Why does the face ‘sag’ as we get older?
As they say, we are all in the same boat. As we age, the skin becomes thinner and less elastic. The fat tissue immediately beneath the skin loses volume, while the muscles lose bulk and tone. These changes are accelerated by excessive exposure to sunlight and smoking but there is also a genetic element too. As a consequence of the changes, gravity has a profound effect.
What are the effects of sagging of the facial soft tissues?
The eyebrows tend to drop and become more horizontal, thus losing the classical arch. The outer brow is especially affected, giving a ‘sad-eyed’ appearance. The tissue over the prominence of the cheek bone (just below and outside the line of the eye) also tends to sag downwards. However it is the sagging of the very large cheek area, referred to as the mid and lower face, that produces the greatest changes in the ageing face.
These changes include longer and deeper naso-labial (n-l) grooves, which are the lines running from the outside of the nose to the outer corner of the mouth. The mound above the n-l gets heavier with downward sag of the cheek. There is also a down-turning of the corner of the mouth where small oblique downward grooves develop. Those little full areas each side of the chin called the jowls commence to form producing a ‘squaring’ of the face when viewed from the front.
The sagging of the large cheek area (the mid and lower face) also significantly contributes to the laxity of the skin in the upper part of the neck as it causes gathering here. Sagging of the upper neck is eventually followed by a similar effect of the lower neck.
What can be done to improve these appearances of ageing?
- Major procedure- endoscopic brow lift and/or facelift.
Or
- Relatively minor procedures; these are simpler, safer and therefore a more attractive alternative.
The sagging of the face can be immediately overcome by lifting various areas. Open or endoscopic brow lift and open facelift are expensive (the latter usually costing between $18,000 and $25,000), can be associated with major complications. There is a significant recovery time and the facial features, although aesthetically improved, can be altered to the extent that the person is unrecognisable. Usually family, friends and acquaintances know that the person has had major surgery.
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