Why People Are Choosing To Age In Secret
By Stephanie Stahl
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- People are aging in secret. Some are getting cosmetic procedures like Botox, while others are getting injections and all while keeping it hush, hush.
Superstars Nicole Kidman and Gwenyth Paltrow have finally admitted to getting cosmetic helpers like Botox.
Kelly Ripa is quoted as saying that it makes her makeup artist's life easier.
However, many celebrities keep cosmetic procedures a secret and it turns out, so do many others.
"At the time, when I was in my early 30's I was not going to tell anybody and especially not a boyfriend," said Stacia Oemig. It became a secret Oemig admits, hiding the fact she got Botox, even from her significant other.
Oemig started using Botox at a really young age. She recalled, "it made me look rested. So I just kept going back."
It's been dubbed, "Botox Deception" or "Cosmetic Infidelity." According to one doctor, up to a third of patients are opting to hide their procedures.
Dr. Ivona Percec, plastic surgeon at Penn Medicine says, "You can turn back the clock given numbers of years…I would say five to 10. But it has to be done very naturally."
Dr. Ava Shamban believes there are many reasons why people don't admit to getting Botox and other cosmetic treatments. She says, "it's like I do look perfect in that dress, you do not have to know that I'm wearing SPANX. It's the same principal of I look perfect and fabulous and it's just because I am perfect and fabulous, not that I've had anything done to myself."
Doctors say with a growing number of older men and women dating, many are hiding how they are maintaining a youthful look.
Dr. Shamban added, "there are more and more men who are in their 50's and 60's and 70's who want to date and so they can't look like they're the woman's grandfather."
No, it's not just Botox. People are hiding bigger procedures as well. Experts say some wait for their significant other to travel out of town and pay cash for treatments or spread out the payments.
"We're getting better at what we're doing," says Percec.
With more natural results, the stigma is slowly lifting. Percec says, "it doesn't need to be a secret anymore. Absolutely not."
Oemig has given up on Botox Deception and says she is no longer self-conscious about getting regular injections.
She says, "I don't like proactively tell guys that I was dating, but my girlfriends, I'm like you should do it. It's amazing."
It's a popular trend that's growing. Five billion dollars were spent last year on non-surgical procedures with Botox being the most popular. So chances are whether they admit it or not, somebody you know has probably been injected.
