There are more than 3.3 billion facelift procedures in the US at a cost of $10.1 billion annually, so I should not be surprised when I run into yet another person I don’t recognize because she (or he) is wearing a new face. Clearly Obama is right and the US economy has recovered because more “regular” people have the money available to return from vacation with a new face.

I’m not talking about the botox fix that freezes out the exclamation point between the eye brows or the fillers that plump up the “parentheses” around the mouth. I’m referring to not recognizing the person who just greeted me at the market with a hug and a conversation of familiarity.

I’ve read a few stories on the psychological adjustments those with new faces encounter when they look in the mirror, but what about us who have to look at these “new” people every time we are around them? It’s unsettling. Interestingly, though not surprising, it seems to be attractive people who buy another attractive face.  So I’m looking a beautiful face, but not the one I knew before.

Which makes me realize how dependent I am on emotions expressed through facial movements  during a conversation.  Aren’t we all actually? The frown to say “I’m unhappy” or the lift of a brow to show skepticism.  Gone is the joy of a face crinkled in an all consuming smile of joy.

I find it difficult to know if someone is really understanding what I’m saying when her face simply doesn’t change the entire conversation.  It does feel like I’m talking to a robot (or to someone who just doesn’t care).

Remember the late artist, Georgia O’Keefe, or the late actress, Jessica Tandy? Women who let their faces express a life-time of living through layer upon layer of crevices.  Even Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio have recognized they have to allow some wrinkles in order to credibly show emotion on screen. 

I understand the frustration in looking older than you feel (me) or in being stunned to see an angry person staring back in the mirror (when you’re not angry), but I think the price is too much.  It’s becoming too hard to “feel” a conversation when your face is frozen in a purchased look.  Let’s enjoy our wrinkles, especially the memories that made them.