A gracefully aging face is a beautiful thing, but there are changes that occur with age that we like to slow down. Age affects every part of the body. Along with wisdom, experience, and achievements that come with aging, there are changes that occur in our outward appearance. Changes in our faces are seen first
How the face ages
Dozens of changes happen as we age, some obvious and familiar:
The forehead expands as hairlines recede
Ears often lengthen slightly as the cartilage in them continues to grow
Nose tips can droop because connective tissue weakens supporting nasal cartilage.
There are also structural changes going on behind the scenes. When we are young, the fat in the face is evenly distributed, filling the forehead, temples, cheeks and the areas around the eyes and mouth. With age, that fat loses volume, clumps up and shifts downward, so areas that were previously round can sag and skin that's smooth and tight comes loose and droops. Meanwhile, other areas of the face get fat, especially the lower half, so we tend to get flabby around the chin and cramping in the neck.
And of course there are the wrinkles. Those deep lines in the forehead and between the eyebrows are called expression lines. They are the result of facial muscles that are constantly wrinkling and eventually show up on the skin. Other folds may become deeper because of the way fat decreases and moves. Finer wrinkles are due to sun damage, smoking and natural degeneration of elements of the skin that keep it thick and supple.
What can I do about my aging face? Even if you have great genes and look much younger than you are, changes in our facial appearance are inevitable with age. Those changes reflect our enjoyment and challenges in life. One approach is to simply celebrate our age and appearance for what they are. Not everyone feels comfortable with that. The old-fashioned facelift, which surgically removes excess tissue and lifts sagging skin in the lower part of the face, is one way of trying to turn the tide of time. Facelifts have been improved, making the results look more natural. But the surgery is expensive, and other procedures may be needed to achieve the desired results. The facelift procedure is not one of the most popular cosmetic procedures, and fortunately there are now plenty of alternatives for changing the aging face.
While most of these rejuvenating procedures are non-surgical, they don't come cheap, especially when you have to factor in the need for repeat treatments. Here's just an example of some of the things you can do to give your face a more youthful appearance:
Sun protection. Protecting your face from the sun is the best way to keep it young. Much of the damage comes from the UVA part of the light spectrum, so you should use sunscreen that protects against it and UVB light, which causes sunburn.
Creams and lotions. Moisturizers soothe dry skin and can temporarily make wrinkles less noticeable. Moisturizers for the face contain water to make them less greasy, and have many substances that can help bind water to the skin. Exfoliant creams can improve the appearance of older skin by quickly removing dead skin cells.
Botulinum toxin injections. These injections are used to treat the expression lines of the forehead and between the eyebrows. They work by partially immobilizing the muscles that form expression lines, so that the skin becomes smoother, although some deep expression lines do not disappear.
Skin fillers. Dermal fillers are used to treat lines formed by lost collagen and fat. After botulinum toxin injections, dermal filler injections are the most common cosmetic procedures. Prime locations for the injections are the lines extending from the nose to the corners of the mouth, and from the corners of the mouth to the chin.
Laser treatments. Lasers can be used for freckles, liver spots and broken capillaries, among other things. They are also used for the entire facial skin.
