Essentially facial aging is a process that starts from birth that many don’t seem to notice until we reach our mid-forties. There are 3 different things that are happening as we ride the “conveyor belt of life and facial aging”. Volume is lost in many areas of the face, most of which is in the soft tissue, even though there is actually some bone wasting as well. There are also some significant changes in the skin that take place that is related to thinning of the dermis ( the under surface of the skin ) and thickening to the epidermis ( the outer layer of the skin ). Thirdly, everyone is subjected to earth’s gravitational force when we enter the world and over time this too takes its toll, and the face and neck begin to sag. Of course, not everyone ages in the exact same way and not everyone ages at the same rate.
So to counter facial aging I think of it like this…there are those treatments that can slow down the aging process ( slow the conveyor belt ) and there are those treatments that will reverse much of the physical signs of aging ( pick you up off the conveyor belt and move you to a spot that you were once on ).
Typically, the nonsurgical treatments that we offer in our MedSpa will slow down the aging process and show some improvement almost immediately. We offer BOTOX® injections to lesson creases in the skin that are caused by dynamic muscle activity and often it can be used to get some sagging areas on the face to lift temporarily. We offer a variety of skin rejuvenating treatments and skin care products, for home use, that will improve hydration, exfoliate, and protect the skin from further damage. Additionally, we offer a variety of filler or soft tissue plumping agents that will restore volume where volume has been depleted.
When someone wants or needs an actual reversal of the physical signs of aging, more significant treatments that are performed in the operating room are usually called for. Traditional procedures that work to alleviate sagging of skin and underlying soft tissue like facelifts, browlifts, blepharoplastys, and necklifts are performed routinely in our own accredited surgical facility. Often times in conjunction with these types of procedures we will combine them with structural fat grafting ( or filler injections ) to replenish volume and resurfacing procedures to improve the quality of the associated aged skin.
To understand more about facial aging or treatment to counteract a specific age related change, it is best to consult with an experienced Board Certified Plastic Surgeon.
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