Ageing. As we age, our skin's most vital proteins, collagen and elastin, break down, which over time can lead to sagging. Once we hit 20, we produce about 1% less collagen a year, causing our skin to become thinner and more fragile. That's the perfect recipe for saggy skin and jowls.
Those darn jowls come about because our bodies begin to stop producing collagen and elastin. This starts and continues every decade beginning in our 20s. Genetics, as well as time, gravity, lifestyle and skin care, will determine when the loss of volume, sagging, wrinkles and dryness will visible attack.
Saggy jowls, simply put, are caused by a loss of elasticity in the skin of the lower face. This is typically caused by a decrease in the body's own collagen production, which typically starts to develop in patients who are in their late 30's or early 40's, though it can develop earlier.
There are several options for treating sagging jowls or reducing how saggy or droopy they appear. Surgical procedures, such as neck lifts, can tighten your skin and make it look less saggy. Nonsurgical procedures, such as thermage, lasers, and peels, can change the composition of the collagen in your skin.
Almost everyone eventually gets jowls, but several factors can contribute to their development. Factors include damage, poor diet, repetitive facial motions, and sudden weight loss. While jowls are harmless, some people may feel uncomfortable about how they look.
Most people begin to notice a shift in the appearance of their face around their 40's and 50's, with some also noticing a change in their 30's. But with these physical changes brought on by aging also comes a change in the appearance of our face - Luckily, there is treatment available.
If you are overweight, sensible dieting and a regular cardiovascular workout will burn fat from all areas, including your face. For some people, the difference will be dramatic; for others, less so, but all should enjoy some improvement in facial appearance.
While the aging process can't be reversed, you can dramatically reduce jowls with the following procedures: Facelift (surgical) Neck lift (surgical) Laser resurfacing using needles to reach treatment areas (minimally-invasive procedure with five to seven days of downtime)
For some reason, people seem to forget that facial muscles also need to be exercised on a regular basis in order to maintain a healthy muscle tone. Exercising the lower face and chin and jaw muscles may help prevent jowls or loose, sagging skin around the jawline as you age.
As far as the female or male aging timeline, the biggest changes typically occur when people are in their 40s and 50s. However, it's not unlikely to notice changes in your mid to late-30s, as well. Some of the first signs of aging are droopy skin, smile lines, and wrinkles. These changes can be jarring, but natural.
For Caucasian women, it's typically around the late 30s. "This is when fine lines on the forehead and around the eyes, less-elastic skin, and brown spots and broken capillaries from accumulated sun damage crop up," says Yagoda. If you're a woman of color, the tipping point is more likely in your 40s.
Unfortunately, there are some factors that can accelerate sagging and aging. Some of the causes of early sagging are: inadequate sleep, physical or emotional stress, smoking, alcohol and the use of recreational drugs. In addition, a strong genetic predisposition to early sagging takes a big part in causing this.
In your late 20s with mild laxity and jowls, the use of ULTHERAPY followed by fillers in strategic areas can make a marked improvement. This device works by heating your collagen and deeper layers with ultrasound.
Facial muscle degradation.
As our facial muscles become weaker and smaller with age, the facial skin has less “area” to cover, creating a sagging appearance.
Loss of fat in our face
In our youthful face, we have areas of fat which keep our skin plump and taut. As we age, these areas of fat begin to diminish. This allows the skin to sag. The areas where fat loss is most noticed is in the temples, under the eyes, and in the cheek area.
As we age gravity pulls on our lower face, leading to sagging jowls, decreased elasticity and hanging skin of the chin, neck and lower face. Injecting Botox® in this area can provide a subtle lift, helping you look younger and refreshed.
Jowls develop as the skin becomes less elastic with age because of elastin and collagen loss. Jowl development is also affected by various other factors including certain lifestyle choices and facial movement habits, genetic predisposition, exposure to sunlight, and chronic stress.
Botox reduces sagging jowls by tightening and lifting the jaw area. This pulls back the excess sagging skin that creates jowls in the first place.
This is called extrinsic aging. As a result, premature aging can set in long before it was expected. In other words, your biological clock is more advanced than your chronological clock. Controllable factors such as stress, smoking and sun exposure can all play a role in expediting extrinsic aging.
This doesn't just include wrinkles, but things like dry skin and tired eyes, which can both be avoided. Reddit user Redhaired103 posted in /r/AskWomen that dark circles, pale skin, puffy eyes, and heavy makeup can also make you look older.
In men looking older than you should is related to a high serum cholesterol and haemoglobin. In women looking older may be related to a high ESR and a low serum bilirubin. Predictably looking older was related to baldness, greying of the hair, arcus senilis, and skin inelasticity.
Jowls happen as we lose elasticity in the skin with age and the skin below your chin or jawline drops, says Dr Rita Rakus of the Dr Rakus Clinic in Knightsbridge. “As we age, almost everyone will experience this sagging chin. Sagging jowls occur when your skin becomes thinner and the elasticity of the skin decreases.”
Ultherapy For Jowls
Reported celebrity fans of Ultherapy include Jennifer Aniston, Vanessa Williams and Christie Brinkley who range in age from 49 to 64, (and look amazing on it). The reason they love the non-invasive therapy is because it stimulates production of collagen, levels of which drop off with age.
But wrinkles and other signs of aging can start to appear even in your 20s. That's because the skin damage often begins in childhood and continues through the years. Even when you're young, you can start to ward off signs of aging with a skin care regimen that nourishes the skin – and by doing proper preventive care.