What changes can you expect in your teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, and what about.. 50s, 60s and later in life?
Plastic surgeon Dr. Bryce Cowan takes us through a tour of expectations in terms of the physiological changes that occur. Understanding that there are individual differences, it’s a guide of what we can expect in our coming years. The aging process begins a lot earlier than most of us understand it to be.
By the mid to late 20s, we’re starting to see dynamic wrinkles around or between the eyebrows from movements or facial animation. For some people early stage fixed wrinkling may be starting. These wrinkles typically become more established in the 30s. These dynamic and early stage fixed wrinkles are the predominant signs of aging in this age group.
In the mid 40s to early 50s, we start to see major changes in the attenuation of the face, and the “inverted triangle of youth” begins to break down. The fat pads which initially sit high in the face in youth, begin to dissolve and the supporting ligaments that hold the fat pads in these positions break down, which causes hollowing of the cheeks, and the overall youthful look to fade. The combination of general loss of volume and the change in relative position of the fat pads continues causing heaviness of the nasal folds, jowls, and other known features of aging to appear.
In the 60s, these processes compound, thinning of the skin becomes more apparent, and elastin proteins deteriorate further, and wrinkling also occur in other areas as well. Relaxation of the underlying muscles also cause neck bands and other folds as well. Finally, these changes are different for every individual, based on their genetic and environmental backgrounds and one patient may not see these changes occur for a decade later than another patient.
See our subsequent videos for treatment options, the pros and cons in considering the various modalities.
