Many celebrities have plastic surgery as they age. Given the entertainment industry’s emphasis on youth (some would use the word obsession), especially for women, stars often have procedure after procedure to either enhance their looks or slow down the aging process.
Courteney Cox’s sensible stance on the topic is not only brave and empowering but is one that puts health and individuality before other, more superficial considerations. As she has gotten older, her opinion about cosmetic procedures has mellowed and her priorities have changed as well. Honestly, her perspective is one that’s worth exploring.
Courteney Cox Used To Swear By Fillers
Cox’s family instilled in her an emphasis on appearance from a young age. As she began to get older in Hollywood, she started getting fillers to enhance her beauty. It became a vicious cycle of getting more and more procedures.
Her viewpoint about things like that is dramatically different now that she is in mid-life. As Cox told NewBeauty, “I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my entire life. I take much better care of myself now. But Hollywood—this business—makes it harder. I grew up thinking that appearance was the most important thing. That’s kind of sad because it got me in trouble. I was trying so hard to keep up, and I actually made things worse.”
She went on to describe her family’s attitude toward looks, which rubbed off on her: “My mother’s a gorgeous woman. She’s sweet, kind and giving, but she didn’t have a lot of other passions. My father, who’s no longer with us, was the most fun and charismatic person, but he talked about looks a lot. He felt that was an important topic in our family—what people looked like and who didn’t look so good. That’s not a great thing to reveal about your childhood. What are we going to eat and what do people look like, but that’s what we talked about.”
A Friend’s Intervention Caused Her To Reevaluate Her Approach To Plastic Surgery
What finally changed Cox’s attitude toward plastic surgery was the intervention of a caring friend who suggested that maybe Cox had done too much to her face. She has admitted that sometimes doctors would encourage her to do a little more and a little more, until she would just give them the go-ahead, thinking that she needed it.
Seeing photos of herself was another jolting eye-opener. “I’d see pictures and think, ‘Oh, is that what I look like?’ And I’d ask a friend and they’d say, ‘Oh God, no.’ And I never thought of myself as being delusional. I think photographs do show up worse, so when people in the world see you and write comments that are usually mean, I think, ‘It can be worse than what it really is.’”
However, after hearing her trusted friend’s candid opinion, Cox took a courageous step: she had her fillers dissolved. Doing so seems to have been wonderfully liberating for her.
“I’m as natural as I can be. I feel better because I look like myself. I think that I now look more like the person that I was. I hope I do. Things are going to change. Everything’s going to drop. I was trying to make it not drop, but that made me look fake. You need movement in your face, especially if you have thin skin like I do. Those aren’t wrinkles—they’re smile lines. I’ve had to learn to embrace movement and realize that fillers are not my friend.”
That being said, Cox has not sworn off all procedures. The difference now is that she only does what she feels good about and comfortable with. “I believe in getting laser treatments like Clear + Brilliant. I believe in microneedling. I think microcurrent technology makes sense to strengthen your muscles.”
Cox’s New Attitude Towards Beauty
Cox has truly developed a more relaxed philosophy about cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery that works for her. She’s learning to accept movement in her face. She values authenticity and being herself, rather than striving to conform to an unrealistic standard of beauty and youth that the acting profession and society at large frequently impose on mid-life women.
Everyone has to decide for themselves how they want to look. Cox has made the choice to define her concept of beauty this way: “Confidence. It’s beautiful to see somebody own who they are and not hide; someone who is open and comfortable in their skin.”
Her Beauty Routine Is Centered Around Health, Not Appearance
Cox sticks with eating healthy to care for her body and is selective about which skincare products she uses. She favors those that use natural and scientifically-tested ingredients. She also uses a body roller and does Pilates and electrical stimulation workouts.
For Cox, looking good ultimately means being satisfied with who you really are. “I feel best about myself when I’m at peace—relaxed and happy. The great part about getting older is that you learn so much about yourself. Whether it’s through heartache or a good experience, you learn about the tricks you played on yourself or fell back on because you were comfortable with them. I just wish I had this information a little sooner. I would have saved myself a lot of problems.”