Our Procedures - Facelift
The Elements of Facial Aging
Your face ages because of several factors. This includes:
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Changes to the skin due to aging, genetics, and damage
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Loss of facial volume
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Changes in other tissues like facial ligaments
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Gravity displacing tissues in the face
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Excessive fat accumulation
These changes combine to transform your face from an attractive, youthful, and energetic one, into a tired and aged appearance. However, you can either diminish or reverse these effects with many different facial treatments.
Skin Changes
As we age, our skin changes. It loses elasticity and becomes dry and thin. As a result, the skin loses its ability to flex and then resume its original shape. It begins to retain lines where expressions cause it to fold. Wrinkles form all over the face. The skin gains a translucent, creepy appearance.
Some of the skin changes are due to environmental damage, primarily sun damage. You can prevent sun damage by keeping out of the sun as much as possible, wearing a hat that blocks the sun, and using sunscreen whenever you have to be out in the sun.
Other skin changes are due to a loss of nutrition supply to the face. You can reduce the impact of this by utilizing a recommended skin care regimen.
In addition, the skin's normal process of rejuvenation slows as we age. When we are young, the cells of the skin turn over quickly, so every individual skin cell is young. When we are older, the process slows, so that the individual skin cells on the surface are older, more damaged by the environment. You can counteract these changes using laser skin resurfacing or other resurfacing treatments that can stimulate the skin's natural rejuvenation process.
Loss of Facial Volume
With age, the body changes its patterns of fat deposition. The face loses priority, so it begins to lose fat, especially in the upper portion, the forehead and around the eyes. This is worsened by the displacement of tissues by gravity (see below), creating a haggard, worn, or tired appearance. This can be countered using dermal fillers (e.g. Juvéderm or fat grafting).
Changes in Facial Tissue
It's not just skin and fat that changes. Even the muscles and ligaments change. Some of the facial ligaments can lose elasticity like the skin. This contributes to the displacement of facial tissues. Where the ligaments retain their tautness, it can create facial grooves as some tissues descend while others do not. These grooves can be concealed using dermal fillers.
The muscles also experience an important change with age. All our muscles become conditioned to repeated responses and will anticipate routine contractions. In the face, this means some of your muscles will begin to anticipate some of the routine actions that accompany facial expressions, including contracting the brow, squinting the eyes, and pursing the lips. This leads to the formation of long lasting folds where there should only be temporary ones. As the skin changes, these folds also become inscribed in the skin. The best treatment for relaxing these over-enthusiastic muscles is BOTOX® Cosmetic.
Excessive Fat Accumulation
One of the first signs of facial aging is that your eyes get puffy. This is caused by increase of fat in the upper and lower lids. Fat also accumulates in the jowl area and in the neck area. This causes loss of the definition of the neck and makes the chin appear weaker.
How Feagin & Owen Combat Facial Aging
At the Feagin & Owen Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Center, our board-certified plastic surgeons, Dr. Charles Feagin and Dr. William Owen, have the training, skill, and experience to recognize and understand the different factors contributing to your personal aging process. We can recommend the best treatments for you to get the results you desire, namely a youthful, refreshed, and natural appearance.
To learn more about our board-certified plastic surgeons and how we can help, please call the Feagin & Owen Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Center today.