The Pursuit of Beauty

The more I watch The Real Housewives, the more normal the women look.

For those of you who have never seen this particularly cracked reality show, it’s a peek into the lives, drama and excesses of Gucci-soaked women in wealthy communities, such as Beverly Hills, Miami, Orange County and Atlanta. More entertaining than their public fighting and constant feuding is their increasingly contorted faces, which are about as pinched, plucked, polished, stretched and shellacked as faces can be. Their lips never stop pouting, their foreheads don’t move and their cheeks are stiff and glossy

Every time I sit down with my DVR to catch up on some trashy TV, I find myself growing more and more accustomed to these faces and their alien qualities: how their expressions never change and how their big hair, big cheekbones, big breasts and big lips make them look impossibly top heavy as they waddle from one party to the next in expensive stripper shoes. The more you watch, the more desensitized you are to their over-polished appearance.

But eventually I’m brought back to my surroundings: beautiful, fit people who eat organic food and use paraben-free shampoo.

Colorado, and the Boulder area especially, is a den of natural beauty practices. Health and fitness—possibly the most natural of all beauty techniques—are king here, and residents go out of their way to spend major cash staying fit and being healthy. Pro athletes, outdoor gear manufacturers and all-natural beauty product companies, like Pangea, make their homes here. The culture seems to idealize the natural beauty and the natural aging process: silver hair, glorious wrinkles and beautiful sagging skin.

But does it?

The truth is not so black and white, as I found out when I sat down with several beauty professionals in the area for this issue. Boulder County does have a thriving plastic surgery and cosmetic treatment industry. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there are about 17 ASPS-certified plastic surgeons in the North Metro area; though, Beverly Hills has nearly triple that amount. The Botox business is booming here, and even men are enjoying the benefits of aesthetic treatments these days.

According to local beauty professionals, there is a need for all-natural beauty options. But Boulder County residents do have some silicon in their closets. Occasionally, we just need a little extra help to look like we are all-natural, super active Coloradans.

Steve Zakany, owner of Aesthetic Solutions in Lafayette, was solely a family practice physician until seven years ago, when he took an interest in laser and aesthetic treatments. He eventually dropped his family medicine practice and opted for lasers and Botox full time.

Zakany says his Boulder clients are more natural; the further east, the more likely the client will be interested in other treatments.

“My clients from Boulder usually want more natural options,” he said.

Take for instance, a treatment called Selphyl, which is also known as the vampire facelift. It’s a treatment that uses a client’s own blood—after being treated and re-injected back into an area of the body or face—to stimulate collagen production and cell migration.

Still, Zakany says Botox is still the No. 1 treatment he performs at Aesthetic Solutions.

“It can be a very secretive thing. But it’s becoming more open,” he said. “Ten to 15 years ago, people didn’t talk about it. Now it’s more accepted. People will be like, ‘Oh, I have to run. I’m getting Botox.’ And men are doing it more and more.”

Zakany has also seen a lot of interest in bio-identical hormone therapy as an anti-aging treatment. Often called a “natural” hormone treatment, bio-identical hormone therapy is considered controversial by critics who say research on the therapy has been lacking and claims have been dubious.

But Zakany says the typical active, older residents can see a lot of benefit from the therapy, which is basically a medication of hormones that are identical in molecular structure to the hormones we make in our bodies. Bio-identical hormones work to replenish depleting hormones. Oprah is a fan, using the treatment to help with menopausal symptoms, and so are many of Zakany’s clients. He said the therapy helps them continue to build muscle and improve athletically. They continue to be a weekend warrior even after retirement.

“Yes, we’ve got a lot of 60-year-old men running around with 20-year-old testosterone levels,” he said with a smile.

Debora Ma of Blue Aspen Plastic Surgery in Boulder is the only female plastic surgeon between Denver and Loveland. She founded her business in this area specifically because of the active, educated population. Ma specializes in breast augmentation but also performs liposuction, Botox and other cosmetic procedures.

She says she’s known for doing breasts that appear “feminine and natural.”

“The population in this area is healthy, and the athletic, female population has reasonable requests for feminine, natural breasts that fit their lifestyle,” she said. “Everyone wants to be comfortable with their body; how they get there varies per individual.”

Ma does not see a conflict between valuing natural and organic while also having cosmetic surgery or aesthetic treatments.

“I think the two aren’t mutually exclusive,” she said. “It’s not a conflict to say you want to look as good as you feel, or to look as healthy as you are, particularly when you work hard at it. It is fine to enhance what you naturally have.”

She went on to say: “I think they approach the appearance issue similar to how they approach other things in life, like how they eat. People here make wise, well-informed decisions.”

She says her clients come in well-informed about procedures or treatments. They’ve often done research online, and they’ve learned about risks and rewards. But Ma says, she occasionally has to debunk misinformation that clients have found online.

But in the heart of the People’s Republic, some things are exactly as you’d expect.

“We carry a line of products that is paraben free, sulfate free and gluten free,” said Alicia Cox, top stylist at Twig Salon.

Twig calls itself “Boulder’s most eco-friendly salon.” Even more than all-natural, organic products, Cox’s clients want to look natural and be healthy.

“It’s more that people don’t want to look like they have put in a ton of effort. We do a lot of sun-kissed highlights and natural-looking highlights,” she said.

Cox moved to Colorado from Dallas, so she is acutely aware of just how focused Boulderites are on appearing to look natural and staying healthy.

Many of her clients will not dye their hair specifically because of the chemicals that are often used. They’ll let it air dry, and they’ll keep it away from the heat of a curling iron or a straightener.

“It’s not just coloring for the sake of having a some color,” she said. “We are looking at what looks natural with their skin and eyes. And they don’t bring in celebrity pictures.”

When Cox trains new stylists, she teaches them to ask one specific question first: What do you do?

“It’s usually cycling or yoga or skiing,” she said. “It’s not their job.”

She calls it a lifestyle hairstyle: Their lifestyle dictates what their hair looks like. That means cutting hair so it looks good without being exposed to heat, or if they go for a run and they just need to pull it down and have it look great. Or maybe even a cut to cover up their wrinkles.

“I have clients who pick between bangs or Botox,” she said.