As our patients age, most will visit our clinics describing their main concerns as ‘looking old and tired’, having lacklustre skin and no longer having the ‘glow of youth’. This is because, as we age, the dermis thins and morphological changes, along with genetic and lifestyle choices, contribute to a diminished appearance.
Facial ageing is a multifactorial process. There have been many theories on how the face ages, but these have developed with our increased understanding on how the bones, fat, muscles, soft tissue, skin and facial volume depletion changes.1-8
Epidermal thinning and variations in collagen cause the skin to age and lose elasticity. Gravity is also a factor, as the pull of the facial muscles causes the formation of wrinkles and lines that move with animation.9
As the skeleton is the foundation for all overlying structures it is important that we address the support it gives. Remodelling of the skeleton adds to morphological changes of ageing. If the…
