“I wanted to help others who were thinking about doing the same but maybe didn’t know where to start or were afraid,” Pamela tells PEOPLE
Credit: Pamela NeverPam/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Pamela, 51, documented her facelift journey on social media to help others considering similar procedures
- The West Palm Beach, Fla., resident detailed her anxieties before the procedure, surprises shortly after surgery and what to expect in the weeks post-op
- “I had no idea the content would be so warmly received,” she tells PEOPLE
After candidly sharing her facelift experience online, one woman has been pleasantly surprised by its impact on others.
Pamela, a 51-year-old woman from West Palm Beach, Fla., felt more youthful than she appeared, and the disparity was “affecting my self-confidence,” she tells PEOPLE. Once her mind was made up, she also decided to chronicle the whole process on her social media as a way of shedding light on the procedure.
“When I was researching facial rejuvenation procedures on [Instagram], there were lots of before and after photos from doctors but not a lot from actual patients,” Pamela tells PEOPLE. “I wanted to help others who were thinking about doing the same but maybe didn’t know where to start or were afraid.”
Ahead of her procedure, Pamela opened up about how she chose the right doctor, why she decided to spend thousands on the surgery and the wide range of emotions she experienced right up until she arrived in Turkey for the operation.
In a post on July 3, one day ahead of the surgery, Pamela revealed she almost didn’t get on the plane due to a number of anxieties about the procedure — but the overwhelming positive messages from other users gave her the courage to go through with it.
One day after her surgery on July 5, Pamela shared candid, unfiltered photos of her face shortly after the operation, which included a facelift and a CO2 laser treatment. As each day passed, Pamela shared an update on the swelling, scarring and pain she was experiencing, prioritizing transparency throughout the whole experience.
“Women, and some men as well, have thanked me for being so transparent about the process, saying it has given them the courage to move forward with their decision,” Pamela tells PEOPLE. “I’ve received several messages from people in the hospital or who were recently recovering, thanking me and even saying that my posts were what helped them through the difficult first days of recovery.”
On July 26, Pamela shared even more raw photos from her recovery process, including graphic shots of her scars, stitches and swelling — part of “five things to be prepared for” after getting a facelift.
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The first was the reality of “rubbing antibiotics on your staples yourself,” for which she included close-up shots of her wounds; the second was “waking up to a tube in your forehead” and being awake for the removal process. The third was not being able to wear contacts or have glasses touch her ears — which, fourth, felt like they were removed and replaced with “Dumbo’s” ears instead; and finally, the fifth was to be prepared for lasting swelling, even weeks into the recovery process.
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To her brutally honest post, Pamela received an “overwhelmingly incredible” response from other social media users and very few negative comments overall. “I had no idea the content would be so warmly received,” she says.
Now, nearly a month post-op, Pamela says she’s thrilled with her results.
“It’s funny, now that the swelling is starting to go down, I look in the mirror and think maybe there’s not that much difference from before because I do still really look like myself,” she says. “But then I see pictures and think, ‘My God, I look so young!’ I’m so happy I went through with it.”
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