Ageing Process

Ageing Process

What happens as we grow older?

Scientific research and technological advances have helped develop our understanding of the ageing process, especially what happens to our skin.

We all know young skin is smooth and plump, this is because the tissue is well hydrated. As we age, the water-retaining properties of our skin begins to decline, and, as a result, it will become drier and thinner and less able to restore itself.

This loss of fullness results in looser skin, leading to lines, wrinkles and folds; gravity then takes its toll, causing a general drooping and sagging of the skin.

Beneath the surface of the skin, the distribution of fat changes, and facial contours with it. The result is lips with volume loss and wrinkles forming around the eyes; this affects the balance of the central facial triangle with a flattening of the natural arcs and fullness of the face The bones supporting our features also become thinner and smaller, leading to even more loss of fullness.

In a study of 30 women and 30 men aged between 25 and 65, it was found that, as people age, their facial bones shrink and leave empty spaces. Since the skin also loses elasticity with time, it is not able to tighten around the spaces left by the bone loss. But, encouragingly, the study’s co-author, Dr David Kahn, says that, by using a Swedish dermal filler, along with other techniques such as forehead lifts and soft tissue repositioning, “Plastic surgeons can recreate volume loss caused by dissolving or sinking bone and lift the skin to create better, more refined results for patients."

How your features will change

Here’s how the ageing process changes our different facial features:

Whole Face

The face loses its fullness, shifting from heart-shaped to more rectangular. The base of the central facial triangle will gradually invert over time, and rest along the jaw line giving the face a droopy appearance.

Forehead and brows

Skin becomes thinner and brow muscles and blood vessels become more obvious. Brows fall and deep forehead lines appear, giving a permanently stressed or worried appearance.

Cheeks and eyes

Cheeks lose volume, and wrinkles appear around the eyes. A more pronounced hollowness under the eyes creates a tired appearance.

Chin, jaw line and lips

Skin becomes more lax, wrinkles appear around the mouth, folds emerge between nose and mouth corners and the jaw line becomes less defined, which affects the profile of the face. Mouth corners will point downwards contributing to the sad face look.

Lips become thinner, turn to the inside and lack definition. Smoking and sun exposure amongst other factors, accelerate the formation of peri-oral lines ( smokers' lines). 

Décolletage and neck

Fine wrinkles appear, giving the skin a crêpe-like appearance. The skin sees changes in texture and pigmentation associated with sun damage.

Hands

Brownish patches (known as liver spots) appear, another consequence of sun damage. Fine lines on the backs of hands and prominent veins are particularly telling signs of ageing.

Back to blog

Want to discuss further?

Book your consultation now!

Book Now
Buy a Gift Voucher

FAQ

How does muscle relaxing toxin injection work?

It works by relaxing facial muscles, thereby temporarily reducing and smoothing dynamic frown lines and wrinkles, i.e. those lines caused by movement of the muscles.

Who should not take botulinum toxin?

  • Had an allergic reaction to any of the botulinum toxin products or their ingredients.
  • Have a skin infection at the planned injection site.
  • A disease that affects your muscles and nerves (such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease], myasthenia gravis or Lambert-Eaton syndrome).
  • Had any side effect from the product product in the past.
  • A breathing problem, such as asthma or emphysema.
  • Swallowing problems.
  • Bleeding problems.
  • Plans to have surgery.
  • Had surgery on your face.
  • Weakness of your forehead muscles, such as trouble raising your eyebrows.
  • Drooping eyelids.
  • Any other change in the way your face normally looks.
  • Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
  • Are breast-feeding or plan to breastfeed.

Do treatment results differ?

Yes, individual results may vary. To get the best results, it's important to go to a doctor who is experienced in administering these injections.

What conditions can be treated effectively with laser therapy?

  • Vascular lesions

Well-defined lesions (abnormalities of the tissue, in this case the skin) that contain blood are usually amenable to laser therapy. These include unwanted blood vessels (‘broken capillaries’) on the face, and birth marks such as port wine stains. Depending on the size of the lesion, the number of laser treatments that are needed can range from 2 to 10 or more.

Laser therapy is also sometimes used for small varicose veins and spider veins.

  • Pigmented lesions

Pigmented lesions that can be treated include: freckles; solar lentigos (liver, or age, spots); flat, pigmented seborrhoeic keratoses (age warts); and café au lait spots (light-tan spots). Laser treatments for pigmented lesions are generally spaced 6 or more weeks apart, to allow your body to get rid of the dispersed pigment.

  • Tattoos/Not currently available

The principle of laser tattoo removal is basically the same as that of the removal of pigmented lesions, but the wavelength of the light beam needs to vary depending on the different ink pigments used in the tattoo. In general, homemade Indian ink tattoos and black tattoos respond most readily to laser removal. White tattoos do not usually respond to treatment. Red is relatively easy to remove, while yellow, orange and green are more difficult.

Skin that has been stained from nasal piercing or from iron injections also usually responds well to laser treatment.

  • Hair removal

Laser-assisted hair removal is both efficient and long term. It works best on thicker, darker hairs, as these hair follicles absorb more light than do smaller, paler hair follicles. Most people find that the amount of hair is reduced by 70 per cent or more after the course of treatment. Laser hair removal also avoids the possibility of ingrown hairs. Sweating changes are sometimes noticed in the treated area.

  • Signs of ageing

Laser resurfacing is used to help reverse the signs of ageing caused by sun damage. Signs of ageing include fine wrinkles and crinkly skin. Resurfacing is also useful in reducing the appearance of acne scars. Following treatment, your skin often takes several weeks to recover.

Laser resurfacing is a safer and more refined procedure than it used to be, but it is still not recommended for people with olive or pigmented skin because of the possibility of uneven skin tone or loss of colour from the skin after treatment.

  • Scars

Whether scars of previous surgery, acne or post burn scar, can all be minimised by laser resurfacing, CO2 fractionated laser is in particular useful for these conditions.

Who can be a good candidate for PDO Lift?

PDO procedures are safe for adults with mild to moderate skin laxity, who keep up with healthy lifestyles and have maintained their weight for at least three months.

Who can be a good candidate for Double chin Treatment ?

The best candidate is an adult 18 years or older with moderate to severe fat beneath the chin. You might not be a good candidate if you have had or are planning to have facial surgery, if you have trouble swallowing, are pregnant or nursing, or have an infection or medical condition in or near the planned injection site.