Is the quest for eternal youth just skin deep? Geoff Pugh for the Telegraph In London Olympia, the exhibition hall feels slightly like a hen party, with insecurities and intimacies shared at top volume. All around, women are only too keen to whip out "muffin tops," bemoan dropping eye-bags and discuss the main topic of the day - just how far would you go? This is a well-groomed bunch, mostly in their 40s and 50s, and most of whom could comfortably knock five years off their age. In this environment, it feels like "having something done" has become the norm - and it is just a question of where the line is drawn. Suzie Sawyer 49 having a skin tightening treatment (Geoff Pugh for the Telegraph) Suzie Sawyer, 49, a nutritionist from Brighton, would not have plastic surgery. But she has had "a little bit of Botox" and now she's in the queue for face-tightening, a non-surgical treatment in which radiofrequency is used to stimulate the production of collagen, at a knock-down price of £50, when it would normally be £200. The only catch is the doctors promoting EndyMed PRO 3DEEP say one session will only have an impact for a day or two - for a longer-lasting effect, lasting around 18 months, six sessions is required. Ms Sawyer, a divorcee, says: "I will see how this works out - if the results are still looking good tomorrow I might sign up for the rest. I would never go under the knife though - it's one thing to rejuvenate a bit, but it's my face and I don't want to change it. In the interests of investigative journalism and also because I'm feeling somewhat raddled next to all these well-groomed ladies, I agree to give it a shot. But when completing the consent form it is hard not to laugh at the first disclaimer, and the slightly alarming threat that "the practice of non-surgical medicine is not a strict science." Ten minutes later, I look slightly healthier but none the wiser as to whether that is the result of stimulated collagen or the fact someone has essentially been massaging my face while I had a lie down. My jaw looks a bit tighter, a smiling audience conclude. Dr Sach Mohan, a Harley Street doctor who provides the service, says his clients are getting ever younger. It used to be that most of those coming to us were a bit older and tended to be seeking fillers and then when they are in their 50s surgery. Now, for procedures like skin-tightening, around half of our clients are under 35. Ali Miller 53 getting a cool sculpting treatment on her midriff (Geoff Pugh for the Telegraph) On a far more frightening bit of equipment nearby lies Ali Miller, 53, from Henley-on-Thames, a glamorous mother of three whose stomach is being examined by almost everyone passing. She is undergoing Coolsculpting, a procedure to chill and crystallise fat cells so that they die. It comes at the cool price tag of £800 per body section - and the quest for a flatter stomach means two or three sections, taking an hour each. Mrs Miller says: "It's not really about looking younger, it's more that I've had three kids and my stomach is just not what it was. I'm not particularly vain, I can't be bothered with beauty regimes you have to repeat - I don't have manicures and I cut my own hair - but the idea of a simple procedure that is a one-off is pretty appealing. She had the first sessions eight weeks ago and has lost 2 inches from her waistline, she says. Would she consider cosmetic surgery? I used to rule it out - after this, I'm more open-minded. Last month Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS medical director, published a review of "cosmetic interventions" which warned that non-surgical procedures are currently so unregulated that those who buy such treatments have no more protection than "someone buying a ballpoint pen or a toothbrush." For the majority of those at the show, safety appears a minor concern - while surgery is seen as a serious matter, requiring in-depth research, the world of Botox, fillers and tightening seems to still be treated as a risk-free zone. Several of those at the show bemoan the pressures on women to conform to beauty ideals, and to fight a battle against ageing which ultimately can't be won. Yet more insist that freezing and injecting their features is a pragmatic short cut that saves hours in front of the mirror. Many of the women use a phrase which former Conservative MP Louise Mensch used earlier this year to explain why she had a facelift: "It is just for maintenance." It seems the expectations have changed, and for increasing numbers of women, a bit of lipstick will no longer suffice.