Add beauty to resume

Six months ago, Donna McClung made what she considers a business investment to better face a tough economy: cosmetic surgery.

A single mom who works in technology sales, McClung, 51, saved for 10 months to pay for $23,000 worth of work to her face, neck and eye area.

“It’s a highly competitive business, and first impressions are very important,” said McClung, who saw Dr. Seth Yellin at Emory Facial Center.

Yvette Jones paid Dr. Burke Robinson’s practice a visit the other day for similar reasons.

“It’s important for me to stay on the cutting edge —- pardon the pun,” said Jones, a medical sales consultant. She gets far less expensive Botox treatments but is considering a brow lift.

“You’re in your 50s and in the workplace with people in their 20s and 30s,” Jones said. “It’s competitive out there.”

A sagging economy has produced a dual trend, area plastic surgeons say. They’re seeing fewer patients opt for pricey overhauls like McClung’s, but are staying busy with patients like Jones, who want temporary, less expensive spruce-ups. Both groups of patients increasingly view plastic surgery as a business move, rather than a fashionable frill.

“I have seen clients in real estate who feel they need to look young,” said Dr. Melissa Babcock. Lots of clients wait for the discounts her Sandy Springs practice sometimes runs, like $250 Botox treatments (it’s usually more like $400). And it’s not just women looking to spruce up. Babcock recently treated a male CEO who needs to drum up financing, and he wanted to lose the deep furrows first.

“He doesn’t want to have an angry look because it’s hard to get money right now,” she said. “He wants to look refreshed.”

National trade groups report a surge of plastic surgery over the past decade. Data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons show nearly 12 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in 2007, a 7 percent increase from the year before. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery says Americans spent $8.3 billion for surgical procedures and $4.7 billion for nonsurgical in 2007. Neither group had 2008 data.

Dr. Foad Nahai of Paces Plastic Surgery in Buckhead is past president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

“There is no question that the more invasive, more effective, more expensive face-lifts are down,” he said. “They may postpone a face-lift that costs thousands of dollars, but they’ll come in for injectables to just freshen up.”

Many of his patients are women in real estate, he said.

“They feel a younger, rejuvenated face will have more success selling homes,” said Nahai, also president of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

Dr. Chip Cole of Oculus Cosmetic Surgeons in Buckhead says some patients seek procedures while in between jobs, using the downtime to recover.

“The person who looks their best, whatever their best is, is going to do a better job,” he said.

Teresa Duggan, an etiquette consultant and expert in corporate protocol, works with clients looking to put their best faces forward.

With the help of Dr. Alex Gross at Georgia Dermatology Center in Cumming, she tries to do the same.

“You’ve got to be selling yourself all the time,” Duggan said. “You know when you look good. You have that little extra sparkle. People pick up on that.”

Robinson, whose practice has locations in Dunwoody and Alpharetta, says some patients see cosmetic procedures as key to surviving layoffs.

“When there are cuts being made, they don’t want to look like the one that can’t do their job anymore,” he said. “As the boomers are getting older, they are at their peak performance for their job, yet they may be overlooked. It’s almost like women coloring their hair. Once you’ve given up those lines and wrinkles, it’s hard to go back.”

Some patients are determined not to, even if money is tight, he said.

“I had a client come in who said, ‘I told my husband, I’ll do broke, but I won’t do ugly.’ “