You'll never guess this woman's age. And that's the problem.

If you've been anywhere close to TikTok this week you're probably across the journey of Michelle Wood, an ordinary American woman who had major facial surgery in Mexico and now looks like a completely different person.

Her "Before" video has gone viral, racking up over 17 million views and her "After" has 2.2 million.

Watch: A mother and son talk to Mamamia about what it was really like travelling overseas for cosmetic surgery. Post continues below.

Wood, who has shed over 60 kilos twice in her life, felt that the weight loss had "done a number" on her skin. She was clear she didn't want to look 20, she just wanted to look as if she had slept.

After contacting Dr Maribel Belmontes, whom Wood describes as a "conservative and very reputable" plastic surgeon via Whatsapp, she travelled to Guadalajara, Mexico to get a face lift, neck lift, upper bleph, (that's an eyelid lift) lower bleph, (that's under eye bags and wrinkles) forehead lift to bring her hairline forward, lip lift and chin implant for a total of $270,000 pesos, which in Australian dollars, works out to be around $21,000.

Wood, a single mum to two teenagers, has been humbly and transparently documenting her journey from the morning of her surgery on June 6 right up until today and people are shook, shattered, shaking, crying in disbelief over how she went in looking 65 and has come out looking 30.

To be fair, in the "before" video, she is wearing glasses and talking softly, so the Grandma energy is definitely present. The "after" videos show a woman who is clearly still in recovery mode, which she has explained will take weeks to settle down properly.

Image: TikTok/@michellewood165.

Wood made clear she was 50 and wanted to do this for herself. But, respectfully, Michelle, you went from a retirement facility to Schoolies!

At least, that's what it seems like. Though, honestly, who even knows anymore? If you showed an alien a photo of Kris Jenner and asked how old she was, they would probably answer 40. But even 40 doesn't look like 40 anymore, so maybe they'd say 20. Maybe they'd say her real age, which is SIXTY-NINE, DUDE.

As an elderly Millennial/ Gen X person I find this flummoxing. Vexing, even. We look at our dear mothers, 30 per cent of whom smoked, (my mum was inhaling 30 durries a day, thanks very much!). They eschewed sunscreen in their youth (sometimes using coconut oil instead) and they look, well, their age.

We come along, with our retinol and SPF and yeah, some injectables and feel we look youthful. Or we would if those younger than us understood the reality! But the youth, that is to say, the people who still have all that collagen and elasticity in their faces, don't understand, they think it's normal to look 25 when you're 40. They expect it!

For proof, check out that infamous photo where the entire cast of Cheers appears to have a combined age of 925 but in reality they were all around 35. Or the Golden Girls, who all look 80 but were really all in their early 50s. That is younger than just about everyone on And Just Like That. Still, people are shocked.

The cast of the Golden Girls. Image: ABC News.

And this is the problem, enhanced skin now looks normal, so normal ageing now looks worrying, repellent even. It's like when you go to work without makeup and everyone asks if you're sick. So your normal face becomes a sick face. These days, if you don't enhance your skin, people think you're seriously ill, or mentally unwell and sometimes, both. Congrats, we've now pathologised looking older. Even Wood said she didn't want to look "tired".

Take Justine Bateman. She is 59. In the 1980s and 90s this was what 59 looked like. Now, there are articles written about how "brave" she is, just for looking her age. And, I have to say, she is brave! Culture is very cruel to women who don't fit the narrowing norms of beauty standards – and that includes aging.

Justine Bateman is labelled "brave" for ageing normally. Image: Getty.

So what happens now? We know that women become invisible as they age. But if more 50-year-olds start looking 30, do we then start to dismiss 30-year-olds as old hags? Where does it end? Not with more surgery — we've seen how women are ostracised when they look too "done". Besides, at $21,000, who can afford it?

Maybe it starts with Kris Jenner. Ok, but hear me out. Her transparency around her facelift has emboldened other celebrities, including her two daughters, to admit to enhancements. Maybe this is the quiet revolution we need. Because, listen, I'm going to hold your hand when I tell you that most of the celebrities who say they "love getting older" are having stuff done.

And me?

I'm not stopping any time soon. How else am I going to stop looking sick without makeup?

More on beauty, ageing and going under the knife:

• • 'I flew overseas for a facelift at 37. Here's what surprised me most.'
  • 'As a dermatologist, this is the cosmetic trap I see women in the 30s and 40s fall into.'
  • The undetectable era of surgery is here. Kris Jenner just proved it.

Feature: TikTok/@growinggrey.