Facial ageing – a glance at the big picture.
Facial volume loss can cause a young, full face to become older and thin. Chubby cheeks seen in young people are not always due to weight gain, but rather represent a firm, smooth face that has not yet experienced any problems in soft-tissue health.
As the face loses fat, the skin can sag and lose elasticity. Wrinkles may appear as the soft tissue beneath the eyes shrinks. Facial volume loss may make individuals appear older, but there are many ways to combat the underlying causes of the condition – reduced collagen production, for example.
What Causes Facial Fat Loss?
A full and round face shape can begin to lose volume, appearing sunken and skeletal for a variety of reasons. Facial ageing naturally, weight loss, hormone shifts, UV exposure, smoking, injury, and certain medical conditions that require specific medicines that result in volume loss all contribute to a loss of fat in the facial region.
A lack of collagen makes a face appear older. The role of collagen is to provide a supportive structure for the skin, resulting in plump, firm skin. As we age, the elasticity of facial skin also declines as collagen diminishes. When facial fat decreases and shifts as we age, the lack of collagen and fat may make a face look older.
Once evenly-distributed face fat around the eyes, cheeks, forehead, temples, and mouth shrinks, resulting in facial volume loss. Round cheeks sink downward, causing hollowness under the eyes. Lips lose their plumpness as they age and appear thinner.
As time passes, fat may accumulate in areas where the skin was previously taut, such as in the lower jaw. When facial fat is stored in the lower face, it may result in unsightly jowls of sagging skin hanging on each side of the jaw and the neck.
Wrinkles are a result of daily, repetitive facial muscle contractions. The loss of facial fat and the resultant decrease in facial muscle activity causes deep wrinkles and folds. This, coupled with a reduction in collagen that gives thick, supple skin, can result in an undesirable appearance and ageing of the face.
Maintaining a healthy weight can have a huge impact on one’s health in general. However, losing weight or taking part in an extreme dieting regimen may make a naturally thin face appear even thinner. When the small amount of natural fat is taken away from an already thin face as a result of an extreme dieting regimen, the result may be a worn-out look in addition to other health issues.
When a person loses a lot of weight in a short period, the skin on his or her face may also lose volume. When the body cannot adapt to new body contours, excess skin on the neck and cheeks may remain hanging after rapid weight loss. Weight loss is typically a positive experience for an overweight individual, but too much fat loss in the face may prematurely age skin.
When someone spends plenty of time in the sun, runs long distances, and looks like a marathon athlete, they have a ‘runner’s face.’ While this habit may help runners maintain a healthy weight and clear their minds, it may also result in a gaunt-looking facial appearance, especially for people over 40 who lose so much facial fat that they wind up with sunburned, bony faces.
Even though outdoor runners are the most well-known victims of facial volume loss due to strenuous exercise, those who frequently perform long-distance cardiovascular exercises in the gym may also be at risk of ‘gym face.’ A thin face is a result of performing exercises that melt fat all over the body, including the face. Working out intensely to burn fat covering the abdomen and thighs may also cause facial volume loss.
When undoing the damage that the sun and UV rays can cause to the face, people usually focus on dark spots, wrinkles, and skin cancer risks. UV rays penetrate the epidermis and speed up elastin and collagen breakdown, resulting in facial volume loss. Facial volume loss, on the other hand, is contributed to by UV ray exposure. Elastin and collagen are two important skin components that are decreased as a result of UV exposure.
UVB and UVA photons are the primary components of the sun’s radiation. The sun’s UV rays can harm DNA as well as cause skin damage and facial ageing. UV rays may also penetrate the skin and reach the dermis. As a result, elastin accumulates abnormally, leading to ‘solar scars,’ where collagen is improperly broken down. These solar scars are disorganised clumps of collagen that cause the skin to appear aged as a result of sun damage.
UV damage to collagen and elastin fibres can also be caused by other sources, such as indoor tanning booths. Sunburned skin is typically found on body parts that receive the most UV exposure, such as the face, arms, and chest.
Fat appears on the face and body as a result of oestrogen, a female hormone that controls the quantity and quality of fat. Oestrogen hormone levels decrease as women age, causing fat to thin. Fat loss may cause facial skin to sag.
With age, facial fat decreases and facial bone mass reduces, which contributes to the mid-face appearing as though it has collapsed. In addition, facial muscle degeneration may occur to some degree, resulting in a weakened appearance.
Patients aged 70 to 80 are more likely to manifest more drastic changes, such as the loss of bone tissue in the central portion of the face and the nasal area.
Facial volume loss can be severe when caused by a medical condition or medication. When fat tissue beneath the facial skin is lost, the face may appear flat or convex.
HIV and connective tissue illnesses may cause facial thinning if you have an unknown loss of volume in your face. A physician may diagnose lupus, thyroid, immune system, rheumatoid arthritis, or other problems that cause facial fat loss.
The health of facial skin and overall skin structure is significantly impacted by the vital and detrimental effects of nicotine use. Vitamin C levels in smokers are significantly lower than those in nonsmokers. Vitamin C is critical to maintaining soft, supple, and strong skin in addition to lowering muscle tone and collagen and elastin amounts. Smoking can negatively impact numerous protective elements of vitamin C that maintain skin healthy, supple, and strong, resulting in sagging skin and an aged appearance. However, chronic smokers who quit smoking may boost vitamin C levels and, therefore, enhance their capacity to form new collagen and their ability to heal wounds.
According to stress research, stress can cause a person to age facially prematurely. It contributes to heart problems and high blood pressure, in addition to other health issues that manifest on a person’s face. With high cortisol levels and the “fight-or-flight” feeling, we age faster. In addition to exercising, counteracting the stress response with anti-anxiety relaxation techniques is helpful.
What are the buccal and malar fat pads?
The size and position of buccal and malar fat pads can have a big effect on the volume of the face. These fat pads appear in the cheeks, and their size and position influence facial volume.
When the malar fat pad droops, it causes the nasolabial folds to become more apparent. Due to gravity, the malar fat pad gradually moves downward as the years go by. This movement produces nasolabial folds and makes the eyes look hollow. This is a key cause of facial ageing.
Patients benefit from dermal injections in the buccal space, which is found on both sides of the face in the lower cheek region. The dermal injections last for up to 24 months, and the substance of the diet is typically associated with a higher degree of acceptance.
At the moment when facial fat pads are depleted, dermal filler injections should be administered with a certain level of understanding. A deep comprehension of facial anatomy and dermal filler behaviour with fat pads will generate the best aesthetic results.
Treatment of lost facial volume.
When you’ve lost volume in your face, there are many ways to help reverse facial ageing. You can opt for non-invasive treatments or plastic surgery procedures that will help you turn back the clock to a more voluminous look, or you may change your diet and eliminate harmful UV exposure habits.
Since facial volume loss can be treated in a variety of ways, whether you have a modest budget or prefer minimally-invasive therapies or surgical procedures, there are methods to smooth and enhance volume all over the face.
When there is a loss of lip volume, dermal filler injections can provide a dramatic improvement. Low-dose botulinum toxin injections may also be used. In addition to dental restorations to restore volume deficits from lost tissue and bone, dental restorations may also improve the appearance of the lips.
Patients who do not want to undergo invasive procedures to address facial volume loss have several non-invasive options, including dermal fillers.
The most important medical treatment for volume loss are dermal fillers. The most common are comprised of hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance found in the body that is credited with providing skin elasticity as a result of its water retention capabilities. After cross linking in the laboratory, extending duration of effect to over 24 months in some cases, they are injected carefully and may be used to help increase the volume of areas of the face that have lost volume.
Sculptra®, a polylactic acid-based substance, is one of the most well-known collagen boosters. Sculptra® is used to enhance lips with volume, fill in laugh lines, and improve deep nasolabial folds.
Radiesse, a hyaluronic acid filler that boosts collagen, may be used to treat deep facial wrinkles, nasolabial folds, and the backs of the hands.
Fillers may be used to increase the volume in different regions of the face. At Infinity Aesthetics we only use FDA-approved fillers like Juvederm Voluma, Belotero Volume and Restylane Lyft for bony replacement, and Restylane Defyne and Belotero Intense for deep marionette lines and nasolabial folds.
It is possible to prevent facial ageing due to volume loss.
The best way to deal with a facial ageing is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. Here are some preventive measures:
An excessive amount of UV exposure can age your skin, according to a study. To keep your skin plumper and healthier, avoid the sun and stay away from tanning beds. Avoiding the sun and staying away from tanning beds can safeguard you from harmful UV rays.
The best way to keep the face looking younger, is to practice sun protection. Avoid damaging UVA light spectrum by wearing UVA- and UVB-protection sunscreen and wide-brimmed hats.
Smoking not only damages the lungs but also impairs the skin’s ability to heal.
A balanced diet and lifestyle can help maintain a healthy weight and improve the appearance of the face. If facial ligaments are constantly stretched as a result of gaining and losing weight through crash diets, they become weakened. This makes people look older due to the loss of facial volume and reduced elasticity. There are various diet and lifestyle habits that can contribute to changes to facial fat appearance over time, including the amount, method, and kind of exercise a person engages in.
Dr. Owen Thomas has been a medical doctor for more than 20 years since qualifying from Cardiff in 1999, now specialising in aesthetics in London and Swansea. After a 2 year level-7 Master’s Degree course in injectable aesthetic treatments training at Harley Academy, and additional study with Empire Medical Training in the US and other experts renowned in their field, he won a scholarship in the prestigious Aesthetic Intelligence Fellowship run over 7 months in Kensington, London and Paris.
