The One Place You Don’t Want to Lose Fat From
Your Face! Facial fat volume loss is a part of aging and there isn’t much you can do about it. We all have a certain amount of facial fate that we are genetically born with. The fat can be increased by gaining weight and decreased by severe weight loss (think Ozempic face, but it has nothing to do with the ozempic itself). One of the very few advantages of being a little chubby is that you don’t get nearly as many wrinkles as someone who is leaner. If you are very thin, especially as you hit menopause, you may notice alot more fine lines and wrinkles starting to show. As we hit menopause, we get significantly accelerated fat and now bone loss from the face and it is the loss of the underlying volume that is responsible for most of the changes we recognize as being associated with aging.
When you are young, your skin has lots of collagen and elastin that helps it drape beautifully over the underlying bone, muscles and fat pads. The skin is supple so when you smile, you might get a little dimple, but it quickly fades. As we loose both the collagen and elastin that helps with the beautiful draping and the volume loss that allows all of the face to shift down and in, we suddenly look … old. When this is combined with excessive weight loss, the aging effect is even more dramatic.
Is there anything we can do to stop this onslaught of volume loss. Why yes there is. Number one always and forever is healthy diet and lifestyle. Number 2 is sunscreen. Even if you do these things perfectly though, you will still see the signs of aging, so lets talk about how we can restore this lost volume. You can use dermal fillers to add back some structure. This is especially helpful over the cheeks and in the lip. You can also use filler in the jaw line and to help correct the jowl look, but making sure you have made effective use of botox first is essential. These dermal fillers help to mimic the lost fullness under the skin. It acts as a tissue expander and when the overlying tissue becomes draped over the new structure, many of the wrinkles fade and you are left looking more like you.
Are there areas you don’t want to use dermal filler? Yes. Trying to use filler to fill in every superficial wrinkle often leaves the face looking heavy and pillowy and this is especially true in the nasal-labial folds. You also want to make sure you use the right type of filler in the right location. This can mean something soft and stretchy for kissable lips and firm and volumizing for diminished cheekbones.
You can also use medications that help stimulate the production of new collagen and elastin that will help to essentially “grow” your own filler. One product you may have heard of in this area is sculptra.
The newest kid on the block though is one of the most exciting. What about injecting your own growth factors? By using PRP (platelet rich plasma) you can increase the amount of your body’s own stem cells in the skin. This prevents the potential complications of allergic/inflammatory reactions and vascular occlusions. The downside - it’s not going to have the kind of sturdy structure that some of the dermal fillers can provide. You may still need one of those heavier fillers to given enought “stand up” shape. They can be used togehter however, so that isn’t a problem.
Finally, there is always the option of harvesting fat from another site of the body to used to restore the lost volume. This can be a great option and tends to offer natural results and the benefit of not causing an allergic reaction (though it can still casue a vascular occulsion). It also has another downside. The fat will behave like the site it was taken from - not like facial fat, so if you gain 20 lbs … and the fat was from your stomach … you just never know.
Hopefully this will help you understand the range of options we have to help someone look their best and continue to look as young as they feel. If you are concerned about this, feel free to reach out and we will set you up with a consultation.