FACIAL VOLUME LOSS
Facial volume loss is the result of change in the composition of skin fat, bone, and tendons. The skin’s fat distribution is affected by a multitude of factors including a change in body weight, excessive sun damage, and the body’s natural intrinsic aging process. Each of these factors cause a shift in skin’s superficial and deep fat distribution leading to a loss of facial volume.
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Volume loss is one of the biggest contributors to the external appearance of aging skin in patients. The loss of fat and bone makes patients look ‘hollow’, skin tends to ‘hang’ and ‘sag’’ more easily without a strong structure to hold it up and wrinkles and fine lines appear more pronounced. The result is that patients appear to lose the original angles and lines of their facial structure which maintained their youthful profile.
The Cause Of Skin Volume Loss
The cause of volume loss may vary patient-to-patient, but the generalized causes are much the same:
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Photodamage (from the sun and UVA and UVB radiation)
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The loss of skin’s natural fat and dermis with age
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Bone reabsorption
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Breakdown in collagen and elastin
How We Treat Volume Loss
The best way to treat facial volume loss is with injectable dermal fillers. Most of the fillers we use at Kline Dermatology are made with a synthetic hyaluronic acid (HA) base (a substance naturally found in the body especially around soft tissue in the joints), or calcium hydroxylapatite (a mineral compound also commonly found in the human body).
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While each brand of filler is suited to different facial needs (some are thicker or more viscous than others), all help fill in lost volume where a patient needs it most, whether that is a scar, pronounced cheek depressions, a ‘hollowing’ in the temples or around the mouth, nasolabial fold creases or a replumping of thinning lips.