I had a facelift -- without surgery

Injections
What it is: Whereas the MyoFacial elevates the face by strengthening muscles, and the FotoFacial takes care of discoloration, builds collagen and gets rid of fine lines, I needed something else to tackle the deeper wrinkles -- most notably around my mouth. I had these deepening lines that looked like they were headed toward ugly jowls à la John Diefenbaker if I didn't do something soon.

Enter hyaluronic acid. At about nine weeks into my Pan G, Mulholland froze pretty much my entire mouth and injected this acid into the layers of fat beneath the top layer of skin. There are several brands of this injectable substance now on the market: Restylane and Hylaform, as well as the longer-lasting Perlane (the one I got). Other injections include Artecoll and MicroFat. These materials absorb water and plump up the skin to smooth out wrinkles. They do not have the allergic potential of the cow collagens of old. They last anywhere from 12 weeks (Restylane and Hylaform) to six months (Perlane) to one year (Artecoll and MicroFat).

My take: I'm convinced that the results -- most notable on my cheeks -- were worth it. I no longer have sagging jowls, or at least they're less noticeable. But getting there was no picnic. The needle used to inject the Perlane hurt despite the freezing, and my mouth remained rigid for several hours. Take a trip to the dentist and multiply that by about 10 and you'll know the feeling. I recommend this one at the end of the day; I was out of commission for a couple of hours afterward.

Cost: Injections generally range from $400 to $600 each (Artecoll costs $750; MicroFat, about $1,000). One injection per site is usually enough. I had injections at two sites.

Botox
What it is: There are certain muscles in the face that we don't want to strengthen -- the ones causing my furrowed brow, the crow's feet around my eyes and the grimace lines at the corners of my mouth. That's where Botox comes in. An injection of a tiny amount of botulinum toxin blocks the nerve signals transmitted to these target muscles, which essentially paralyses them. Botox softens wrinkles in these areas and prevents further frowns and squinting. "We're trying to prevent the unattractive facial animation that doesn't add anything to your life and actually depresses the face," says Mulholland, who is one of a few doctors who inject Botox below eye level. It requires a special skill, and he did it with exceptional ease.

My take: It's a strange feeling not being able to frown even when you try to, but I quickly adjusted to it -- especially when I had a wrinkle-free forehead to show for my efforts. That in itself erases almost a decade from the face.

Cost: $400 per site. I had Botox at three sites. It lasts about three to four months.

Sonopeel
What it is: Using ultrasound energy, a very fine blade vibrating rapidly (at about 30,000 cycles a second) lifts and vacuums up dead skin cells and removes blackheads to produce a smoother and healthier skin surface. This one is great for skin like mine. If my face were less sensitive, I would have undergone less-gentle microdermabrasion, which uses very fine particles of salt or aluminum oxide crystals to scrape the scaly, crusty dead cells off the outer layer of skin.

My take: The procedure may sound painful, but it's actually not uncomfortable at all. And it works! My face immediately felt buffed and looked and felt smoother, which added to the benefits I had already derived from the FotoFacial and MyoFacial.

Cost: $150 for one; four for $500. There are six to eight included in the Pan G.

While all these procedures are available individually, they work best in concert to encourage blood circulation, moisturize, condition and tone skin and allow the skin to breathe.

The Pan G includes astringents, toners, moisturizers and cleansers that are chosen for your particular skin problems. "We take control of your skin-care program, so it's not one of those variable over-the-counter experiences that you get from some department stores," says Mulholland. Not having to decide for myself which products work best on my own skin was a great relief.

And the end result?

Almost everyone noticed a change. I got compliments and comments from friends and colleagues who knew I had "work" done and from others who didn't. Even my son, who was totally in the dark about my Pan G, told me I looked good. Coming from him -- a boy who rarely notices anything, let alone expresses an opinion about it -- that really meant something.

But frankly, I care less about what others have noticed than about how I feel. And I do feel somewhat transformed. Over the course of the program, lines lessened or disappeared, my skin tightened and my colour brightened. It's not a dramatic improvement but a noticeable one.

But this wasn't about transforming a 40-something average-looking mother into a knockout movie star. It was about doing something for myself and learning a lesson almost any woman can stand to learn: that you're allowed, sometimes, to do something nice for yourself.

Do I now look 24? No, but that wasn't my goal. My objective was to look as good as I feel. I'm going to be hanging around this world for another 40 or so years -- at least that's what the statistics tell me -- so I want my face to be as healthy as it can be for as long as possible. I want this face to continue to reflect the me that's on the inside -- healthy, confident, vital and young.

For me, my Pan G was inspiring. So much so that I've now decided it's time to rev up my body-renewal plans. My revised goal? To lose that 10 pounds I've been meaning to shed and stick to the newer, more-intense exercise program that I haven't had time for.