Using Filler To Lift the Lower Face
Genetics plays an important role in aging. How your mama ages can provide a glimpse into how your face may change over time. As we age and lose volume, the contour of the face changes, causing shadow patterns to develop while youthful highlights fade.
The Triangle of Youth
In our younger years, facial features are defined and well contoured. This is commonly described as the triangle of youth and is associated with high cheekbones, full cheeks, and a defined jawline. Darker skin tones and variations in facial structure often delay the outward signs of aging.
The Inverted Triangle
As we mature, facial bone changes, soft tissue (like fat-pads) deflate and fall due to gravity, and skin sags and drops downward. Facial fat-pads shift, while the fat-pads beneath the chin can increase in prominence, causing fullness between the neck and chin, AKA a double chin and jowling. Volume loss below the eyes in the cheek area is one of the most common signs of aging.
Options for Action
The first option here is to do nothing. Maturity is beautiful and exemplifies life and experience and wisdom. My belief stands that the most impactful action is to take good care of yourself from the inside out: eat the rainbow, move your body, sleep, be mindful, and get a whole lotta lovin. Then there is hyaluronic acid filler. I learned some AMAZING techniques recently that I have been applying in my practice to restore the triangle of youth.
A rule of thumb with filler is to start ‘up and out’ and move our way ‘inward and downward.’ This is because targeting the lateral face has the ability to precondition the medial midface so that the volume of filler needed is reduced (1).
The first place I typically like to start when performing a panfacial treatment is termed the ‘temporal lifting technique.’ This is when we place one injection of filler just behind the hairline in the temporal region of the head. This one point has been shown to reduce the signs of age-related changes in the middle and lower face, i.e. 'marionette lines’ and jowls (2). Even more, we can combine this temporal lifting technique with:
Treatment of the lateral cheek, to prime the middle cheek area so we don’t need much product
Lateral tear trough, giving the greatest surface area projection compared to anywhere else on the face
Deep pyriform space which targets the upper portion of the nasolabial fold and repositions the medial cheek
Together, this treatment
Increases the volume of the middle cheek and supports the tear trough/lower eye area
Decreases the volume of the lateral cheek, giving the face a slimmer look
Improves the jawline contour
I’m so excited to be offering these transformational treatments! Your safety is my priority as giving natural-looking and long lasting results. Schedule your complimentary consultation and see if you are a candidate for treatment.
Resources
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34021958/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30091260/