It's clear that Dr. Terry Dubrow really knows how to make points with the missus.
He is the Newport Beach plastic surgeon who has been featured on E! "Bridalplasty" and now stars with her on "The Real Housewives of the OC."
I ask him: As a plastic surgeon, who do you think is the most beautiful woman on the big or small screen these days?
Don't expect him to say Angelina Jolie:
Dr. Dubrow: "The hot one to look like is Heather DuBrow!"
Me: Good answer!
Dr. Dubrow: "The reason I say that is that I have pictures all over my office of my wife. People come in and say, 'Dr. DuBrow, we want to look like your wife. She looks natural and ageless.'"
Dr. Dubrow is an expert when it comes to having the right work done. Of course, I have a million questions including: How old should you be to have plastic surgery? How much plastic surgery, procedures, filler and Botox is too much?
How can all of us look younger without doing too much?
"The goal is to look like you – just a better version of you," he says.
ARE YOU TOO YOUNG FOR PLASTIC SURGERY?
Q: For those of us who are looking a little tired and thinking about "doing a little something," but we're afraid what is the first step?
Dr. DuBrow: "I'd suggest starting with Botox. I hate to sound so cliché and suggest Botox. Honestly, Botox in Orange County is like having your nails and hair done. It's not for everybody, but it does keep the lines away."
Q: How young is too young for Botox?
A: "My assistant has been with me for 14 years and she started having Botox at age 23. She demanded it. Now, she's 36 and she doesn't have a single line on her face. She actually prevented those lines, but did the Botox lightly, so it looked natural."
Q: What about that age old struggle of it's your face or your fanny. If you're thin, you'll wrinkle, but if you're chunkier you won't. I could mention celeb names here who are painfully thin and look 10 years older.
A: "The problem is after 40, it's your face or your body. If you have very little facial fat because you've thin, I'm into the non-invasive injectables that cause you to create your own collagen."
Q: What about those of us who hate those parenthesis lines around our mouth? Must we do filler – when filler does sound a bit scary?
A: "If the lines are beyond where you think home remedies or prescription Retin A will take care of it, such as small lip lines and lines around your eyes where a prescription can work well, then you might consider fillers."
Q: What is the risk factor with Retin A?
A: "It does take care of those lip lines and lines around the eyes really well. You can push it to a point. Your skin might be slightly irritated from it, which is what I call a healthy irritation. The key is to push it a little bit to get good results. Irritation causes skin turnover. Skin turnover causes the skin to be fresh and minimize the wrinkling."
Q: What's aging to many women is a sagging jawline. What do you suggest as a way to firm this area up?
A: "I like lasers because you don't have a long recovery time. The doctor will use a little bit of a local and tighten the skin around the jawline. There is a procedure where you can get a small incision by your ears and then without a full face lift the doctor can sculpt this area. If you're in your late '40s through 50s, the jowl will loosen around the jawline beyond what you can fix with creams, Botox or fillers. You have to go to the next level."
Q: What about an actual facelift?
A: "You can do an early light facelift with a minimal incision inside the ears to elevate your skin and tighten. If surgery scares you – and it does have risks – then wait. However, if you know that one day you will have a facelift then do it early. It's like studying for a test. Start now. Don't cram. Don't do the facelift at 65 and expect to look two decades younger. That has a longer recovery and will be a dramatic change. You want a smaller change and you want to preserve where you're at."
TOMORROW: Dr. DuBrow talks about adult acne, peels and what you can do on a daily basis to de-age your skin.
