Aging – a scary word for almost everyone. But it doesn’t have to be. By educating yourself about what actually happens to our faces as we age, we can treat accordingly or not… whatever makes you feel your best!

Let’s first start with volume. It is said in recent literature that we lose 1 teaspoon of volume per decade of life – although that number ranges for everyone. This volume is made up of both fat pads and bone density in the face. When we’re younger, the fat in our face is distributed to the cheeks, chin, lips, and temples. As we age, we lose volume in those areas giving a more “sunken in” appearance as gravity takes effect on the volume we do have. This gives rise to the “pre-jowls” and a looser looking neck. While this process takes place at different rates for everyone, it is important to note these changes are both preventable and treatable with dermal fillers (check out my previous post on dermal fillers here).

In addition to volume loss, our facial muscles are getting stronger – which makes sense when you think about it! The more you use a muscle the stronger and more pronounced it becomes. This gives rise to more lines and wrinkles at rest. These folds deepen as we leave them untreated. Enter Botox! Botox is a neuromodulator that blocks the receptor from receiving acetylcholine from a neuron which activates a muscle contraction. Basically that’s a fancy way of saying it inhibits muscle movement therefore preventing lines from deepening. Read up about neuromodulators here.

Now to the skin itself. As we age, our cell turnover decreases which can give a dull looking appearance to the skin. When our collagen and elastin is produced at a slower rate, our skin can’t bounce back quite like it used to at 20. This leads to thinner and dryer looking skin. When considering the aging face, we must also consider the amount of environmental stress it has experienced over the years from sun exposure to pollution and other voluntary acts like smoking and drug use. By adding in chemical exfoliants and retinol, we are increasing the rate of cell turnover and sloughing off the dead skin cell layer most superficial. 

This post isn’t trying to scare you but to educate you about the inevitable truths of the aging face. I’ve found that most people don’t truly understand the inner workings of the aging body and once they do, they can make more well informed decisions (as with anything else). Whether that be letting the aging process do its thing, or starting preventive treatments in their 20s or 30s. I am all for aging gracefully and beautifully, and with the technology we have now aesthetic treatments are really more commonplace than you think. At the end of the day, the standard of beauty is always changing but it’s how you choose to define it that really matters.