Chin Up! It’s Almost a New Year!

After the buzz of the holiday season has ended, we get to work outlining the ways we can improve our lives in the coming months. A new year gives most of us a boost of motivation to handle aspects of life that aren’t as ideal as we’d like them. This leads many of us to make small (or significant) changes to our diet or exercise routine. It leads some to consider how they can correct the cosmetic concerns that have sprouted up. One of the complaints that a lot of people have is that they feel as though their face is “falling.” We know why, and we have a solution that may be far easier than you would imagine.

Jowls: The Mystery Problem of Age

Jowls are the pockets of sagging tissue that form on the sides of the face where the jawline was once angular and smooth. Jowls begin as a softening of the skin and eventually progress into noticeable drooping, or falling. There are a few reasons for the appearance of this mystery tissue.

Vital Skin Proteins Get Depleted

For the skin to remain firm, smooth, and youthful, it relies on a steady influx of collagen and elastin. Collagen is the protein that is known for its healing properties. When we scrape a knee, collagen gets sent in to repair damaged cells. This protein also serves skin that hasn’t been injured. Elastin, produced in the dermis alongside collagen, allows the skin to bounce back when stretched. Without adequate amounts of these proteins, the skin will weaken and loosen, contributing to jowl formation.

Lifestyle

Genetics is partially responsible for how much collagen and elastin a person produces and how thick or thin their skin is naturally. We cannot control this. What we can control are the environmental factors that can make it easier for jowls to develop. These include:

  • Spending a lot of time in the sun. Tanners, beware. The UV light in sunshine (and also tanning beds) degrades both collagen and elastin.
  • Fluctuating in weight. Gaining and losing weight nearly always affects the face. The extra stretching of the skin, combined with the loss of collagen and elastin, makes it more difficult to maintain a sharp jawline.
  • The chemicals in cigarettes degrade collagen and also deprive tissue of adequate oxygenation for regeneration.
  • Excessive drinking. Every alcoholic beverage one consumes depletes the body of hydration. Dehydrated skin is less plump and resilient.

Eliminating Jowls is Easier Than Ever

Jowls aren’t a fat issue, though there is some fatty tissue that slips to the lower face with age. Jowls are an issue of weakened skin. Without sufficient collagen, there is little hope of reversing this problem. Except with a Silhouette InstaLift. This in-office treatment does not require general anesthesia nor much downtime. Patients return home shortly after their procedure, in which dissolvable sutures are inserted into subcutaneous tissue, to rest for the remainder of the day. Over time, the sutures, which feature bi-directional cones to secure skin in a tighter position, go away. They leave a new track of collagen behind to support healthier, younger-looking skin.

Learn more about the Silhouette InstaLift. Schedule a consultation with us at (212) 508-0000.

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