The Process of Facial Ageing: Sinking, Sagging and Wrinkling
As people undergo ageing, the facial features undergo three distinct processes: “Sinking”, “Sagging”, and “Wrinkling”. These changes take place not only due to changes in the skin, but also due to changes in soft tissue, musculature and even bone structure beneath. As they are different processes, they need to be tackled with different approaches.
Sinking 
Is your face losing volume like a slowly deflating balloon?
Skin’s lower layers are made up of collagen and elastin fibers housed in a matrix of the ground substance composed of glycosaminoglycans and hyaluronic acid. Skin’s ability to synthesize new collagen and elastin declines with age which contributes to both loss of elasticity and volume. With age, there is increased the enzymatic breakdown of collagen. The ground substance i.e. Hyaluronic acid also declines during ageing process; a 50-year-old is estimated to have half the hyaluronic acid level of a youth. The natural aging process also causes us to lose the subcutaneous fat from the face. By the age of 55, almost 40% of the fat in the face is lost, which once gave it a plump, full, youthful appearance. Additionally, the skin becomes thinner, and rougher in texture, contributing to a haggard appearance.
Sinking is characterized by volume loss around key areas of the face which can cause a sunken hollowed out appearance. The temples, mid-face and the area below the cheekbones are the most common places where this volume loss occurs.
Rapid weight loss can often accelerate the visual effects of ” Sinking” including a hollow facial appearance and loose, wrinkly skin this causes on their face.
This aspect of ageing is best combated with Dermal Fillers or a fat transfer procedure. By inserting volume into the hollowed out areas, we can plump the face, resulting in a vibrant youthful appearance. Non-invasive Radiofrequency treatment can also stimulate new collagen formation, resulting in the increase in volume beneath the skin.
Sagging
Does your skin looks like it’s hanging down from the bone structure beneath?
As the skin’s connective tissues lose their integrity, your face begins to lose the battle against gravity. This saggy appearance occurs when the skin begins to lose its elasticity and becomes too lax. As we age the skin’s connective tissues, elastin and collagen weaken and break down, so the skin loses its youthful, springy texture.
The most successful anti-aging treatments for ‘saggy’ faces involve a combination of volume restoration and collagen stimulation.
Younger patients can opt for a non-invasive radiofrequency treatment. Radiofrequency treatment heats the tissue underneath the skin and helps prevent the signs of ageing, by stimulating the body’s production of connective tissues, thereby tightening the skin and reducing the saggy, aged appearance. For more mature patients, we use a High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), which is also non-invasive. This treatment uses ultrasound to stimulate the collagen within the skin, creating a lifting effect. This is our most popular treatment for skin tightening and can turn back the clock by 5-10 years.
For more pronounced sagging, a facelift can be performed. At Skinnovation Clinics – The World of Aesthetics, state-of-the-art minimally invasive techniques like Endoscopic Face Lift Procedure and Puncture Suture Face Lift Procedure are offered for the first time in India. These procedures offer maximum results with minimal handling of tissues.
Wrinkling
Does your skin have fine or coarse lines?
Wrinkling is exhibited by clearly defined patches of wrinkly skin, often located around the eyes, brow and lips. These lines are caused by frequent fine motor movements of the face, repeated over many years.
Examples include:
- ‘Frown lines’ above and between brows caused by frequent use of facial muscles to express worry, anger, concentration.
- ‘Crow’s Feet’ – Fine lines radiating from the corners of the eyes, caused by peering into the sun, or at poorly lit work, or at a computer screen.
- Lines around the edges of the mouth caused by puckering lips to smoke or suck a straw.
The continuous excessive use of facial muscles for above actions causes minor lines and wrinkles that are dynamic at first, but transform into permanent wrinkles over time. Dynamic lines can be taken care of with Botox treatment, while static, permanent lines can be treated with dermal fillers. Botox treatment also helps prevent formation of permanent lines.
Most people exhibit a combination of these features as they age. Often, multiple modalities have to be resorted to in a sequential manner in order to achieve optimal results. It requires a thorough assessment by aesthetic experts for a customized treatment plan. At Skinnovation Clinics – The World of Aesthetics, availability of multiple modalities, state-of-the-art devices, and accomplished aesthetic physicians & cosmetic surgeons, enable us to offer the absolute solutions in anti-ageing treatments.
How to prevent/delay ageing changes?
Whether or not ageing changes are already apparent on your face, there are a number of measures you can take to stay healthy and keep yourself looking youthful:
- Avoid sunshine, to keep your skin shining: The ageing process is accelerated by exposure to sunshine, so stay in the shade, stay out of the mid-day sun, and regularly apply a good sunscreen.
- Be easy on the Alcohol: Keep your alcohol consumption to moderate levels. Excess alcohol can deprive the skin of the essential nutrients it needs to maintain a full, plump appearance. In the short-term, drinking alcohol can cause dehydration, which makes the skin look rough, dry and sunken.
- Kick that Cigarette Butt: Stop smoking. If you smoke, you ensure expedited degeneration of connective tissue beneath the skin. Also, repeated use of muscles around the mouth leads to those ugly smoker’s lines.
- Eat good, Stay young: Ensure you are eating a nutrient rich diet, that will supply your skin with the vitamins and antioxidants it needs to stay healthy.
- Healthy teeth, a reason to smile: Tooth Decay accelerates ageing changes of the lower face by altering soft tissue and bone structure around mouth. Maintain good oral hygiene and visit the dentist once every six months.
With healthy habits, and carefully targeted anti ageing treatments, you can turn back the clock and enjoy a more youthful appearance. Increasing age is compulsory, looking old is optional.
Skinnovation Clinics is regarded as top anti ageing treatment clinic in Delhi!
