Why Is My Face So Sunken? As we get older, collagen, elastin, and even facial fat pads break down, resulting in some changes that can cause the appearance of a sunken face. The effect is even more pronounced when the fat pads begin to drift south, which can exacerbate sunken cheeks and undereye hollows.
Sunken cheeks are most commonly associated with ageing. Over time, you start to lose fat volume within the face. You develop sunken cheeks when there is limited tissue between the mandible and the zygoma. This is the bony arch located underneath the eye.
Medical treatment for sunken cheeks
To give your cheeks a fuller appearance, a trained healthcare provider can use injectable facial fillers. Depending on the product used, these fillers can last from several months to several years. Popular fillers include Hyaluronic acid (HA) and Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA).
If you are troubled by lax skin, sunken cheeks and more general volume loss, a collagen treatment could be a better option. A collagen treatment that addresses a larger area of the skin will not only improve skin laxity or loose skin. It will also add volume to the face since it helps restore a thicker, firm skin.
A Gaunt face or sunken cheeks can be easily corrected with a number of treatments, like Profhilo – an intense concentration of hyaluronic acid – to achieve rapid rehydration, improved tone and increased elasticity of the skin, and dermal fillers to replace lost volume in the mid face.
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.
Certain lifestyle habits, such as not wearing sunscreen, not eating a balanced diet, and smoking, can age your face more quickly. Illnesses that cause weight loss can also cause your face to look gaunt if your overall body fat percentage drops.
Sunken cheeks can be addressed via facial rejuvenation treatments designed to add youthful contours. Because hollow cheeks are the result of volume loss, restoring volume offers the most successful cosmetic outcomes. The most popular outpatient treatment is injectable fillers, also commonly called dermal fillers.
People looking to gain weight in the face may opt for fat transfer surgery. This procedure involves surgeons taking fat from another area of the body and injecting it into the face. Another option is to use dermal fillers.
Fat transfer is often known as fat grafting, and it is a natural, minimally invasive surgical procedure to move fat from an area of the body where it is plentiful, and transferring it to the face to restore lost volume.
You can naturally support the collagen production process by using topicals such as vitamin C and retinol, collagen peptide supplements, eating a nutrient rich diet, and avoiding habits that damage the collagen (such as poor sleep and sun exposure.)
Dermal fillers are the quickest way to restore volume and structure to the face. These speedy products produce instant results with the choice of a traditional filler and/or a collagen stimulator: Traditional fillers are soft liquids or gels that are injected into the area of concern.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, one syringe of hyaluronic acid filler costs on average around $682. Polylactic acid. Filler options that last longer, like polylactic acid, cost more. They come in around $915 a syringe.
Juvederm Voluma is an incredibly natural looking filler to lift the cheeks and improve volume in the mid face. Even a syringe or two and can make you look less tired and hollow and subtly raise a sagging jawline.
Cheeks: Cheeks are very versatile and also the most challenging region of your face to treat. For each treatment, you'll need 10 to 15 filler syringes. Injecting too much filler might result in undesirable side effects, including a “duck-billed” appearance.
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.
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.
Your provider uses a thin needle to inject small amounts of filler beneath your skin. They may inject filler in several areas of your cheek. You may feel a small pinch or sting, but the cheek filler procedure doesn't usually cause pain. A cheek filler procedure usually takes about 15 to 30 minutes.
Do they lift like a facelift? Never. However, they do provide a bit of a lift or give the illusion of lifting. Cheek fillers also provide volume to the face.
Strong definition is often attained when dermal cheek filler is applied above the cheekbones. But it can also be inserted into the fat pads of the submalar and anteromedial regions below the cheek edge to replenish volume in depressed areas and flatten out nasolabial lines.