The consequences of fat atrophy in the mid face include a loss of prominence in the cheek area, accentuation of hollow cheek bones, and the presence of excess skin. In addition, the area below the cheek bone known as the buccal cheek area will often become more indented. In some patients, this can create a 'gaunt' or aged look.
Ageing cheeks can even cause a hollowing effect around the eyes, accentuating hollow, dark eye circles especially if eye surgery with fat removal has been performed. Volume loss is one of the most significant contributors to facial ageing. People who are overweight rarely develop this sign of facial ageing as their cheeks remain fuller and more rounded.
Often an ageing face is less about a softening jawline and more about losing volume higher up in the face in areas such as the temples, the eyebrow area, the anterior and lateral midface giving the appearance of sunken cheeks.
Surgical procedures can certainly help in lifting sagging tissue, however these procedures cannot replace lost volume, neither can they restore or improve the strength and integrity pf the skin tissue, hence their long-term results being somewhat limited.
A new generation of techniques is better suited for this purpose, such as the MD Code Facelift, also known as the Liquid Facelift.
At Skin Renewal, we have introduced rejuvenation techniques such as the MD CODES with dermal fillers, which are better suited for volume replacement than traditional techniques such as fat transfer, which has considerable downtime.
After having had their cheeks "volumised" with dermal fillers, many patients come back to say that they did not realise what a big difference putting the "apple” back into their cheeks has made, and they usually request more volume. Young adults have fuller cheeks which reflect light, and recreating cheek volume in ageing patients who have lost facial volume creates a youthful appearance.
Restoring and maintaining the strength, hydration and elasticity in the skin is equally important to ensure that the skin appears, fresh, youthful and rejuvenated. Monthly maintenance treatments go a long way to preserving the skin’s youth and ability to age gracefully.
Skin Renewal Tip
Volume loss around the eye area is another indication for dermal filler correction. Take a good look at the area under your eyes. Is there a hollow trough between the base of the puff and the top of your cheek? Surgery to address tear trough hollows is not always appropriate but tear-trough rejuvenation with dermal fillers brings back youthful volume and contours the lower eyelids in a safe and minimally invasive way.
Skin health and maintenance is of the utmost importance. There is great benefit in maintaining the skin tissue with treatments and topicals as one ages, to really slow down the ageing process.