Why Am I Losing Volume in My Face?

Faces change over time.  Why they change is one of the most common queries we get when assessing someone in both of our offices here at Maine Laser Skin Care.

To many people, this process seemed sudden.  In reality, the loss of facial volume is usually gradual, but annoyingly persistent.

There is not just one cause of facial volume loss.  However, some factors can definitely be minimized or avoided:

1.) Sun Exposure-  Ultraviolet radiation from the sun, and especially from tanning beds, accelerates the skin's aging process by depleting the collagen beneath the epidermis and reducing skin elasticity.  Both of these effects result in loss of volume and sagging of the skin over time.  For those 'sun lovers', these symptoms can happen as early as the age of 30.

2.) Smoking-  Besides all of the other bad effects of smoking on the lungs and cardiovascular system, smoking causes a gradual decrease of collagen on the face, especially around the mouth.  Think "smoker's lines".  Add in the blood flow compromise and destruction of elastin fibers in the skin from smoking, and you have a recipe for volume loss and wrinkles.

3.) Weight Loss-  Although in general, unlike smoking and excessive tanning, losing weight is considered a positive process for your body, it can result in an unexpected loss of facial volume.  The loss of 5-10 pounds of body weight can remove multiple ounces of fat in the face, causing thinning and wrinkling.  The previous fat within the fat pads of the face can sometimes disguise the loss of collagen over time.

4.) Hydration-  Frankly, many people do not drink enough water.  When your skin cells become dehydrated, they shrink in size, resulting in a sunken and dry appearance especially in the face.  Relative dehydration also causes slowing of the production of new collagen, compounding the loss of volume of the cells themselves.

5.) Bone Loss-  After menopause and due to the loss of estrogen, many women experience conditions known as osteopenia and osteoporosis.  These are essentially conditions which result in thinning of and loss of bone.  Although most commonly problematic in the hips and spine, making women more prone to bone fractures, thinning of the facial bones can also result in the appearance of loss of volume.

Obviously, some of these causes of facial volume loss can be halted by changes in lifestyle including avoiding tanning, refraining from smoking, and drinking more water.  However, the facial volume loss caused by loss of collagen, facial fat pads, and bone structure can be significantly helped by the use of different dermal fillers.

The Juvederm family of fillers, which includes specific fillers of various thicknesses, can be used to address many of these aesthetic issues.  Restoring facial volume with fillers can combat the forces of aging and time and rejuvenate the face.

We here at Maine Laser Skin Care are among the busiest aesthetic practitioners in Maine.  We have a wealth of experience from decades of using dermal fillers to customize the rejuvenation of faces of all ages, genders, and ethnicities.

Call either our Scarborough office at (207) 303-0125 or our Augusta office at (207) 873-2158 to schedule a free and individualized consultation.  Especially if you notice a gradual loss of volume in your face, we can certainly help you restore much of it.