London - The Duchess of York has revealed she has had laser treatments on her face in a bid to make herself look younger as she approaches her 60th birthday.
Sarah Ferguson, who will celebrate the milestone next week, said she used to have Botox, but has given it up in favour of the "ultimate laser facelift" – as she no longer likes the "frozen look".
Having had several Botox procedures over the years, the duchess has now turned to laser therapy as it is non-invasive, takes just 90 minutes and does not involve needles.
She also admits to having had a thread lift, in which medical threads temporarily pull the face upwards.
The duchess has treatments at the Harley Street clinic of Polish-born Dr Gabriela Mercik, who has launched the world’s first 6-Dimension Ultimate Laser Treatment facelift.
The new treatment is said to work by promoting the skin’s natural production of youth-restoring collagen, which continues for weeks after the procedure.
The duchess tells Femail Magazine: "I had Botox a long time ago when there was nothing else available. 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."
She said she is "happy to be open" about what procedures she has had and even likes to test out pioneering new treatments.
"I’ve been her guinea pig with new treatments, too," she said. "I’m really happy to be open about what I’ve had done."
She started having mesotherapy, a series of injections of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and amino acids into the skin, back in 2013.
The duchess has since had organic fillers and non-invasive procedures in a bid to fill out facial lines and a thread lift, in which medical threads are inserted into the skin and pull the face upwards. They dissolve over six to eight months.
"It’s like garden trellising for sweat peas," she said. "You insert the threads under the skin with a fine needle and they hold everything up."
"Before I had it done I thought, 'Oh, this is going to be painful' but it wasn’t bad. I think if you look at photos of me after I had it done, I look much better."
The duchess said the death of her father, Major Ronald Ferguson, and best friend Carolyn Cotterell, from melanoma has made her wary about putting her face in the sun.
"That’s why I don’t go in the sun now. The tan I have is out of a bottle," she said.
As well as having treatments on her face, the duchess has also had regenerative stem cell therapy on her feet, which had been ‘ruined’ by years of horse-riding.