Botox granny

Carmen Harrison's turned back the clock using non-invasive cosmetic treatments in an attempt to win over employers and compete with the younger generation.

She's elderly in terms of age, but Carmen Harrison's not in her twilight years when it comes to work.

But even though she has plenty to offer, Carmen found employers wouldn't give her a second look because of her senior years.

So Carmen decided to fix the problem using non-invasive cosmetic treatments. She wanted to put herself out there and compete against the younger generation.

"It's taken, dare I say it, 10 years off the way I looked before," Carmen said.

"It's made me look well again, it made me look well so if you look healthy and well the employer is sure to say oh well I don't think she's going to cark it tomorrow I'll put her on."

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Carmen spent $2000 on dermal fillers used to plump up, firm and sculpt the skin.

"When I would go and approach people for work they would look at me and then they would say 'how old are you' and then I'd say approaching 70, which I will be in 2 weeks," Carmen said.

"I do believe that they thought, 'could she stand up to the hours to the pressure to the whatever?' I was instantly dismissed and I thought that's not good enough, I've got a lot to offer."

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Carmen's changes are not dramatic, but in this economic climate where she's competing against greater numbers of young unemployed women, appearances do matter.

"It's given me back that self confidence and made me a little bit braver to go out there and approach employers."

Dr Mary Dingley of the Cosmetic Physicians Society says the incidence of cosmetic procedures among older job-seekers is on the rise.

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"We are seeing more people asking for cosmetic treatments either because they've been retrenched and they're wanting to get back and compete and get another job or else they were thinking about retirement but now their plans have changed."
 
"As people do get older they do tend to lose volume in their faces so they tend to look more tired, so if you've got a range of people in front of you, do you want the person who already looks tired before they start work or the person who looks vibrant."

Treatments can range from botox (costing a few hundred dollars), to an eyebrow lift or dermal fillers (costing thousands of dollars).

"We've all heard about the effects of botox, so you can reduce the look of an angry frown, you can raise the eyebrows which makes people look more awake, alert, less tired, with depressions under the eyes they can be filled up, hollow cheeks can be filled up," Mary explains.

Carmen's advice for older women seeking work: "If other women of my age group can feel as good as I do at the moment, go for it girls, go for it."