Facial Aging: Signs of the Time

Facial aging is something that we all anticipate. It’s going to happen; it’s only a matter of time. Fortunately, we live in a time when facial aging doesn’t have to be accepted. We can do something, several things, to diminish the effects of collagen loss and fat degradation. Because there are so many techniques aimed at restoring the appearance of youth to the face, many people are in search of real answers. What they want to know is when it’s time to consider a facelift versus treatments like Botox and dermal fillers. Here, we point out a few of the signs.

Jowls

If there is anything that troubles the people we meet, it’s jowls. These pockets of sagging tissue that appear on the sides of the jawline can create a lot of frustration. They make the neck look older, and they cannot be disguised with makeup. The reason that jowls form has nothing to do with the jawline itself or the skin in that area. We get jowls because the fat pads that give our cheekbones their height and roundness have fallen to the lower part of the face. Sometimes, the appearance of jowls can decrease with dermal filler cheek augmentation. However, a midface lift may be more successful.

Lines and Creases

The lower face, from the chin to the nose, is susceptible to what we often call laugh lines or smile lines. Sometimes, what develops are marionette lines, running from the lower part of the mouth to the chin. These lines are particularly frustrating because they add a puppet-like characteristic to the face, which no one likes. A midface lift can diminish or erase these lines through the lifting and tightening of superficial tissue just above their location on the face.

Flattened Cheeks

The midface is the point of origin for several common concerns. It all lies in the fullness of fat that sits on top of the cheekbones. This loss of fullness affects most people at some point and can become a challenge to maintain with fillers alone. A midface lift may coincide with fat grafting to both reposition existing tissue higher on the cheekbones (which also reduces jowls) and by adding more fat into the cheeks to round them out.

The drop in facial structure across the midface can do everything from cause sagging jowls to decreasing the elevation of the corners of the mouth. These changes make a face appear older and less friendly. Explore how a midface lift or other treatment can help you manage the signs of aging. Call our St. Louis office at 314-567-3567.