Fergie’s facelift transformation is down to a doctor with Omagh clinic
THE Duchess of York has spoken of how she credits her youthful looks to a Northern Ireland-based doctor.
Polish-born Dr Gabriela Mercik, who has clinics in Omagh and Harley Street in London, first met Sarah Ferguson in 1992 when she was visiting cancer patients in Poland, where the medic was a student.
The pair stayed in touch and Dr Mercik went on to specialise in aesthetic medicine, opening her first clinic in Northern Ireland, before expanding into London.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Fergie, who turns 60 next month, said she used to undergo Botox treatment, but now prefers Dr Mercik’s renowned, non-invasive “ultimate laser facelift”, which prevents the “frozen look” of Botox.
“I had Botox a long time ago when there was nothing else available,” she said.
“I really don’t like the frozen look. I’m so animated and I like to be myself. I don’t like the thought of needles and am very glad if I look well and happy.”
Dr Mercik said Botox is now “passe” and she now uses what she calls “the world’s first 6-Dimension Ultimate Laser Treatment facelift”, which starts at £3,750 and can be completed in less that 90 minutes, with no recovery time.
“Now we have different treatments we can use instead (of Botox),” the doctor said.
“Toxins are always toxins, so I’ve looked for alternatives. I only use Botox if a patient specifically asks for it, and I try to explain what would be better.”
Fergie said she undergoes the laser facelift whenever she manages to sit still long enough.
“I live on jingly-jangly nerves. I’m very focused, earnestly intense, but I live at high speed,” she explained.
“I don’t sit down for long. I’m always saying to Dr Gabriela, ‘Come on, come on! Hurry up’! I’m the worst patient.”
The Duchess has also benefited from Dr Mercik’s range of skincare serums and other treatments.
“Her serum (Aesthetic Magic Facelift Serum) is great for healing cold sores. Incredible,” she said.
“I’ve been her guinea pig with new treatments, too. I’m really happy to be open about what I’ve had done.”
Another kind of facelift that Dr Mercik has performed on the Duchess is a procedure known as the “puppet lift”, which is non-invasive and uses medical threads inserted into the skin to create a mesh that pulls the face upwards.
The redheaded Duchess said her fair skin was exposed to too much sunshine when she was a child, prompting her to seek treatments that could help repair the damage.
“When I was little, my mother thought Nivea moisturiser was sunscreen.
“Of course, it wasn’t. So that’s where the damage began,” she said.