Along with the wisdom, experience, and accomplishments that include aging, our appearance also changes. Aging affects every a part of the body. But the changes in our faces are on the forefront.
How does the face age?
As the years go by, dozens of changes occur, a few of that are obvious and familiar:
- As the hairline recedes, the brow becomes wider.
- Ears often turn into longer because the cartilage in them increases.
- Nasal suggestions may droop because the connective tissue that supports the nasal cartilage weakens.
Structural restructuring can also be happening behind the scenes. When we're young, fat is evenly distributed across the face, with some pockets that thicken the brow, temples, cheeks, and areas across the eyes and mouth.
With age, that fat decreases in volume, becomes wrinkled, and shifts downward, so features that were once round can sink, and skin that was smooth and firm can turn into loose. Goes and bows. Meanwhile, other parts of the face are inclined to accumulate fat, especially the lower part, so we are inclined to sag across the chin and neck.
And, after all, there are wrinkles. Those deep within the brow and between the eyebrows are called expression, or movement, lines. These are the results of constant tightening of the facial muscles, and eventually skin tearing.
Other layers could also be darker because of the best way the fat is reduced and rotated. Fine wrinkles are brought on by sun damage, smoking and the natural breakdown of the skin's elements that keep it thick and supple.
What can I do about my aging face?
While a gracefully aging face is an exquisite thing, there are changes that include aging that we would wish to decelerate.
One approach is to have a good time our age and appearance for who they're. Age-related changes in our facial appearance reflect the fun and challenges in our lives. But not everyone seems to be comfortable with this, and a few may prefer to postpone accepting these changes.
An age-defying facelift, which surgically removes excess tissue and lifts sagging skin within the lower face, is one strategy to attempt to stem the tide of time. Facelifts have improved, so the outcomes look more natural. But surgery is dear, and other procedures could also be needed to attain the specified results.
Non-surgical alternatives
The facelift procedure is only one popular cosmetic procedure. There are many alternatives to rejuvenating an aging face, including rejuvenating treatments. Although most rejuvenating procedures are non-surgical, they don't come low cost – especially once you consider the necessity for re-treatment.
Here's only a sampling of things you may do — or complete — to make your face look younger:
sun protection. Protecting your face from the sun is the one best strategy to keep it looking young. You must often use a sunscreen that protects against each UVA and UVB rays, with an SPF of not less than 30. Wearing a wide-brimmed hat can also be an excellent idea.
Creams and lotions. Moisturizers soothe dry skin and may temporarily make wrinkles less noticeable. Facial moisturizers contain water to make them less greasy, and there are lots of ingredients—glycerin, for instance—that may also help bind water to the skin. Exfoliant creams can improve the looks of older skin by eliminating dead skin cells that don't shed as easily as they did after we were younger.
Several prescription creams (Avita, Avage, Renova, Retin-A) have been shown to scale back wrinkles and so-called liver spots brought on by sun exposure. These FDA-approved creams contain retinoids, compounds related to vitamin A that work by changing the production of collagen within the dermis and melanin, the pigment that causes liver spots. There are several varieties of retinoids. Tazarotene and tretinoin are two which are utilized in FDA-approved products.
Botulinum toxin injection. These injections are used to treat expression lines between the brow and eyebrows. They work partially by stimulating the muscles that create expression lines in order that the skin becomes smoother, although some deeper expression lines may not go away. Botox is a well-liked brand name. Other FDA-approved botulinum toxins are Myoblock and Dysport.
Dermal fillers. Dermal fillers are used to treat lost collagen and fat lines. After botulinum toxin injections, dermal filler injections are probably the most common cosmetic procedure performed within the United States. The primary sites for injection are two sets of folds: a pair of lines that run from the nose to the corners of the mouth, called the nasolabial folds, and one other pair that runs from the corners of the mouth right down to the chin, the marionette lines. referred to as
There are many various materials used as dermal fillers. Collagen is out of favor. Currently, the preferred is hyaluronic acid, a fancy sugar that happens naturally in lots of tissues. Hyaluronic acid is dearer than collagen but lasts longer – as much as six months within the nasolabial folds. Like botulinum toxin injections, dermal filler shots wear off after several months. How long it lasts is dependent upon the injection site—but repeated injections appear to make it last slightly longer.
Laser treatment. The laser might be used on certain pigments: brown, if the goal is to eliminate freckles and liver spots, red if the goal is broken capillaries. They are also used for wholesale resurfacing of facial skin. The top layers peel away, and with them wrinkles and pimples scars from sun damage. The energy from some non-ablative resurfacing lasers penetrates the outer layer of the skin to work deeper, within the dermis, stimulating inflammation, which ends up in collagen formation.
Most laser treatments require time for the skin to heal. It may take a number of weeks to heal depending on the kind and extent of treatment. Uninterrupted treatments heal slightly faster.
Image: © master1305 | Getty Images