I sometimes joke with my patients that if you look five years younger after treatment, the treatment is a success but if you look ten years younger, you have earned a new life. As I have emphasized already, it is important to focus on the pre-treatment design phase to achieve the right balance rather than performing the treatment without careful designing and end up with excess volume enhancement. How long you have been exposed to the pull of gravity is an important factor to consider in the design phase and can change the outcome. People in their 30s have been exposed to the downward force of about 9.8m/s² for 30 years and those in their 50s have been exposed to this force for a half decade.
Before we can discuss different strategies suitable for different age groups, it would help to go over common skin characteristics found in different age groups.
Image 1. 20s and 30~40s.
People in their 20s: There are a few people who congenitally have thin fat layers as well as thin epidermis, dermis and subcutis. However, most people in their 20s have rich collagen and subcutaneous fat volume as well as well-developed ligaments to hold them in place. This means you can use hard dermal fillers in vector increasing procedures with low risk of sagging. Subtle volume enhancement in Central Zone can bring visible improvements.
People in their 30s to 40s: This age group shows characteristics of both younger and older skins. Skin aging begins at around the age of 25 in most people. The aging signs do not occur all together at the same time but gradually appear as the skin goes through its cycles. The age of 25 is when the skin begins to show faint signs of aging as the collagen and fat layers begin to degrade. Regeneration and rejuvenation therapies can benefit this age group.
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Considering that the majority of aesthetic procedures and minimally invasive procedures are women (over 80% of my patients are women), many of the patients are going through pregnancy and childbirth. Pregnancy and childbirth bring drastic hormonal changes to the body and have significant impact on the skin. During this period, women also go through drastic weight change of at least 10kg to 20kg sometimes within just a year, and the skin inevitably suffers, losing elasticity and vitality. This loss of elasticity should be considered in the design phase.
-To be continued
