‘I was losing out to younger people’: Businesswoman, 65, says she faced ageism when applying for jobs until a non-surgical facelift by Apprentice winner Dr Leah Totton restored her confidence
A businesswoman in her mid-60s who says she faced age discrimination when she returned to work after a four-year break says a non-surgical facelift has kick-started her career.
Caroline Wood, 65, a marketing manager from Sussex, claims she was losing pitches to younger applicants and starting to struggle with self-confidence.
Feeling that her face looked ‘sad’ and ‘pulled down’ and did not reflect how she was feeling, she decided to undergo the new ‘Happy Face Lift’ created by Apprentice 2013 winner Dr. Leah Totton.
Dr. Leah, 35, originally from Londonderry, has become one of The Apprentice’s success stories after winning Sir Alan Sugar’s £250,000 investment in 2013 and says her clinics are going from strength to strength.
The procedure combines her signature thread lift with sessions of radiofrequency microneedling, and left Caroline – who had suffered burnout before taking her career break – feeling transformed.
Caroline Wood, 65, from Sussex, underwent a £4,700 non-surgical ‘Happy Face Lift’ with Dr. Leah Clinics after feeling low on self-confidence when returning from a career break
The marketing manager as she looked before the procedure (photo left) and how she looked after it, right
Sharing her results with FEMAIL, Caroline revealed that she is more confident than ever and no longer feels like she is being sidelined.
Describing how she felt when she first returned to work, she said: ‘The aging process snuck up on me for a period of four years when I was out of work due to burnout.
‘It stopped me from getting the roles I applied for; I was written off as soon as I entered the room because of my appearance.
‘My face looked ‘sad’, I had cheeks and a sagging neck and I looked older than I felt. My appearance did not reflect my personality or my energy level. My personality was not reflected in my appearance and I was judged by my appearance, not my personality or skills.
Dr. Leah, 35, who is originally from Londonderry, has emerged as one of the Apprentice success stories after winning Sir Alan Sugar’s £250,000 investment in 2013
“I knew I needed to freshen up my appearance to compete in today’s job market, where I was pitted against many more ‘youthful’ looking applicants.”
Determined to take fate into her own hands, Caroline decided to look into cosmetic surgery.
She continued, “I didn’t want to look like I was in my 20s or completely different. I just wanted my face to reflect how I feel: someone who has a lot of energy and has a lot to offer in a workplace.
‘A surgical facelift felt far too extreme and I had to quickly return to work with no recovery time. I didn’t want to undergo general anesthesia or risk surgical complications.
‘I also didn’t want to be pumped full of fillers like some celebrities – I wanted to look like my natural best self, and still have facial movement.’
Caroline decided to visit Dr Leah, who specializes in subtle, non-surgical treatments. The former Apprentice winner, who counts Lord Alan Sugar as her business partner, recommended the ‘Happy Face Lift’, which cost £4,700.
I just wanted my face to reflect how I feel: someone who has a lot of energy and has a lot to offer in a workplace…
The personalized procedure begins with three thirty-minute sessions of radiofrequency microneedling, during which the skin is punctured with tiny needles that transport heat to stimulate collagen and elastin, and culminates in a final thread lift session.
There, soluble collagen-stimulating threads are strategically placed beneath the skin’s surface under local anesthesia, repositioning facial tissues to mechanically lift the face upward and back in an L-shaped direction.
‘Dr. Leah was very honest and put together a personalized treatment plan for me,” Caroline said. ‘I felt this treatment was something I could do because the microneedling has no recovery time and you recover from the thread lift within a few days.’
Speaking about the results, which last up to two years, she continued: ‘The lift is very good and my jaw and neck look so much firmer and defined.
‘The results look subtle and natural, just as I hoped. The quality of the skin looks much better – I look refreshed and no longer ‘sad’.’
And Caroline believes the procedure has given her the confidence she was missing to revive her career.
Dr. Leah said: ‘Age-based discrimination in the workplace remains an issue and it is one that I believe affects both men and women’
“I look much fresher and I felt so much more confident when I started working again,” she said.
‘I see the financial investment simply as an investment in my career and an investment that will be repaid tenfold in how I feel and in my employability.
‘I don’t believe women should have to undergo cosmetic procedures to keep their job or remain employed after age 65, but I’m glad I was able to do that without having to have surgery and this is the best investment I made in myself could have done. and my career.’
In 2019, Dr. Leah admitted that more and more women were coming to her in similar situations.
She said: ‘Unfortunately this is not uncommon. Age-based discrimination in the workplace remains a problem, which I believe affects both men and women.
‘The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that over-55s are now bracing themselves to continue working until the age of 70.
‘I see more and more clients over the age of 55 looking for cosmetic treatments to feel like they can compete in the workplace.’
Dr. Leah studied medicine at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, qualifying at the top of her year and with distinction in medicine.
In addition to turning over £2.7 million a year from her clinics in London and Essex, Dr. Leah’s one-year-old daughter Lilah with her golf partner Justin Harding.