Changes to the face over time are due to a number of factors including one you may not be aware of. We begin with the typical culprits…
Forehead:
- Expands as the hairlines retreats.
Ears:
- Extend slightly with increased cartilage.
Nose:
- May droop slightly as connective tissue supporting nasal cartilage weakens.
Volume:
- Fat volume decreases and shifts downward with age. Features that were once rounded will appear sunken, the lower part of the face may bag along the chin line and fat may deposit in the neck in the form of jowl neck.
Skin:
- Becomes loose and sags, due to shifts in fat, losses in collagen and decreased skin elasticity.
- Fine wrinkles appear due to sun damage, smoking, natural skin degeneration, etc.
- Deep wrinkles form on the forehead and between the eyebrows.
Bones:
- As we age, changes in our facial appearance, have more to do then with just skin and tissue changes…
Dr. Shaw and Dr. Langstein of University of Rochester Medical Center led a 2010 three-institution study involving Stanford University and Harvard University.
Researchers reviewed a collection of 120 facial CT scans taken for other, unrelated medical reasons and measured the changes that occurred to facial bones over time. The CT scans were divided equally by gender and age, 20 men and 20 women in each of three age groups: young (ages 20-36), middle (41 to 64), and old (65 and older). Researchers used a computer program to measure the length, width, and angle of the mandible, or jaw bone, for each scan, and compared the results for each group.
The angle of the jaw increases markedly with age, which results in a loss of definition of the lower border of the face, according to the study.
- Jaw length decreases significantly in comparisons between the young and middle age groups.
- Jaw height declines from the middle to older age groups.
They concluded that the loss of jaw bone volume may contribute to:
- Decreased chin projection
- Loss of jaw-line definition
- Sagging facial skin because soft tissue of the lower face has less support resulting in an aged appearance of the neck
“The jaw is the foundation of the lower face, and changes to it affect facial aesthetics,” said Howard N. Langstein, M.D., professor and chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Rochester