Who can afford a nip and tuck? Plastic surgery gets hit hard

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Is Los Angeles looking a little long in the tooth?
According to a recent poll by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 59% of women claimed that the economy was putting a major wrinkle in their cosmetic upkeep. (Eight months ago, 50% said the same.) Compared to the first half of 2007, business is down 62% for the first half of 2008 in all cosmetic procedures.

I was recently talking to a dermatologist who said that she counted the ads in LA Weekly to determine how the botox and filler business was faring in Los Angeles. (Typically, there are dozens of come-ons for half-price lip injections and breast-augmentation coupons galore.) ‘I counted four ads for botox, which is not a good sign,’ she said.

It would be interesting to see more women in L.A. with gray hair and foreheads that crinkle occasionally, right? I think Joanne Woodward and the late Paul Newman managed to age gracefully. What’s so awful about getting old?

-- Monica Corcoran

photo: Getty Images