Lifestyle

FACE FORWARD

Mom Gets Mistaken for Her Daughter After Undetectable Facelift

Pam’s plastic surgery results made her look 20 years younger.

Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

PublishedJul 29, 2026, 4:02 PM EDT

UpdatedJul 29, 2026, 4:02 PM EDT

Updated Jul 29, 2026, 4:02 PM EDTPublished Jul 29, 2026, 4:02 PM EDT

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When Pam was in her sixties, she started feeling like the person she saw in the mirror appeared 20 years older.

Her jowls looked more visible, her jawline less sharp, and, somehow, there were more lines around her face, she thought.

Pam, who requested we change her name for this story, decided it was time to do something.

“Aging doesn’t happen linearly. It kind of happens in spikes,” Beverly Hills-based plastic surgeon Dr. Michelle Lee told The Looker.

Thankfully, the board-certified doctor said that plastic surgery is getting more undetectable than ever, which is why Pam, too, dared to undergo a set of procedures.

“What we’re seeing right now is that finally, the desire for undetectable results is being able to be matched by capability,” Dr. Lee said.

Dr. Lee created a custom surgical plan to achieve optimal results for Pam based on their conversation.

Pam underwent an upper blepharoplasty to remove excess skin from her eyelids, a deep-plane facelift to minimize the appearance of her jowls and wrinkles, and facial fat grafting to her temples to add volume where it was lost.

“I think a part of achieving natural results is that you’re not just addressing one element of aging,” Dr. Lee said.

But there is one misconception she often runs into: that a youthful appearance is achieved by erasing all wrinkles.

“Even when you look at a little baby, their face is not tight,” Dr. Lee said, adding, “a harmonious face doesn’t mean that every single wrinkle is gone.”

Instead, she said, undetectable results are achieved by following the natural contours of a person’s face.

Another thing that makes the surgery harder to detect is careful consideration of scar placement.

“The incision is actually hidden in the natural crevices, so the eye doesn’t interpret that as the incision line, but a more natural shadow,“ Dr. Lee said, noting, “There has to be absolutely no tension on the incision line.”

The results were better than Pam had even anticipated.

“She absolutely loved it,” Dr. Lee said. “She’s actually a grandma, and when she went to pick up her grandchild from school, the school thought she was the mother.”

While some patients still seek dramatic, noticeable results, Dr. Lee’s clientele typically seeks something more natural—and she is happy to offer it.

“They don’t want to look like they’re 20 or 35,” Dr. Lee said, adding, “They just want to look the best version of themselves.”

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Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

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