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LA Times: Cosmetic Couples � New you? New us! By Laurie Drake � Special to the Los Angeles Times The windows of the Beverly Hills plastic surgeon�s office face west, which means that an afternoon consultation shines a particularly bright light on any imperfections, real or imagined. When Cheryl Palmer, a 62-year-old real estate agent, came for a consultation, she sat before a triptych mirror and showed plastic surgeon Toby Mayer what was bothering her: a jaw line that had gone south, sagging upper eyelids, thinning lips and pucker lines. Her husband, Cliff Palmer, 61, a school psychologist, leafed through a big album of befores-and-afters. He was just here for emotional support. But after Mayer explained what he could do for Cheryl, who had been contemplating surgery for several years, the subject turned to Cliff, a lean, muscular man who was accustomed to jogging five miles a day on the couple�s horse ranch in Montana. Mayer took what he calls his �fancy Armani pointer� (a Q-Tip) and traced the deep nose-to-mouth lines on Cliff�s face. �We can remove these, which would be a great improvement,� Mayer said. And sooner than you could say �consent form,� Cliff had signed on for excision of those lines and, while the doctor was at it, a forehead lift and a hair transplant. In consultation rooms across the country, husbands who just come along for the ride are finding themselves on the business end of a scalpel. Many see it as the newest way to bond with their wives, with some likening it to just another activity they do together, such as renovating a house. Others are trying to keep up with their partners, whose zeal for cosmetic improvement is making the men look old by comparison. Being mistakenly referred to as your wife�s father is apparently quite the motivation. �They�re having eye jobs and forehead lifts so they don�t get traded in for a new model, said Richard Fleming, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. |
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