Viewers were gobsmacked by the transformations of two people looking for a confidence boost on last night’s 10 Years Younger in 10 Days.
The Channel 5 makeover show, featured Paulette, 47, a marketing manager who admitted she is a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for six years. Through tears, she explained she felt years of binge drinking and smoking had aged her beyond repair.
‘I feel old, I feel tired all the time, it’s definitely aged me,’ she said. ‘I’m in recovery and I’ve put my body through a lot of damage, but in the last six years I’ve worked on myself quite a lot,’ she explained.
Before her transformation, presenter Cherry Healey asked strangers to guess Paulette’s age, with the public judging her to be 51, four years older than her actual age.
But after 10 days of treatments, including dental work and Botox, as well as a lesson to boost her confidence, an emotional Paulette felt like a new woman.
‘I genuinely feel invisible. Do I feel invisible now? Hell no,’ she laughed after discovering her new updated glow in the mirror.
Paulette,(pictured before) 47, a marketing manager who bravely admitted she was a recovering alcoholic who had been sober for six years was one of the makeovers who gobsmacked viewers on last night’s 10 Years Younger in 10 Days on Channel 5
Years of smoking and binge drinking had aged her skin and teeth drastically, and made her confidence plummet (pictured after)
Paulette explained she wanted to leave her past behind after Alcoholic Anonymoyus ‘saved her life’ and helped her to make a fresh start.
The mother explained that she had been a functioning alcoholic with a busy life at the height of her addiction.
‘There is a stigma alcoholism, an assumption that I’m somebody that sat on a park bench and drank cider,’ she said.
‘But I was somebody who had everything I could have wanted and I still became an alcoholic.’
Paulette said she didn’t feel invisible anymore thanks to the makeover, and that she noew knew she was ‘enough’
She explained to Cherry that her daughter had to ‘remove herself from the situation’, which had been a wake up call that pushed her to confront her addiction.
‘What it made me have to do is take a look at myself,’ she said.
However, after managing to stay sober for six years, Paulette said she felt her addiction had taken a toll on her skin and her teeth, and she had lost some confidence as a result.
In order to boost Paulette’s confidence, she visited cosmetic physician Tapan Patel, who dispensed her with a few non-surgical procedure, which included Botox and a chemical peel to rejuvenate her skin and get rid of the pigmentation that had appeared due to smoking and drinking.
Paulette had also grown self-conscious of her smile, which had been deeply damaged by alcohol and years of smoking.
She visited Dr Ochenna Okoye, a reputed cosmetic dentist who compared her set of teeth to another woman’s who was the same age.
Understanding how yellow and damaged her teeth had become compared to the other set of teeth, Paulette teared up, prompting Dr Ochenna to give her kind words of encouragement
‘You’re a strong woman, we’re moving forward,’ she said before starting the procedure.
The dentist had to trim Paulette’s natural teeth in order to fit her with veneers that restored her bright smile.
The change took Paulette’s breath away: ‘All I want to do is go and show my mouth to everyone,’ she said, ‘I’m gobsmacked and very happy,’ she added.
‘It’s already changed the way I feel about myself.’
Feeling Paulette was in need of an extra boost, Cherry organised a strutting lesson with Madame Storm, a motivational speaker teaching women how to strut and feel empowered.
Learning how to ‘own her space’ in heels, and screaming ‘I am enough’ from the top of her lungs as the other participants screamed back ‘yes you are,’ Paulette was left energised and ready to complete her physical transformation.
After getting some pointers on grooming and stylish from the show’s specialists, Paulette finished her makeover and felt like another woman.
Biker Tom, 31, looked like ‘something out of Game of Thrones’ due to his scruffy exterior and long beard (pictured before)
Tom said he felt ready to ‘take on the world’ after his makeover made the beard disappear and updated his wardrobe
‘I love it. I do feel good, I’m looking right into my eyes and it feels real, like it’s supposed to be,’ she said with a triumphant look in her eyes.
At the end of her transformation, the public was asked to survey her age again. This time, it came at 39, eight years younger than her actual age.
‘I’ll just keep practicing being gorgeous and believing that I’m enough,’ she said, winking at the camera.
Meanwhile Tom, 31, a biker who didn’t feel in tune with his scruffy exterior anymore, was afraid his appearance would keep him from progressing in his career.
Ready to move on with his career, and tired of his girlfriend complaining about his prickly beard, the scruffy biker agreed to go through a transformation in order to move forward.
When members of the public were asked to guess his age, they put Tom at 37 – six years older than his actual age.
Though he was proud of his long beard, Tom admitted it was ‘hard to control’ and help him back at work.
He added: ‘I want to give my girlfriend a kiss on the cheek without her recoiling so I don’t irritate her face.’
While Tom’s wardrobe screamed ‘heavy metal lover,’ he admitted he felt silly at work, and felt he didn’t look the part.
Hoping to score a promotion, he needed to get his hands on a nice fitting suit, which he did with the help of celebrity stylist Gemma Sheppard, who took him to Saville Row in London.
After a grooming session, which eventually saw his beard disappear, and a masterclass in makeup with Hannah Martin, Tom took his complexion form pasty and tired to glowing and healthy.
Tom surprised his family with his new look. He said he was now ready to take what he wanted instead of waiting for it
The 31-year-old was so shocked by his transformation, he has to fight back tears as he looked into the mirror.
‘That’s amazing, I think it’s brilliant,’ he said.
‘I look like a man who’s sharp, who’s ready to take on the world take this promotion and make it mine,’ he said.
‘I now have the confidence to take what I want instead of waiting for it,’ he added.
‘I’m still me, but I’m ready to take the world on with a fresh face.’
After his transformation, the public put Tom’s age at 27, four years younger than he actually was and ten years younger people had thought him to be.