Self-Love After 50: Kelley Fahey on Menopause, HRT and Her Facelift

Kerry: Hello, welcome to season 2 of Once Upon a Surgery. I’m the host Kerry Berlet, wife of world-renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Berlet. Today, this is the self-love after 50 episode of Once Upon a Surgery, and I’m here with a fellow podcast host, Kelley Fahey, who has the podcast Still Can’t Cook. And before we get into the work she’s had done, I wanted to hear about Kelley and your podcast and tell us like the history of how that all happened.

Kelley: I will. Thank you for having me. It’s great to be here. so yeah, how it started was I had I’ve always been told that I was funny and I love telling stories, right? Two things are facts.

Kelley: So I had a girlfriend who wanted to do a podcast and a group of us got together and we’re doing it together, but no one heard it but us. It was she’s she’s she’s famous. Okay.

Kelley: But she was doing it and kind of thinking she might pitch it with the four of us, but we were continuously shooting it and I fell in love. I was like, “This is what I’m supposed to do.” I love telling stories. I love having a voice. It’s quick. It’s easy. And she ended up deciding not to do it.

Kerry: Oh, really?

Kelley: So, I was like, “What about me now?”

Kerry: Yeah.

Kelley: So, before she decided not to, we had sent it to a specific person, Diana Dcasta, which is now my producer. Okay.

Kelley: And she so she got to hear one of the only people in the world who got to hear this one podcast. And I called her and I said, “Hey, you know, I really think this might be my thing. I felt really good. What do you think?” And she was like, “I will do. I will do it and it’s fantastic. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Minute of it.

Kerry: Right. And so and the general theme of your podcast is

Kelley: The general theme is it’s about being unmarried, no children, not taking the everyday road. I went a little bit off the beaten path and decided to live my life on my own terms and how that looks after 50. menopause being a big part of it, of course,

Kelley: Female friendships as you get older, changing relationships, choices that you make along the way, and just about the ride and what it’s like to get here.

Kerry: Awesome.

Kerry: And then and as part of it, I know you had it was actually I think the day was it that it had just started?

Kelley: It was the teaser launch.

Okay. Yeah. December teaser launch December 10th last year when you ran into my husband. It was I say that I can manifest things and I tell you I had wanted a

Kelley: I’ve wanted a facelift since I could remember. I mean is when I was younger, my mother had one exactly the same age as me.

Kerry: Really?

Kelley: Yeah. My best friend’s mom was an esthetician and she esthetician. Eesthetician.

Kerry: Okay.

Kelley: I can’t say the word. Eesthetician. And she had one in her early 30s and she just continuously had one. So she just stayed young forever.

Kelley: So I saw women who had facelifts and I was like this is I’m going to do that. And I knew facially speaking with my, you know, my f my what’s it my genetics. My genetics I knew I was going to have wrinkles.

Kelley: Sorry, mom. But, I always knew I wanted one. But when you see yourself for the first time on camera

Kerry: Yes.

Kelley: Moving, you know, I took a lot of selfies and I did a lot of cute little, you know, videos with your friends, but when you’re one hour face to face with a camera

Kelley: And you’re like, I look like a Shar-Pei. I couldn’t believe I couldn’t believe it. I left my house so excited about the podcast, but also like, “Oh my god, I really need to do it.” And I went to Capital Grille,

Kerry: Okay?

Kelley: And I’m sitting with a friend of mine and she was not quiet. She was not quiet. And I was saying, you know, I want to just this is what I want to do. And from behind, he had overheard her saying that, you know, we’re going to get do this surgery. And he turned around and just said, “Hi, I’m a plastic surgeon.”

Kelley: I was like, “I’m 007.” Right.

Kerry: And it was it was pretty close. your husband is pretty close to 007. Yes.

Kelley: And he just said, “no, you don’t need A, B, and C, right?

Kelley: And what you do need is this, this, and this.”

And it was, I swear I heard harps. I was really It’s like he came running through the field after. No, it was the most

Kelley: It couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. It was the right time. It was the right place. Clearly the right doctor. And it w I just couldn’t believe it cuz I was like, I made that happen. I totally manifested. I feel like it does like the universe sometimes you manifest like things just stars align right

Absolutely stars align and he

Kelley: As you know you know he’s just fantastic and it was like from the from the beginning from the first conversation

Kerry: Great you’re charming

Kelley: Great you know telling me what I shouldn’t do but I need to research you anyway you know what I mean so for me I was like I left there going that’s him it’s great I love him and I was like oh god I got to find out about him now

Kerry: Right I know cuz anyone can sell themselves right and like not everyone’s good there’s a lot of bad plastic surgery.

Kelley: It was really first and foremost to be honest, I was like I knew I was in,

Kerry: Right?

Kelley: I knew it. I didn’t I was sure there was going to be no negative reviews

Kelley: And so first what I did what everybody does and they go online and then I was like you know what

Kelley: You know what it’s like people can lie online and I ended up calling people and my the woman who does my filler and Botox here in the city happened I called her and I said it’s going to be random but do you happen to know Dr. Berlet? She goes oh of course I know Dr. Berlet and she went on and on and on. She knew where the office was and she had friends and she had people call me

Kelley: And then I had a girlfriend in New Jersey. I did all the work. I did all the and I had she works at a salon and it was like I ended up having five or six people who had surgery had been to him everything from face to breasts and everybody was like he’s the greatest and I was like I knew it.

Kerry: Okay.

Kelley: I knew it was kismet.

Yeah. That’s so interesting. Wait. And so and you’re 55 right? Or okay. You don’t like to say your age. That’s fine. That’s first of all there’s nothing I don’t have. you watch my podcast. There’s nothing I don’t say. No, I’m 54. I’ll be 54.

Kerry: 54. Okay. 54. Okay. Cuz I was going to say cuz I’m 50. Cuz I was like I feel like now are did you feel like once you hit a certain age then all of a sudden everything kind of I do feel like in the last year I’m kind of like it’s my time is coming. Like

Kelley: It’s to be honest for me it was a it was a gradual transition of knowing it was happening as it was happening. I literally was like oh that’s going to oh that’s and mine was my neck. I really had a big issue with the neck and the lower jowls. So, I went as far as buying tape. I did I did like the old, you know, the old-fashioned beauty stuff like from the 40s movies.

Kerry: Would you go out with like tape?

Kelley: I would I would go out and just hold my neck cuz the tape never worked. Sorry, I didn’t find the right tape.

Kerry: Right.

Kelley: But I kind of watched it happening as it was happening.

Kerry: Okay.

Kelley: And then finally, it was really when I saw myself straight on camera, saw the different angles from the podcast where I was like, “Oh, wow.”

Kerry: Yeah. cuz you can look at, you know, how we have our best face in the mirror.

Kelley: So, I was giving my best face until I couldn’t. And then literally, when I tell you the stars aligned, the day I watched the teaser was the day I met your husband. It was the day that everything in me was like, “Oh, no. This is this has got to we got to go with this. We This is not Kelley Fahey.” You know what I mean? It was like, “This is Kelley Fahey’s grandmother.” I can’t even I couldn’t believe it.

Kelley: I look like a Shar-Pei. It was shocking.

Kelley: But I talk about it. I do have I have a whole episode on the podcast about meeting him and the whole transition of

Kelley: It was magic,

Kerry: Right? Amazing. And now and I just have a random cuz I sort of So I feel like there’s a parallel between this as you reach this menopausal age, right? So now I have all these friends that are doing hormone replacement therapy which again I was sort of like I wasn’t for it but then you hear more and I feel like it’s a similar kind of you reach this 50 age. So it’s like with plastic surgery and hormone replacement therapy there are a lot of parallels because there it’s about sort of just maintaining yourself.

Kerry: Yeah. It’s about taking care and so and at first I think now I am interested in potentially doing that hormone replacement therapy because it’s like you hear that can help everything like everything from your sleep longevity and there was actually you know that controversy that just came out that now they said it caused cancer and now it doesn’t. they were they were wrong. And so I mean I feel like you can people can be judgmental about either procedure but it’s just like as you reach 50

Kelley: I don’t want to over talk. I’m sorry.

Kerry: Sure. No. Yeah.

Kelley: You have to make a decision that makes the most sense for you. And if you’re blessed and menopause comes and it doesn’t give you all the side effects. If you are still really sexually active and if you’re still really energetic and you sleep well and you don’t sweat your life away in bed. If you don’t have those things, whoever you are, God bless you. I don’t know you and I’m not you.

Kelley: The minute I started my menopause, it was immediately sweaty, mood swings, weight gain, everything happened at the same time.

Kelley: So,

Kelley: I went on to hormone replacement after doing blood work. I did do the blood work. Back then, they still thought that the estrogen caused cancer. Okay?

Kelley: So, I did all of the do you have all of these genes that could possibly blood, you know, there’s a million cancers. There’s some cancers that are genetic cancers and they can test for those markers, right?

Kelley: So, I in fact did do that. Knock on wood, I didn’t have any of those things.

Kerry: Okay.

Kelley: And so, I started on the men the testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone, and I swear by it.

Kelley: Really life-changing.

Kerry: Okay.

Kelley: Night and day.

Kerry: No, that’s great to know. I mean, it’s like again, we just want to do everything you can to keep like everything together as long as you can to maintain. It’s not like, you know, chasing youth, but it’s just about like feeling normal. It’s one of one of the biggest questions that I get on the podcast. People will come in and ask me a lot of the text messages or the emails that they send in is like, “What are you doing?

Kelley: What is and I’m like, “Please, you need to see a doctor.” Like, I can tell you what I’m taking, but yeah, everyone’s got different blood work.

Kelley: And there are different ways of doing it. You also then have to have regular blood work once you start it, which I also talk about how I went really crazy with the testosterone and not had it tested because I had the breakup and so I was in the transition state which is want to talk about that again. But you need to if you’re going to do it and I support highly that you do it because it does you know all of a sudden you gain weight like no one talks about that. We do care if we gain weight first. It’s like you look a little bit younger when you gain weight, right?

Cuz your face gets a little fuller. Yeah, you got it’s like

Kelley: Does it look younger around my belly now too and my butt like no everything’s getting fatter.

Kelley: So when you level off when you finally get the proper numbers which takes the right amount of estrogen progesterone testosterone and you got to go and you got to do the blood work and then which is what happened to me your body’s right

Kelley: Your mind is right you want to have sex again and then you have an old lady face and you’re like what am I doing to go out in a mask to pick up somebody? Yeah. Like everything else is tight and I was like,

Kerry: “Right.” And then probably even just if you did have some weight loss that probably contributed to the face, the droopy face. Yeah.

Kerry: All right. And so then now let’s get into the, you know, the face and like the prep and I know you were so nervous, right? Had you ever done any plastic surgery before?

Kelley: No. No. What I had done was every filler as your husband will talk about every filler. Every I did string lifts. I had been doing fillers.

Kelley: Okay. and Botox since I was in my 30s. As

Kelley: Soon as I found out, I was like, “What? I could do this?”

Kelley: He had to like scrape piles. And he literally said, and he’ll let I’ll let him tell you, but he said he knew where everything was.

Kerry: Oh, really?

Kelley: It was crazy. He’s like, “You had Radiesse here and you had Juvéderm there.” I was like, “Oh, God.” I did. And he was like, “It stuck to my

Kerry: Wow.”

Kelley: And then tell the story, but

I say no to filler.

Kerry: Wow. Okay.

Kelley: So, I had done everything aside from cutting.

Kelley: Okay. And so we ended up, he suggested and he was correct. I did upper and lower eyes.

Kerry: Okay.

Kelley: I did the full face, the neck and he did a little lip lift which was amazing and I wasn’t expecting it and it was we talked about it but it was like I was but he did it and it was great. It was the greatest thing. He didn’t do it without my permission. He just said this would be great and I was like I don’t know what that even means,

Kerry: Right? and he did it and it was

Kerry: Made amazing and again they don’t because it’s again like you know there’s so many bad lips you know but it’s like and the people are nervous about the lip lift but it really it just adds

Kelley: Well he had said it and I was like I don’t know even what that means and then what he also did is he took fat from my neck and put it in my lower lips so my own body fat wow

Kelley: Rather than the filler and it looks I had done filler a million times and my body ate it

Kerry: Right

Kelley: I did filler in my lips I would come out like a duck I’d have a really bad reaction and 3 days later I had no more fill in the lip.

Kelley: So now my natural body fat that he put in the lip was degraded. I mean he did it all. I did all of it.

Kerry: Yeah.

Kerry: I mean and I feel like you did say that people hadn’t even cuz I mean especially with this coat, your eyes are insane, right? And people hadn’t even like noticed your eyes before, right?

Kelley: The morning after the surgery, the first time I looked at myself, my eyes were a color I had never seen. But I do I make a joke because I had black eyes. I should just walk around with I got to punch.

Kelley: There’s quite a contrast, right? There’s something about the purple and the red. I’m like, I got to change my eyeliner. But my eyes were so extreme that the next day I was on the phone with my girlfriends and my one friend was like, “Did he change your eye color?” Like, “What did he shoot in your eyeball?” I’m like, “Nothing.” And then everyone thought he did my cheeks, too. Because he took the old filler out, right?

Kelley: Everyone’s like, “You look so much more contorted.” I’m like, “Yeah, because it’s my real bone structure. I had all this

And you didn’t even know. It was so aging.” I look back now at just the filler because I again I have

Kerry: That was probably a lot of money too that you just like you know

Kelley: It was so much money and when you I did a full season of Still Can’t Cook without the facelift and I talked about it on day one my first episode I talked about it and then season two of the next season two seasons.

Kelley: First episode I said this year I’m going to have a facelift

Kelley: And sure enough by the second show I had the facelift.

Kerry: Right. Right. Right.

Kelley: Yeah. He’s like a magic worker.

Kerry: Uh-huh.

Kerry: Yeah. And then and so what did you think? So you actually because he it’s more common now these days for him to do it under local but you did it under general. Was that just like because you’re a wimp?

Kelley: First of all, you can ask him about what a wimp I am cuz I am such a wimp.

Kelley: Yeah, I did it. I was I was too afraid to wake up. I thought if I wake up and my face is off,

Kelley: I’m probably going to have a bad reaction. It’s probably not going to go well, right? and we did it with you know I have to say I wasn’t

Kelley: I was more afraid of doing it in the office. I just was who I was. So when I got to the hospital and again everybody was great. His office people are great. People met me. He came to see me before the surgery but even going in I was like am I going to am I doing this? Am I really going to get my face taken off my body?

Kerry: Right.

Kelley: And yeah I’m so glad I would do it 100 times. Only thing for me,

Kelley: The eyes I he was taking staples out of my neck and I was like, “So, we’re talking and he’s popping, you know.”

Kerry: Yeah.

Kelley: But then he just took one little stitch out of my eyeball and I was like a telenovela around the house. He’s like, “Calm down. It’s one stitch.” I’m like, “But I just have sensitive eyes.” But I, the face, the neck,

Kerry: We all have like different sensitive areas, certain things.

Kelley: People have asked me if it hurt and it is uncomfortable.

Kelley: Yeah. I had appendicitis and I had stomach surgery. And the thing about appendicitis is you can’t move your body without moving your stomach. Right?

Kelley: So with this I was like, “Oh, this is going to be crazy.” I remember getting up and down. But in reality, you cannot move as long as you can move your mouth,

Kerry: Right?

Kelley: You can you don’t have to move your head

Kelley: And soon enough you can. It’s fantastic.

Kerry: Right. And what did you think? Cuz I know so you wake up, right? And then you have this bandage around your So what did cuz some people hate it, some people like What did you think? Cuz it does it make you claustrophobic?

Kelley: No. So it’s funny too. I keep referring but I do talk about this because on the on my podcast but

Kelley: You’re when I he one thing your husband had said to me was this is going to be a big one waking up you’re going to be packed you’re going to be closed in some people freak out and I am claustrophobic cuz I’m like oh great this is going to be I’m going to be cut open and wrapped up but for me it was so comforting to be safe in like I

Kelley: And I got mine off early. We did the wrap early. I got like 11 or 12:00 and was going to keep it till 3. not that I remember every detail, but I do.

Kelley: But I felt really safe inside there.

Kelley: Underneath here is the new me. You know what I mean? It was almost like elephant man when they do the unwrapping. Like I was like, I don’t want to see. But

Kelley: Yeah, but when we took it off it was like that did not freak me out at all. I know that I liked I felt safe. I know it covers your ears, but there’s, you know, I had stitches in my ears, which was crazy. I had little like furry stitches sticking out of my ears. My grandfather. It’s like,

Kelley: But yeah. No, it was

Kerry: And what about the first shower?

Kelley: First shower was like a horror film.

Kerry: Was there like just

Kelley: So I didn’t know I’m going to give you all these pictures. I didn’t realize it.

Kelley: I had thought that my hair up in this ponytail to the side. It was a side ‘ 80s ponytail, which I loved. I thought he was doing it as a joke.

Kelley: It was all held back

Kelley: By blood.

Kelley: And I didn’t realize this, right?

Kelley: So my friend who was with me, my friend Shel was like, “Okay, you got to take a shower.” I’m like, I’m so cute. I don’t have to do anything. Got my side pony. It’s like enough with the Vicodin or whatever it was. I value like you’re going to take a shower. So, I did in fact go face away. I faced away from the shower and she just But man,

Kelley: It looked like a scene from Carrie. My floor was covered.

Kelley: But I mean, you have these moments when he took the first stitch. There was some weird stitch he had that went under my chin.

Kelley: I didn’t even know it was there. So, for a while, you know, I was like this. I’m like, is this how my face going to go? And then he took this thing out and my jaw started working again. I don’t know what kind of magic thing he did, but yeah. No, the blood was crazy.

Kerry: Yeah,

Kelley: The healing was quicker and easier. And I shot

Kelley: My podcast. What was it? Four weeks, three weeks. Three weeks later I did the podcast. I was still bruised.

Kerry: Yeah. The only thing cuz you had the Cuz the eyes the bruising can Yeah.

Kerry: But it also kept it They look fabulous though.

Kerry: You like the bruising.

Kelley: This is like the best eye color I’ve ever had. Yeah. No. it’s still apparently it’s a year of process of healing and every day I think every day it gets better.

Kelley: But the neck for me, for me, my biggest

Kelley: I don’t know if y’all can see how fabulous the neck is, but he really just

Kelley: This was and we’ll have pictures hopefully and you can go check out my podcast where I look like I’m

Kelley: J down to here. But this was for me the biggest change what I wear

Kerry: Really.

Kelley: I’ve never worn the sweater. I’ve had this sweater for like four years. Sorry.

Kerry: Why? Cuz it’s cuz you were so

Kelley: I saw it as soon as it hit my neck. I couldn’t I would wear anything long in the front. So you can have my décolletage, but I would wear things that were open here to take away from how much of my neck was loose. But now I wear like Yeah, it’s crazy. Changed the way I dress, the way I feel. I wear my hair up all the time now.

Really? I want people to say I did before, but unhappily,

Kerry: Right?

Kelley: You know what I mean? I would not be comfortable now. I prefer it. I was going to wear my hair up here and I was like, “Oh, then you’re going to see maybe my extensions.” So

Kerry: Oh, did you do that? See, I think

Kelley: I need I need new extensions. So, you’re going to see that.

Kerry: Interesting. And so, and then I love the story. Can you tell the story about the dog walker?

Kelley: This is crazy. So, so I’m outside my building. So, this is what I’m saying. since doing the facelift and since it’s kind of now getting back to a normal face. Yeah.

Kelley: I wear my hair up all the time now and it’s just clean and fresh and I feel pretty

Kelley: And I was out walking the dog and my dog doesn’t like kids. Unfortunately, he doesn’t like toddlers. He doesn’t understand them. They scare him. So, we’re on one side of the street and there’s a child doing some odd moves across the street. So, Oliver starts to bark. So, I’m like, “No, no.” And he’s looking and the woman says, “Oh, is that Oliver?” And I’m like, “I’m already, you know, I might look young, but I’m still blind like 54.” So, I don’t know who you are.

Kelley: So, she comes across the street and she’s like, “Oh, I live in the building and my son is named Oliver as well.”

Kelley: And she said, “I think I know your dog walker.”

Kelley: So, I said, “Oh, you do?” And she said, “Yeah, she hangs out with Ellen.” And Ellen is a dear friend of mine in my building. And I was like, “My dog walker hangs out.” I said, “I’m sorry. What is she?” She goes, “You know, she’s got brown curly hair.” Older lady.

Kelley: I said, “Oh my god, that’s me.” She goes, “No, no, no. The woman, she knows she’s older.” I go, “No, no, no.

Kelley: Really?” So, this like And she was dead serious.

Kelley: Dead serious. I go, “Wow,

Kelley: I should have just said it was my mother.” She said, “Oh my god, I laughed to my mom.” But I was like, “No, no, no. Really, I just had a facel.” And I’m like, “Shut up, Kelley. Don’t tell everybody.” But I just had a facelift and that’s me. And she was like, “Are you serious? You go to my building, my floor all the time with Ellen.” I’m like, “That’s me.” And she’s like, “Oh my god, you look great.” I’m like, “I know.” Like I know I’m the old new young me.

Kerry: I would have like You should have seen if she was going to talk about you, but what you do,

Kelley: Right?

Kerry: Yeah. But do you even have a dog walker?

Kelley: No, I mean I have I have dog sitters. Yes, I love dogs because I have a very spoiled dog, but not a dog walker that you would know that looks like me. No, it was just it was definitely me. It was crazy and it was really I mean for me I came home and I ticked it. I was like I was telling everybody I sent you guys the video. I know. I love it. Yeah, that’s so that’s so cool.

Kelley: Yeah, the new old me or the old new me, whatever.

Kerry: Right. Right. And so and have you had like is that like faced any judgment from your friends like people are you know? So I had

Kerry: Probably jealousy too, right?

Kelley: You know what? It’s a mix. I think what happens is and you know this and people as you I think hopefully watch the show and you’ll see people who have their transitions and like what happens in the healing process and I think what happens a lot and happened for me is family got really scared the initial couple first weeks because you are swollen.

Kerry: Yeah.

Kelley: I had a facelift

Kelley: And they’re like what did you do to yourself?

Kelley: And then it’s like you don’t look like yourself. It’s like I’m swollen and I’m healing. It’s like looking at a hand after I break it and saying it doesn’t look right. Give it a minute.

Kelley: Yes. So, I got a lot of people saying, “You don’t look like yourself. You look different. You look different. I like the old you.” And I think that one of the things was the biggest was the upper lip. Because at first, you’re

Kerry: Yeah.

Kelley: It was up, but it’s swelling. So, people could see my teeth.

Kerry: Yeah.

Kelley: And I have friends like, “Oh, I never saw you.”

Kelley: Well, fast forward two months later, I look exactly the way I’m supposed to look and it just looks like a younger version of me. But I did get a lot of kind of wish you wouldn’t have done it then. Right.

Kelley: Now, I’m getting, “Oh, yeah, you look great.”

Kerry: Right.

Kelley: I know. Thanks.

Kerry: Right. Yeah.

Kerry: I know. And I mean people again, everyone can have their own opinions like you just that’s just part of it, right? Like there people are always going to judge and

Kelley: At the same time you’re getting the inboxes like don’t say anything but what’s your doctor’s number?

Kerry: Yeah, exactly. I got those two and what exactly did you get done and how much did that cost and it’s like yeah right the side text right and so and now I think there’s one more thing he’s going to do a little fat. Is that what he said?

Kelley: He’s going to do a little fat. So

Kelley: What he did so again he’ll tell you about for me I don’t know about everybody he could be expert on that but filler was really bad for me

Kelley: And it remains underneath your skin and it aged me just talking about myself.

Kelley: So now no I think Botox once since I’ve done it and I did it back in September 29th right

Kelley: I haven’t done anything. So what we’re looking at now is the face is going back to normal and he’s he says he wants to take a little bit of fat. I think he takes it from inner thigh.

Kerry: Uh-huh.

Kelley: And I just wanted to take it now just to take it. Like just take it. I don’t even care if you use it. Just cut the fat.

Kelley: But and then he’s going to do a little in my cheeks, I think. And right here cuz I went back finally for the post-op and I put it off cuz I’ve been traveling and winter and blah. But I went back for post-op. So we finally now hopefully we’ll see the befores and after which I’m super excited about.

Kerry: Right. Yeah. So talk to me about your skin cuz I think it looks beautiful and I want to see has it have you had a change or did you always have nice skin?

Kelley: That’s a great question. No. Okay. I didn’t. No. I think one of the things that he’ll talk to the doctor will tell us about is that because I did filler for so long. It does affect your skin because first of all, it’s not going to be flat because you got bumpy dumpies. They go where they want to go. I he’ll tell you. I think I had a piece of filler that was down here.

Kelley: I had a bump down here that I thought was my face. Turns out it was filler. So, I think what happened is once he removed all the filler and I had my natural skin on top of my bones where they used to be. I think I care more about my face. You know, he took out all the stuff that aged it

Kelley: And now it’s like, what am I putting on it? What am I eating? What am I drinking? I mean, I have McDonald’s and wine and I’m drinking champagne. It’s not like I’m doing a vegan diet, right?

Kelley: I do all the things, but I’m very conscious about washing it now. The right moisturizers. You have a great line of moisturizers,

Kelley: Cleansers. I think it’s super important that you take care of your skin once you dive in and do a facelift. Like, what?

Kerry: Yeah. Right. Like, why did you put that money in

Kelley: Tanning? This is one tanning. I’ve been tanning, right? And I know. And it’s But I’m going, but I have very white, very light, light skin, and I’m going to be going to Miami in two days. So, I’d gone to the tanning salon and everyone’s like, “You can’t do that. You had a facelift.” And it’s like, I know I shouldn’t do that, but it’s also better than burning in the sun, which I would be doing had I not did the base.

Kerry: Okay.

Kelley: But lots of water, really good moisturizers, really good skin care, and

Kelley: No fillers. Go ahead and get the fat transfer.

Kerry: Right. Right.

Kerry: And do you find cuz I remember cuz so I’ve done my upper lids, but I do feel like cuz you know when you have that extra skin, it’s like just it’s a different it feels different when you put the makeup on. It’s like I mean like you have a younger face again cuz you know like literally like the skin would move around, you know, as you’re putting makeup on.

Kelley: First of all, I had I had flaps. You’re going to see in the pictures. I had I didn’t realize I had complete coverage. Like I had a I probably I couldn’t see. I didn’t even know I couldn’t see. So for me,

Kelley: Eyelashes are crazy to put on cuz I do put on my own eyelashes. So that’s nuts cuz I’m like I don’t have any skin to pull back. I just shut my eye and put it on. Like used to go like this, you know?

Kelley: Yeah. Everything’s different. Makeup’s different. Clothing’s different. I do my hair different. Lipstick colors are Everything’s different.

Kelley: Everything’s different. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.

Kerry: Awesome. Yeah.

Kerry: Right. So good. It’s just one small thing changes everything.

Kelley: I mean, you got to have the right

Kelley: You got to have the right doctor. You have the right doctor,

Kerry: Right? Okay. So, you now have changed your face. you’ve gone through two seasons of your podcast. Like, what’s next? What’s on the horizon for Kelley Fahey of Still Can’t Cook?

Kelley: So, thank you for asking. definitely season 3. We’re going to take off for January and then we’re going to come back February with season 3. We’re going to have some surprises. It’s going to be a little bit of a shift. Season one, I did the every other episode I had an interview. And it turned out that my solos were doing better than my guests. Love you guys.

Kelley: But

Kelley: Not that I don’t want guests. Love you so much. But so in season two, I did all solos and then one episode with my friend Donell Rawlings, which was fantastic.

Kerry: You and your celebrity friends.

Kelley: Me and my celebrity friends. You know, someone’s got to have them. so in season three, I think we’re going to do people I don’t know. It’s going to be other newer faces, people I don’t know, interviews. I’m going to be on more podcasts, right?

Kelley: You’re my jump off. This is my first time,

Kerry: Someone else’s podcast.

Kelley: Thank you for having me.

Kerry: Thank you for coming.

Kelley: But yeah, I think it’s going to be super exciting. And then personally, I think the travel, you know, I’m a travel consultant as well. So the travel agency is doing really well. Lot a lot of my friends are still booking with me. That’s doing great. Lots of personal travel. And I think I’m going to start dating. That’s going to be new face, new me, new guy.

Kerry: So, have you have you gone on the apps since you had your new face?

Kelley: I have and but on the apps I have my old face pictures which is weird.

Kerry: That’s funny because usually the pictures look way younger and then they come looking older. You would that would be bad. Like I don’t know. I guess then you

Kelley: I’m like if you liked me then you’re going to love me now kind of thing, right? No, I cuz I don’t know. I don’t Some of the pictures are fun and the contrast is too much cuz it does look different. You guys will see when we give you the pictures.

Kelley: So I don’t want it to be like oh she clearly had a facelift. Do you know what I mean? Oh, I see.

Kelley: Cuz I don’t want you, you know,

Kerry: Cuz people could be judgy, too. Yes.

Kelley: People, this is one of the things when I was a little kid.

Kerry: Yeah.

Kelley: Someone would have a nose job and you would immediately think, “Oh, she must have been so ugly.” It’s like she didn’t have to have a hook. She could have had a little bump. You know, people

Kerry: Yes.

Kelley: So, with the facelift, I don’t want people immediately thinking that it was like, you know, that the whole body was sharp. It was just the face.

Kelley: So, I haven’t worked the new pictures in yet, but And I haven’t gone on a date yet with the new face.

Kerry: Right. Right. Oh, well, so that’ll be I’m too intimidated, maybe. But I mean I and I do think a lot of people I mean the right guy would appreciate that you are maintaining yourself right and got the facelift right and like the right guy may have had a facelift himself too by the way.

Kelley: Well can you find him excuse me out there where the right guy is right.

Kerry: Yeah. No I don’t know where he is. I

Kerry: I know. So everyone I know is on Hinge. Like I don’t know that’s the one that people Okay. Yeah.

Kelley: I And you don’t get past conversation which is a whole other thing.

Kelley: Yeah. We can talk about that a whole episode, but yeah, you don’t get past the conversation on these things, but no, I haven’t. But I want my face

Kelley: To match the rest of me and to go on dates and

Kerry: Right. Okay. And so for season 3, will you like go on dates on the on the podcast?

Kelley: So then you have to find the people that are willing to be on camera, too. That’s

Kelley: I can talk about them afterwards. They might not be on camera, but they’re going to be

Kelley: Right. You’re just documenting you on camera. It’s like I talk about everything. So the podcast, if I go on a date, someone said to me last first season like, “So what if we had sex?” I’m like, “First of all, cart before the horse, buddy. Way cart before the horse.” And he’s like, “What would you talk about?” I’m like, “Every single second of it.” Of course, I watch my podcast.

Kelley: What am I talking about? So, yeah. But season three, I’m going to date with my new face.

Kerry: Oh, that’s so exciting. Okay. Well, we’ll have to tune in for that.

Kelley: Maybe season four and come up with, you know, married and the whole thing.

Kerry: Oh my gosh. You never know.

Kelley: I’ll decide to have a kid.

Kerry: Get on that, Dr. Berlet. Make sure you can make that happen.

Kerry: Kind of surgery that would take. Hopefully you had some frozen eggs

Kelley: In my fridge, but they’re not mine. Yeah, they’re not baby chicken,

Kerry: Right?

Kelley: Close as I’m getting to a kid.

Kerry: Right. Exactly. Okay. Well, you have Oliver. He’s your kid.

Kelley: I have Oliver. He’s my baby.

Kerry: Yes. Okay. Awesome. All right. Well, so let’s get Dr. Berlet on and we’ll talk about like the process.

Kelley: Get away with the knife.

Kerry: All right. So, we’re back with Dr. Berlet and I want to hear like first about do you remember meeting Kelley at Capital Grille? what was what she was talking about and you know it was only a year ago but like

Dr. Berlet: It was about a little over a year ago right in the beginning of January

Kelley: December

Dr. Berlet: She was talking was it December

Kelley: December 10th

Dr. Berlet: All right so we were both talking about starting our new launch in New York

Kerry: Oh okay

Dr. Berlet: She’s starting her p podcast and I was starting I opened my office

Dr. Berlet: Here in the city so

Kelley: Changed everything

Dr. Berlet: Aligned we were on our embarking on our new journey together

Kerry: Right okay and so She’s talked about, it’s interesting, cuz she’s one of the few with that you did, she did the facelift under general anesthesia, right? And so, and she also talked about how she had a lot of filler in her face. If she had been under local, would that have been I mean, because it sounded like you had to like, I don’t know, deal with a lot of this splotches of

Dr. Berlet: Well, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. It that doesn’t change. You’ll see it when you’re in there, you know, in some places.

Dr. Berlet: Okay. Okay. Sometimes if it’s in certain areas like the lower lids, we’ll melt it before we do anything. If it’s really heavy through the jowls, we’ll melt it there.

Kerry: So, you melt it like pre couple.

Dr. Berlet: I don’t think so.

Kelley: See, that’s what I’m going to say. I think it’s probably hard. Do you remember exactly I had my face? But you had a lot through here. Here. I was like, “Wow.” I was really surprised

Dr. Berlet: Cuz when we open the deep tissues, a lot of the I say the filler oozed out. You can see it’s just like a clear jelly that just sort of oozes out.

Kerry: When had you last done filling?

Kelley: Literally like he told me I couldn’t do it for like six months and I didn’t.

Kerry: Okay.

Kelley: Like it that’s the first thing he said to me. He was like, “You have a very thin SMAS.”

SMAS

Kelley: Thin SMAS. Anyone who’s looking for a chick with thin SMAS. Here and you have Juvederm here and he’s like and in your neck and he literally and I had this thing over here. like and it slid down over here. But I just was sitting there all wrapped up like Mhm. Mhm. You’re right. I would never do it again. I’m so sorry.

Kelley: But it changed my face. This the scraping of it for sure.

Dr. Berlet: It helps cuz it causes a chronic inflammation at some level and you really never doesn’t completely dissolve ever.

Dr. Berlet: Yeah. You always have some remnant of it.

Dr. Berlet: They’ve had some studies that where they show MRIs or something where they show the filler and it’s amazing like years later and it’s all still there. just sort of redistributed.

Kerry: I have a question. So like back in the old days they say if you passed away and you had breast implants the breast implants would last and the body would be decomposed. Would the face would the filler stay and then be a dead person with just filler?

Dr. Berlet: Probably.

Kerry: That’s creepy.

Kelley: That’s kind of unwanted.

Yeah,

Kerry: Right. I don’t think many people are looking but

Kelley: I think people but people are so prone to do it. I mean I know you know from him but we the lay men outside

Kelley: You do filler. You don’t know about fat transfer. I never heard of that in my life. I know. It’s just

Kelley: It should be. Pay attention. It’s a whole different game because people like you said, we’d ask about the skin. If he didn’t clean out my face,

Kelley: If I went and did if I did filler again in 6 months, I look like a freak again. Well, old again.

Dr. Berlet: No.

Kelley: Okay, never mind. No.

Yeah.

Dr. Berlet: No. I mean, the filler has some advantages. Obviously, it’s been a great tool for a lot of people for a lot of years, but it has limitations. And there’s a certain amount, you know, at a certain point filler starts looking ridiculous cuz it’s it’s it’s you’re trying to use something, you know, to fix something that isn’t the right treatment. You basically your face falls and you can try to fill it out, but you really need to reposition it.

Dr. Berlet: So, if you’re trying to compensate with a filler because that’s your only tool,

Dr. Berlet: Then it can be overdone. There are certain areas that are not good like below the eyes. It should never be done there

Ever.

Kelley: But realistically filler you have to continuously do it.

Kelley: Fat transfer what I learned from you is it almost 80% 70 to 80% remain once you do it. So why is this not more? Is it because the company’s sorry about big pharma but like why as a more I never heard of fat transfer

Dr. Berlet: Just because I think more people

Kelley: It’s so much more cost effective and it’s your own body in your own body

Dr. Berlet: Well think of who the

Who can do

Dr. Berlet: Who can do it right so you can do you know dermatologists I mean you have everybody dentists I’ve seen orthopedic surgeons you know

Kerry: They’re all doing filler

Kelley: Filler I can go get like yeah I can get a flu shot and filler at the same place at Duane Reade

Kerry: Totally at the dentist really but then it’s only people who have the skills that are able to do the fat.

Dr. Berlet: Fat grafting is a little bit more of yeah it’s more of a surgical procedure. You have to aspirate fat and reproduce. Then you put it back in

Dr. Berlet: Certain areas and there’s you know this technique has been refined. It’s better and better and better

Kerry: And he spins it and it’s macro micro, you know.

Dr. Berlet: Yeah. There was a surgeon Sydney Coleman who really brought fat grafting to the forefront and it was done before that

Dr. Berlet: But he modified it and then you have cans that put it out the side so you have less chance of any emboli. they

Kerry: Have a what

Dr. Berlet: Emboli, which is a little something that would go into an artery and block off

Blood supply to embolism it’s the same idea

Kelley: I don’t know what

Dr. Berlet: Emboli is the

Dr. Berlet: Non doctor so it’s like it’s like a clot throwing into a vein the vein or artery worse than artery because then whatever goes beyond it loses its blood supply

Dr. Berlet: So you can end up with a little area you could end up blind you can end up with a lot of things so nothing’s without some possibility of complication. Those are all fortunately very rare, but they’ve used finer cannulas that had shooted out the side. So, you can use microfat around the eyes, which is just tremendous rejuvenation that we haven’t been able to do in the past because the particles are too big.

Dr. Berlet: And that’s what you can do now.

Kerry: Yeah.

Kelley: Are we doing that? What are we doing?

Dr. Berlet: Yeah, we’re doing that.

Kelley: We’re doing that.

Dr. Berlet: We’re doing that.

Dr. Berlet: So, yeah, it’s fantastic. We use a lot of volume in our face. There’s multiple fat pads in our face and they dissolve or melt or reduce as we get older. Some get bigger in the neck. this is typically a almost an egg coming across here when you’re younger and then as you get older it falls and it separates. You get that valley in your cheek.

Kelley: Do I have that?

Dr. Berlet: Yeah, you do.

Kelley: Sorry.

Kelley: See, that’s a good thing. He doesn’t like that’s why when we met I was my friend was like I’m going to do this. I’m going to do this. He’s like no you don’t need it. You need all of it. You like you need that. I was like, “What do I mean?” I was like, “I’m this and this and this.” I was like, “Oh, jeez Louise.” Cuz she was getting she wanted everything done and you told her no,

Ellen.

Yeah.

Dr. Berlet: Yeah. I don’t remember. but she definitely needs her eyes. You know, that would be a great benefit for her. But anyway,

Dr. Berlet: You had a little Yeah. It’s the process, you know, classic aging process. So, you lose a little volume around the midface here. And

Kerry: It’s amazing.

Kerry: And now, so now we’re She had the phase of end of September. Now we’re in January. She could have done the fat sooner, right? It’s just a matter of time and scheduling, right? Because what would ideally two months after?

Dr. Berlet: I mean, lot there are plenty of surgeons who will do it the same time,

Kerry: Right?

Dr. Berlet: I just feel limits where you can put it

Kerry: And also it’s better to settle so you can actually see.

Kelley: I kind of like that too.

Kerry: Yeah, I like that.

I missed my mark here, did I?

Kerry: Not at all.

Kerry: You can do it anytime. You don’t even You can do it before. I mean like you could have done it, you know,

Dr. Berlet: And you get to keep, you know, 50 60% maybe 70% of the fat forever. However, you know, the that atrophy process continues.

Dr. Berlet: So it doesn’t mean you’ll never

Kelley: God that is such an old words for all like atrophy.

Kerry: It just sounds awful.

Dr. Berlet: It’s awful. But that’s part of the aging process. Yeah. Got to love it. They got so you’re losing volume and as you get older anyway and that you don’t stop that process. You just fill what you’ve lost. Okay,

Dr. Berlet: That’s the next step. And the stem cells have and the fat actually has stem cells around it

Kerry: Which is

Dr. Berlet: So there that’s the magic formula that rejuvenates some of the skin gives you a glow

Kerry: And what’s the down time like how long what’s the procedure how long

Dr. Berlet: Everybody’s a little different you know some people are really ve you are very fair so you’re more apt to bruise than the average bear but not too veiny so you if you don’t get any veins you could be good the next day

Kelley: Do I have to go into general No,

Kelley: I’m such a chicken.

Kerry: The numbing hurts though.

Kelley: I’m such a chicken. I really am a chicken. Aren’t you glad I did general? Cuz I would have been a mess.

Kerry: I am so glad.

Kelley: I would have been But everybody’s different. Some people like, “No problem. I can definitely do that.”

Kelley: No, I would have been a mess.

Kerry: Especially with you picking all the fillers. She would have been losing her mind.

Kelley: I would have been full I would have been full conversation with my face on a tent. I would like So anyway, whatever. It would have been terrible.

Dr. Berlet: Yeah. And you’re a talker. So a word. Yeah. A word.

Kerry: But yeah, but with the fat with the actual fat grafting, having done it the numbing, I mean with a lot of No, I did this here.

Dr. Berlet: Oh, you did.

Kerry: Yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Berlet: And you can see she doesn’t have that valley,

Kerry: But she did. I don’t

Dr. Berlet: I did my She had some significant orbital rim.

Kerry: Yeah. It’s funny. Yeah. When I look at like pictures in my 30s, I look actually in some ways older. I’m like hollow and Yeah. So,

Kerry: It’s like it’s interesting.

Thanks, man.

Yes. Next.

Dr. Berlet: It’s good to have these tools today.

Kerry: Yeah.

Dr. Berlet: It changes everything.

Kerry: And as far as like so, you know, with everything that she did, right, what made her a candidate for the lip lift? The

Dr. Berlet: Lip was long.

Dr. Berlet: Okay. Okay. It wasn’t anything scientific.

Kerry: Say something. Say something nice about nothing profound, but yeah.

Dr. Berlet: It’s the aging process.

Kerry: It’s funny cuz you don’t know your lip

Dr. Berlet: The lower face. You know, this elongates. This is part of that elongation. And so if you just lift this up, this stays long. This midface.

Kerry: Okay. And then

Dr. Berlet: So it can look a little

Kerry: I see. And she said you took fat from here and put it in it up. Not why not the smash.

Dr. Berlet: No, no, I took it from the SMAS.

Kerry: You did the SMAS.

Kerry: I thought you took it from here.

Dr. Berlet: No, no, no. I did take that from there. But

Kerry: Where’d you put that at?

Kelley: Someone else has my fat. Get over here.

Kerry: Where’ that fat go?

Oh, our drug is the kitchen.

Kelley: It’s not me. I don’t cook.

Kelley: No, he took this wormlike thing. Oh, remember that thing that you had that you put a stitch across

Kelley: And then you pulled it out and Ellen was screaming. So, I didn’t know what was happening, but again, he pulled the whole thing out of my face and I was fine, but he clipped my eye. Remember how bad I was with the eye? Anything he touched with my eye? It was a mess. But he was like pulling staples out, stepping on my neck, ripping them.

Dr. Berlet: No,

Kerry: He didn’t really step.

Dr. Berlet: We do some quilting stitches along here

Kerry: To keep it up.

Kelley: It looks like you’re the bride of Frankenstein. Your head sewn on, but

Dr. Berlet: They’re only out. They’re out in 5 days, but they hold all the skin next to the muscle,

Kelley: But you don’t know it’s there. So, you’re kind of like this and you don’t know why you’re like this. And I’m like, in a couple days I’ll eat.

Kelley: And then he scratched one scab off and pulled the string out from underneath my face.

Dr. Berlet: Kind of.

Dr. Berlet: Well, I mean, that’s you got a different version of it, but

Kerry: Yeah. Yeah. Right. Right.

Dr. Berlet: That’s how I recall.

Kerry: That’s your version. That’s

Dr. Berlet: That’s fine. Look at that.

Kelley: That’s a fun version.

Kerry: That’s a good one.

Kerry: All right. Well, and have you heard that now the next season 3 of Still Can’t Cook, she’s going to start dating with the new face.

Dr. Berlet: I love it.

Kerry: Dating with a new face.

Kelley: That should be the name of my podcast. Dating with a new face,

Kerry: Right?

Kelley: Yeah. I’m going to start dating with a new face. So, if you haven’t

Kerry: Dating with a new face and learn to cook.

Kelley: No, never.

Kerry: Never learn to cook.

Dr. Berlet: Never learn to cook. I agree. I agree.

Kerry: All right. Well, so cheers. Cheers to Kelley. What? marvelous, fabulous guest, the beautiful green eyes.

Kelley: Thank you.

Kerry: And cheers to you, Dr.

Dr. Berlet: Berlet. Thank you. Thank you.

Kerry: Changing lives everywhere. Well, thank you for watching. I hope that you enjoyed this episode of Once Upon a Surgery. And also, don’t forget to subscribe. And if you liked my guest, Kelley Fahey, she has her own podcast, Still Can’t Cook. It’s informative, it’s delightful, and it’s funny most of all. And please don’t forget to subscribe, like, comment, let me know if there’s more material you’re interested in seeing.

Kerry: And we will see you next time on Once