Joyce Lieser looks younger today than she did a couple of years ago."I started exercising and felt pretty good about that," she says.

But she says her face didn't match that. So, Joyce entered a contest and won a cosmetic makeover.

"I had a complete face lift. It really was not anywhere near a bad experience compared to what I thought it was gonna be," Joyce says with a smile.

Most plastic surgery procedures have positive outcomes. But some don't... If you're going to have a procedure done, you need to ask the right questions. First, be aware that any medical doctor... including a dentist... can perform plastic surgery without board certification.

"In plastic surgery there's one board.. it's called the American Board of Plastic Surgery. But there's a number of made-up boards that sound very similar that do exist," explains plastic surgeon Dr. Jean Loftus.

Doctor Loftus is author of the "Smart Woman's Guide to Plastic Surgery." She wants patients to make sure their surgeon is certified on your particular procedure, so be sure to ask how many they've done successfully. The surgery you're asking for should rank in the top five procedures your doctor does regularly and go into this knowing your first surgery may not be the last.

"They should know they shouldn't approach plastic surgery or go into it unless they're willing to accept the possibility of revision," says Dr. Loftus.

Breast implants have a 21-percent risk of needing another operation within two years of surgery. Laser hair removal is not permanent. Facelifts fade after 7 to 10 years... so be sure to ask how long the results will last and be sure to look at plenty of before and after pictures... including the average ones.

"I will show them this is a great result, this is an average result, and this is somebody who didn't turn out as well as I might have expected," says Dr. Loftus.