Losing Weight Made Me Look Older

You are doing everything right- you exercise, you eat a healthy diet, but your face is starting to look older and more tired.  Or, you’ve lost 20 pounds because you wanted to be more fit, but your eyes and cheeks are looking more sunken.

When we are born, we have round, chubby faces.  Our cheeks are smooth and plump and there is nary a line to be seen.  After our 20’s, we begin to lose fat in our faces.  The fat cells shrink, or atrophy and the result is a more aged-looking face.  Shadows under the eyes (nasojugal folds), creases next to the nose (nasolabial folds), and wrinkles at the corners of the mouth (marionette lines) all start to appear.  Cheeks and temples start to sink.  And it happens to some of us more than others.

We naturally lose facial fat over many years, gradually.  But some will rapidly lose a dramatic amount of weight through bariatric surgery (lap band, gastric sleeve, etc.) or major lifestyle changes.  The massive weight loss population often sees a dramatic change in facial features and can see an accelerated process of aging when looking in the mirror.

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This person below lost approximately 100 pounds in about a years time through diet and exercise alone. You’ll notice substantial aging changes: a sagging neck, more wrinkles around the eyes, forehead, lips, and next to the nose, and an overall deflated look. She is definitely healthier for having lost the weight, but the older appearance is a trade-off.

To counteract deflation from weight loss, the face can be re-filled.  The two best options to put back what was lost are

1. Filler injections – soft, biocompatible substances are placed under the skin to add volume.  These can include Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm, Juvederm Voluma, Radiesse, and Sculptra.  Of these, Juvderm Voluma, Perlane and Sculptra last the longest.  The procedure consists of an office visit and several pinches from the injections.  Downtime is minimal in most cases and results last from 1-3 years depending on the filler used (Sculptra can last more than 2 years but it is limited to cheek and temples mostly).

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2. Fat injections – Your own fat is suctioned from one part of your body, like your waist or thighs and it is layered under the skin of the face.  The results are not always as predictable as fillers and there is some more downtime- usually 1-2 weeks of swelling and bruising.  But the results can last for many years, possibly permanent.

Below is an example of subtle rejuvenation via cheek volumization using Sculptra filler. Sculptra is very popular here in NY because it doesn’t require a long period of downtime and it is long-lasting.  Fat injections are more popular when other surgery is being done at the same time (e.g. eyelid lift, facelift, brow lift).

I have heard of people doing this, but you’re better off being healthy and thinner.  You can always visit a expert injector (I offer consultations in NYC) to add a youthful fullness back to your face without looking unnatural.  Ask to see before and after photos of other patients so you know that your doctor has similar aesthetic ideals.A study has shown that losing weight can make a person look older as fat loss could accelerate the aging process by deflating the cheeks and hollowing the eyes.

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This phenomenon is called the 'Diet Face' which was previously thought to be due to the gravity that has taken the toll on the body years later.

After analyzing the CT head scans of 19 middle-aged volunteers that are taken a decade apart, the researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin found thatweight loss, instead of gravity, caused the aging processing to accelerate which makes people look older.

The findings could lead to better facelifts technology and help understand how many celebrities look much older after they trim down weight. Some of these celebrities are Simon Cowell, Celine Dion, Lenny Henry, Davina McCall, Renee Zellweger, and former Chancellor Nigel Lawson.

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Singer Celine Dion (LEFT) backstage during the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images); and Celine Dion (RIGHT) attends the Giorgio Armani Prive Haute Couture Spring Summer 2019 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 22, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

MailOnlinereportedthat the findings of the study confirm the volume loss theory of aging. In particular, lead author Dr. Aatron Morgan said that facial fat loss removes support from the overlaying fat, which causes the deepening of the nasolabial fold that runs through the nose to the mouth.

Moreover, fat loss near the surface deflates the cheeks making the jowls descend that it loses the shape or definition around the jawline. At the same time, volume loss around the eyes makes it look hollow.

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Dr. Morgan explained that the face looks older after losing weight because it has less fat in the first place, making fat loss more apparent. Although the results may vary across people, they all showed definite and measurable loss of midface fat volume.

Furthermore, Collins Dentistry and Aestheticssaid that facial fat is associated with youth so losing facial fat could make the face depleted. Plus, the skin loses elasticity during old age, and without the volume that supports it, the asking could sag and fold, creating facial folds, wrinkles, turkey neck, and jowls.

The study, published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, concludes that fat serves as the scaffolding that holds the face up to prevent it from sagging.

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To counteract the problem of looking old after losing weight, the person may opt todo facial treatmentsto their skin, which provides nutrients and stimulate the healing mechanism of the body to help the face look younger. Also, they could choose to do facelift like what many people, like celebrities, do with their skin.

The researchers of the study think that the findings could help plastic surgeons design more natural approaches in face rejuvenation to recreate the facial fat distribution of youth.

This proves there is volume depletion and not just laxity of tissues with aging. So, volume replacement should be used in addition to surgical procedures to attempt to recreate the youthful face, Dr. Morgan said.

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Understanding the mechanisms behind weight loss and sagging facial skin is paramount in the field of plastic surgery. Doctors advise those who are dieting to lose weight gradually and eat plenty ofOmega-3-rich fish, fruits, and vegetables to achieve a healthy weight loss.

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