Folds & Sagging
Plastic surgeons talk about the inverted cone of youth ie that the youthful face is like a triangle turned upside down, with the broadest part being across the cheekbones , and the apex being the chin. The structure of the mid face is maintained by deep fascial fat pads over the zygoma ( cheek bone) and maxilla ( upper jaw) that form the scaffolding of the face.As we get older, those fat pads shrink, and the skin sags, forming deep folds (nasolabial folds, marionette lines, jowls).
There are 2 solutions for this problem
- A surgical facelift ( where the excess skin is separated from the underlying facial tissue and fixated up behind the hairline)
- A Volume lift (sometimes referred to as a 'SoftLift') where dermal fillers are injected into different planes of the midface - working from the bone through the deep fat compartments and the subcutaneous fat layer - to reconstruct the 'scaffolding'..
Examples of such fillers would be Juvederm Voluma, ( a hyaluronic acid filler);Sculptra or Radiesse ( both collagen-stimulating fillers).Many plastic surgeons and cosmetic physicians prefer this approach to the classic facelift, as it gives a more natural looking result.
Tip --- At the most recent AGM of the American College of Aesthetic & Plastic Surgeons, it was noted that more and more doctors are shying away from the use of 'permanent' implants such as Silicone, and permanent fillers such as polymethylmethacrylate (Artecoll, Artesense) due to the higher rate of scarring, nodules and other complications with these materials....