With age comes wisdom, experience, and inner peace. But for all the growth of the soul, aging also brings inevitable changes to our physical appearance that many people would like to prevent.
Fortunately, we now have techniques and procedures at our disposal that can slow and even reverse the physical changes that occur as our faces and bodies age.
Here, Dr. Josh Waltzman of The Waltzman Institute discusses precisely what happens as our faces age. He goes on to highlight the best surgical and non-surgical procedures that plastic surgeons can use to slow the hands of time.
While many people age differently, there are a number of general physical changes that occur to most peoples’ faces as they get older. These include;
Many of these changes happen because of sun damage to our skin, and others occur due to repetitive muscle movements and the loss of structural integrity of the skin and fat tissue. Over time as our cells age, they begin to produce less of the compounds that give our facial features definition and structure. In particular, collagen is an essential structural compound in the skin, and skin cells make less of it as we age. This decline in collagen production results in saggy features, loose skin, and wrinkles.
Many of the treatments that are designed to combat the signs of aging are aimed at restoring volume and structure to the face. Others are focused on healing sun-damaged skin to restore skin tone and pigmentation.
Some people desire drastic anti-aging treatments, such as surgical intervention, whereas some prefer minimally invasive procedures that ‘touch up’ their physical appearance.
The most comprehensive of anti-aging treatments, a facelift is a surgical procedure that tightens the skin of the entire face and repositions all of the facial features. For some patients, it provides a perfect solution to their aging concerns.
Facelift techniques have improved tremendously over the past few years, and results look increasingly natural. A facelift is the procedure-of-choice for over 120,000 Americans every year. However, the procedure can be costly and for some people involves too much downtime in recovery.
For this reason, plastic surgeons have developed many other less invasive methods of slowing the aging process. A liquid facelift may appeal to patients not wishing to undergo surgery.
The cause of aging appearances for many stems from repeated facial movements, which leads to what are known as static wrinkles. Static wrinkles form when the musculature of the face becomes permanently set, causing deep lines in the skin.
In these instances, neuromodulators such as botulinum toxins, in the form of injectable products such as Botox, Dysport, and Jeuveau, can relax the facial muscles that are responsible for the underlying movements that cause the wrinkles. This eliminates the wrinkling for months after placement, restoring youthfulness to the face.
As we have mentioned, losing facial definition and fullness is a common sign of aging caused by the loss of collagen and facial fat.
Dermal fillers are injectable cosmetic products that can be introduced to the desired areas of the face to add fullness and volume to that area – both signs of youth and vibrancy.
By replacing the lost structural components of the face, dermal fillers provide exceptional anti-aging results on a semi-permanent basis, with most patients only needing 2-3 treatments (which take only fifteen minutes) per year to maintain a rejuvenated, youthful appearance.
The loss of collagen and skin elasticity, which characterizes aging for many people, now also has a revolutionary new treatment – Renuvion. Renuvion is a minimally invasive, highly effective treatment that tightens the skin and encourages the skin to remain taught and smooth.
Aging is a part of everyone’s life. How we each choose to age, however, is up to us.
With the improvement of technology and a better understanding of the aging process, trained, certified, and expert plastic surgeons such as Dr. Josh Waltzman offer his patients in Long Beach, CA, the opportunity to prolong their youthful appearances well past the standard ages. Don’t hesitate to arrange your own consultation by calling (562) 448-6100, or have any questions answered by filling out his online form.
