelle told her TikTok followers: “I hope to bring you along on this journey so you can see the good, the bad and the ugly. I don’t want to look 20, I just want to look like I’ve been sleeping for 30 years.
“I’m choosing to do this for me and everyone has fully supported me.”
Michelle said she grew up overweight and believes losing 130 pounds twice in her life has affected her neck structure.
Michelle said: “I decided to have a full face lift, forehead lift, lip lift as well as a mini chin implant to help my profile. The forehead lift is mainly to deal with my uneven brows and then because I have a runway on my forehead where the hair should be way back here.
Michelle admitted the first few days “were rough”, as she candidly showed off her swollen face covered in bandages and severe bruising around her eyes.
On day three of recovery, the mother-of-two said: “I feel a lot like a Bratz doll, hopefully the swelling will go down. Right now, I don’t know who I am, I don’t recognize [myself].’
She described the center as “very reasonable and a great experience” as they helped her back to health.
Michelle said people are already starting to think she looks decades younger, with some thinking she is her son’s sibling rather than the mother.
Kris Jenner, 69, is among the celebrities who look like they’ve aged in reverse
When he went to the eye doctor to be contacted because of the swelling in her eyes, the doctor couldn’t believe it was his mother and could only respond by saying “wow”.
She said: “It was funny because he asked me how old I was when he saw my prescription because apparently I have bifocals and I told him I’m 50 and he said ‘I’d never have guessed, I’d have thought you were 27’ and I said it was because I had a face lift.”
More and more people are choosing to go under the knife in an effort to look younger.
Last month, Kris Jenner wowed her fans with her incredible transformation after showing off her youthful appearance by showing her age in reverse.
The 69-year-old mom has been sharing slideshows on Instagram from her trip to Paris last week to watch her daughter Kim Kardashian’s jewelry robbery trial and Lauren Sánchez’s bachelorette party.
Kris (born Kristen Houghton) no longer shows any signs of sagging or wrinkling thanks to the skilled hands of Manhattan plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Levine.
Although age is just a number, that number is becoming increasingly difficult to understand based on how someone looks thanks to beauty treatments, sophisticated skin care routines, subtle plastic surgeries.
In the 90s, a 30-year-old’s face looked very distinct, but now, age reduction procedures and modern makeup techniques have made age much more ambiguous.
More and more people are choosing to go under the knife in an effort to look younger (stock image)
“The perception of 30 has changed because cosmetic procedures have become normalised, especially on social media,” Dr Ann Monis, Clinical and Forensic Psychologist at Medical Anti-Aging, told the Daily Mail.
[Influencers and public figures are sharing] their injectables, skin treatments and surgical modifications,” explained Dr. Monis. “This constant visibility changes what we think is typical for 30.”
Dr. Monis added that the change is not only cultural, but also psychological.
“This is because repetition changes the way the brain sets expectations,” the physician explained.
“When someone sees the same kind of edited or altered face over and over again, the brain will begin to treat that image as the baseline. It’s becoming the new ‘normal’ even though it’s not natural or accurate.”
