Everybody's line is different

I started thinking about my views on ‘getting a little cosmetic help’ one night seven years ago when the ladies from my mom’s group went out for dinner. Over wine someone posed the roundtable question—where do you guys stand on cosmetic enhancement? Would you ever have any work done?

Well I had to give this some serious thought before I answered. Because, while my default answer may have immediately been ‘no’, I have already made cosmetic enhancement, maintenance or ‘normalizing’ choices. I was born with a birthmark on my face and have had a series of laser treatments to reduce the birthmark over the last fifteen years. And, I wear makeup to cover the birthmark every day and have since I was thirteen years old. Why? Because it allows me to operate more effectively and comfortably in the world that we live in.

So, in essence I have been pursuing cosmetic help for some time and am truly grateful that I have the option to do so. So, when I went back to contemplating where I stood on the issue I realized that I was very much pro-choice and pro-options and while my pursuit of treatment may today be focused on normalizing rather than enhancing, I can’t say that down the road I won’t pursue other things.

More importantly, I feel really strongly that women should not judge other women who make cosmetic choices. Because, it is a very personal choice and we don’t always know what drives people to do things or what each person’s individual story is. Everyone’s line is different.