Aging takes a toll on every part of your body, both aesthetically and physically. Your face, in particular, develops lines, wrinkles, creases and folds that give you an aged and tired look. The lower face typically develops the earliest signs of aging, and the changes are very gradual. You may not even notice that your contours are slipping away until one day you look in the mirror and wonder what happened to your youthful appearance. Contouring the lower face with various cosmetic procedures produces some of the most dramatic improvements in how you look and feel.

How Aging Affects the Lower Face

Aging is a complex process that is unique to each patient. Lines, wrinkles and folds form for different reasons, the most common of which are:

• Diminishing supplies of collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin

• Fat loss and shifting

• Reduced skin elasticity

The Role of Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid, and Elastin

Collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin are three of the most important components in the skin. Collagen provides an underlying support structure and gives your skin a firm, smooth texture. Hyaluronic acid is the substance that gives young skin a soft, supple glow. It works with water to maintain volume in the skin and keep the skin hydrated. The third component, elastin, is what helps your skin stay in place and resist stretching and pulling. When you do not have enough elastin, your skin sags.

The Role of Fat for Facial Contours

Your face has contours because you have areas of fat in your cheeks and other areas. As we age, the fat breaks down, and gravity pulls the fat downward. Your contours slowly lose shape, giving your face a drawn and flat appearance.

Skin Elasticity

Elastin is found around each of the cells in your connective tissue. The protein gives the tissue properties to expand and contract without damaging the original shape. As you lose elastin, your skin can no longer maintain shape around your bone structure and fat deposits. The result is sagging, loose skin that creates folds along your contours.

The Effects of Losing Contours in the Lower Face

The lower face, including the jawline, chin, and cheeks, plays a crucial role in maintaining facial symmetry and definition. These natural contours catch light and create soft highlights and shadows that contribute to a balanced, youthful appearance. Over time, gravity and volume loss in the upper and mid-face can cause sagging, which shifts weight downward. This results in hollow cheeks, under-eye depressions, loose skin along the jawline, and diminished neck definition. Deep lines such as nasolabial folds and marionette lines may also develop, giving the face a tired or aged look. To counter these changes, many individuals seek the expertise of leading Chicago plastic surgeons or those in their local area, who offer advanced, personalized procedures designed to restore structure, lift sagging features, and rejuvenate the overall facial profile.

The Importance of Lower Face Contouring

The combination of fewer key proteins in the skin, changes to fat, and the effects of gravity are most significant in the lower face, such as the chin, lips, cheeks, mouth, nose, jawline and upper neck. Contouring in this area produces the most dramatic results of any type of facial plastic surgery. Women regain their feminine and soft contours along the jawline and upper neck area, and the lips are most pronounced after wrinkles and lines are reduced around the nose and mouth. The cheeks are full, and there are with soft shadows just under the cheekbones, and this enhances the way that the eyes look. For men, lower face contouring restores the jawline to look more masculine and chiseled, and the profile has a stronger presence.

Lower Face Contouring for Younger Patients

Lower facial contouring is not reserved for men and women who want to reduce the effects of aging. The techniques can be used on younger patients who may have larger amounts of fat along the jaw and around the mouth. Lower facial contouring is also used to add volume to cheeks that are naturally flat and under-defined. Men and women who have a small area of excess fat along the jaw are able to soften the contour from the lower cheek to the underside of the jawline.

What to Expect After Contouring the Lower Face

Although contouring the lower face can dramatically enhance appearance, the specific changes made through cosmetic procedures might not be immediately obvious. What stands out instead is a more defined, balanced look that highlights natural beauty. Treatments such as chin implants and similar others elsewhere, can subtly refine facial contours, boosting harmony and proportion without drawing attention to the fact that any work was done.

Procedures for Contouring the Lower Face

Contouring of the lower face is tailored to each patient, and your treatment plan may include:

• Mini facelift

• Ultherapy treatments

• Botox

• Dermal Fillers

• Neck liposuction

• Treatment for a double chin

The downtime and healing for each of these procedures vary. Botox® and dermal fillers require no downtime and give your face an immediate refreshed appearance. Liposuction and a mini facelift offer minimal downtime and the most comprehensive improvements to the lower face.

Aging of the face is inevitable. If you are considering a Mini facelift in New York, (or elsewhere) you may want to choose someone like Dr. Andrew Jacono, a global authority in the field of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. However, it is essential that you look around and see what else is available so that you make the best decision for your skin and self confidence.