The loss of facial fat can create an aged appearance, but patients can get good results to restore facial volume via dermal fillers, plastic surgery, microneedling, PRP facials, or other procedures that encourage increased collagen production - perhaps more effectively than DIY facial exercises.
Facial volume loss is caused partly by the breakdown of proteins such as collagen that provide structure to your skin. This change occurs as we age. Our youthful balance of fat changes – we lose it in some areas and gain it in others. Inherited genes appear to intensify the process.
As a result, any loss of facial volume can be resolved with professionally administered dermal fillers. Because hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance, this will be used up by the body over time, and so you will need to have your dermal filler topped up around 2-3 times a year.
Dermal Fillers For Facial Volume
Facial fillers are a series of injectable dermal fillers that serve to fill out areas of lost volume in your face. Dermal fillers can be combined with sterile gels, hyaluronic acid, and other helpful chemicals to round out areas where you've lost skin volume.
Collagen levels decrease with age and, unfortunately, there's no way to prevent this. The good news is that there are several cosmetic treatments that can rebuild or restore collagen.
Volume loss occurs well before the visual signs of skin sagging. At around age 35 we start to notice specific facial fat pads disappearing in a particular order, causing distinct signs of aging; loss of jaw line, saggy face, tired look, nose to mouth lines and under-eye shadows.
Loss of fat in our face
As we age, these areas of fat begin to diminish. This allows the skin to sag. The areas where fat loss is most noticed is in the temples, under the eyes, and in the cheek area. When the fat pads under our eyes diminish, it can give us a tired or hollow look.
Exposure to light is a top cause of premature aging: Sun exposure causes many skin problems. Ultraviolet (UV) light and exposure to sunlight age your skin more quickly than it would age naturally. The result is called photoaging, and it's responsible for 90% of visible changes to your skin.
Most people begin to notice a shift in the appearance of their face around their 40's and 50's, with some also noticing a change in their 30's. But with these physical changes brought on by aging also comes a change in the appearance of our face - Luckily, there is treatment available.
Ultraviolet rays, aka sunlight, cause collagen to break down faster. With sun exposure, those UV rays damage the skin by entering the dermis (the second and thickest layer of our skin) which causes collagen to break down faster.
Eating foods rich in vitamin C and amino acids can increase the levels of hyaluronic acid and collagen in the body as both are important for skin. Foods such as oranges, red peppers, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and strawberries are all rich in vitamin C.
The good news is, though you may not be able to bring back the lost collagen, there are ways to help get things moving and slow further loss. With the right skin care products and treatments outside and in, there's so much you can do to get back that spring back in your skin.
Gaunt face and gaunt cheeks can be a product of nature if one is born with little facial volume, or can develop as our face hollows and becomes sunken as an effect of ageing due to the slowdown in collagen production which keeps our cheeks supple, plump and full.
Your body begins to lose collagen when you turn 30. The effects become noticeable after several years. Even though this is a natural process, it's possible to speed it up with UV exposure, pollution, bad habits, and poor diet choices. While it's possible to accelerate collagen loss, it's also possible to slow it down.
A diet full of protein-rich foods, whether from plant or animal sources, can help supply these critical amino acids. Other nutrients that aid the process of collagen production include zinc, vitamin C, and copper. So, fruits and vegetables high in vitamins and minerals are also a friend to supple skin.
Just five minutes a day of regular tapping:
enhances our skin's ability to breathe by improving the flow of oxygen; plumps the face and smoothes wrinkles by stimulating collagen production; normalizes the activity of oil and sweat glands.
Skin brightening treatments, like Microdermabrasion, Light Peels, Micro Laser Peels, or the Clear & Brilliant Laser treatment all help patients to look 10 years younger or more, with just a few treatments. These treatments can be used in order to combat the signs of aging in the face, such as: Wrinkles. Age spots.
A thin face is the lead culprit because being slender causes a loss of volume in the face, Guyuron says. "This loss of volume creates jowls and makes wrinkles develop," he says. "The older we get, the more the face gets depleted. When you lose weight, this look is enhanced and aging is accelerated.
As far as the female or male aging timeline, the biggest changes typically occur when people are in their 40s and 50s. However, it's not unlikely to notice changes in your mid to late-30s, as well. Some of the first signs of aging are droopy skin, smile lines, and wrinkles. These changes can be jarring, but natural.
For sagging around the jawline or cheeks, where weight loss changes can be most prevalent, you may want to consider injectables, says Desai. “We can use fillers, such as hyaluronic acid-based fillers, and inject them into these areas of volume depletion to plump them up, which also lifts the skin.”