Facial hollowing is one of the most distressing signs of ageing for many people, and will be greatly aggravated by sudden severe weight loss also. People report that they are told they more tired and drawn than they actually feel..which eventually becomes quite annoying!
Our deep fat is lost with age and severe illness or starvation, whilst our superficial fat layer is responsible for us looking healthy and plump in the face. It is our superficial fat that increases and decreases with normal fluctuations in our body weight. Severe weight change will cause a permanent loss of deep fat, and can often be seen in those with a history of severe eating disorders, for example.
With age, it isn’t just our deep fat layer in the front of the cheeks that is lost though. Ageing also has a dramatic effect on facial and periodontal (jaw) bone, muscle bulk and skin elasticity. All of these changes will be aggravated by the effects of menopause, osteoporosis, vitamin D deficiency, protein malnourishment, age related growth hormone deficiency and a lifetime of chronic sun exposure. Obviously our genetics plays an important role as well..and sometimes our facial shape will be largely dictated by our genetic makeup.
As we lose volume, which is usually at the rate of a teaspoon of volume per year from the age of 25yrs in most people, the effect is cumulative and often not noticed until after the child bearing years or late 30s.
Lost facial volume can be seen in the deepening of the nasolabial folds, the downturning of the mouth corners, the jowl formation, the drooping of the nasal tip and outer eyebrows and the sinking of the temples. It also has a very dramatic effect on the undereye appearance.
Treating the areas that have lost volume is not a cosmetic technique for beginners. It takes a good eye, excellent product knowledge, technical skill and a lot of practice to learn that some products will work well in some areas of the face but not others. There is often more than one way to address the loss of facial volume, yet not all injectors are familiar with all of these options. One of the most popular treatment options for this problem is Collagen Stimulation, using a liquid product.
If you are contemplating having your facial hollowing and sunken temples treated, please be sure to be very discerning with your choice of injector. Be guided by the duration of experience, availability of different treatment options and appearance of your injector. If you feel that the injector doesn’t look natural enough for you, it may be a sign of inadequate aesthetic judgement.
At Skin Temple we are often called on to help new patients who have had inappropriate procedures done elsewhere to their face, and patients who have had avoidable side effects can sometimes be quite distressed by what has happened to them. Sometimes just knowing when enough is enough, or when to stop, is just as important as the decision to undertake treatment in the first place!