Understanding Facial Aging

Aging. It happens to everyone. The body naturally changes, wears down and depletes as we get older. While you may feel the negative effects of aging within your joints or energy levels, the impact of aging within your face is one you’ll see. The aesthetic decline of the face as it ages is nothing to dismiss. In fact, wrinkles, sagging skin and other facial aging concerns can be a real threat to your attractiveness and self-esteem. At Timeless MedSpa, we offer countless non-surgical services to reverse the unwanted signs of facial aging, but we also encourage patients to understand the process first.

Facial aging process begins with structural changes within the multiple facial tissue layers. In other words, it is not just the skin surface that changes as you get older, but also the fat, muscle and bone. These facial tissue layers will often age interdependently. Here’s a closer look at what happens with each layer and how it contributes to an overall aged appearance:

Skin

As we get older, our skin typically becomes thinner, drier and less elastic. This is primarily due to a loss of collagen in the middle (dermis) layer of the skin. With less collagen, the skin is limited in its ability to retain elasticity (from elastin) and moisture (from hyaluronic acid).

Fat

Over time you may see the addition of fat in certain areas of your body (your waistline) and the reduction of fat in other areas (your face). A youthful face should have a supple amount of fat in certain key areas, such as your cheeks. Unfortunately, as gravity takes its toll, this facial fat can fall, become redistributed or atrophy. You may see areas that lose fat (forehead and cheeks) and other areas that gain fat (mouth and jaw). Your fat pads may also shift or become separate and less smooth.

Bone

Your bones are what give your muscles, fat and skin its structure and shape. Our skeletal system, however, will also change and deplete as we get older. Aging of the craniofacial skeleton may be due to changes in the relative dynamics of bone expansion and bone resorption, which contributes leads to overall biometric volume loss. As the facial bones age, the following signs are more noticeable:

• Bony landmarks, lines and wrinkles
• Transverse forehead link
• Nasolabial folds
• Hollowing of the mid-face
• Area around the mouth – vertical wrinkles, lip thinning and flattening
• Prejowl depression or marionette lines

While we can’t prevent facial aging from occurring, we do have ways to temporarily reverse the effects of this inevitable process. Facial rejuvenation treatments can include resurfacing options (chemical peels, microdermabrasion and laser resurfacing) as well as injectables (Botox, fillers and collagen stimulators). At Timeless MedSpa, we are happy to explain the anti-aging treatments that are best suited for your unique concerns and facial structure. Call today to learn more.