Signs of Aging

Effectively Fight Against Aging

Skin aging is a natural process. Its effects and date of appearance, however, are specific to each person depending on their lifestyle and genes inherited from their parents. It is a consequence of the perpetual wear and tear of the structure of vital tissues.

The Ages of Beauty

Not all people are the same when it comes to the phenomenon of skin aging

Each age has different aesthetic treatments. Younger people use aesthetic medicine for prevention and surgery to correct defects that are not directly linked to aging. Later, over the years, we often resort to aesthetic medicine in addition to or to delay surgery. Despite everything, from a certain age, surgery becomes essential and reveals its full effectiveness, as for facelifts for example. This vision of aesthetics always applies in a very personalized way to each and every person. My role as a surgeon is first of all to listen to you to fully understand your wishes and of course to present to you the different medical and surgical alternatives available to you depending on your expectations, your age and your body type.

Aging Insight

Indices of Skin Aging

  • The skin presents a drier and rougher appearance, a consequence of changes occurring in the stratum corneum, which among other effects is less hydrated. On aged skin, the epidermis goes from 13 to 7% hydration. Deep dehydration occurs caused by a reduction in the renewal of hyaluronic acid.
  • Healing of aged skin is slowed by: Flattening of the dermal papillae and the dermo-epidermal junction, Atrophy of the epidermis and dermis, leading to a reduction in skin thickness.
    The skin’s ability to absorb UV rays is reduced. Melanocytes are less numerous and active, from the age of 30, of the order of -10 to -20% per decade. The risks of skin cancer increase accordingly.
  • Fine lines and fine wrinkles appear, the skin slackens. The number of collagen fibers as well as elastic fibers are reduced and thickened. From the age of 20, a woman will lose 1% of collagen per year on average. Type 1 collagen becomes predominant for production.
  • The skin loses sensitivity, due to the reduction in the number of Meissnez and Pacin corpuscles.
  • The skin’s immune responses become less effective. Mast cells and Langerhans cells see their number reduced (up to -50% in exposed areas for Langerhans).
  • The skin is paler, thermal regulation is less effective. The richness of the cutaneous vascular network decreases. Capillary fragility of the vessel walls appears, mainly on the forearms and the backs of the hands.
  • The sebaceous and sweat glands are fewer and less active, contributing to dry skin.
  • Whitening appears in the hair, caused by the reduction in the density of hair follicles.
  • The nails become more fragile and their regeneration speed decreases, they become less thick, yellow or gray in color. They also have an opaque or dull appearance with frequently longitudinal streaks.
  • Adipose tissue becomes thicker in the abdomen in men and the thighs in women. Conversely, it becomes thinner for the face, backs of the hands, shins and soles of the feet.

The Insight

The MOST Common PROCEDURES Concerns

Plastic Surgery

Other Causes of Aging

Environmental factors and our behaviors also have an impact on aging. According to dermatologists’ estimates, these exogenous factors are responsible for 90% of skin aging. Every person is different, some will look 10 years younger, while others will look 10 years older. There is no equality for aging.
Pathologies

Certain pathologies, such as kidney failure or diabetes, suffer from a disruption of skin metabolism, accentuating the signs of aging. Ultraviolet rays and infrared rays from the sun cause actinic aging.

These cumulative durations of exposure to the sun, associated with skin pigmentation, are called photoaging. Photo-aging should not be confused with the natural aging of the skin.

Indeed, UV rays, from the sun or artificial tanning sources, modify the normal structure of the skin. The effects of aging will be felt much sooner.

There are also climatic factors: hot, cold, wind. Cold will lead to the evaporation of water from the skin, leading to dryness. Heat, whether from an infrared or heating source, triggers a dilation of the blood vessels.

The wind will sensitize the tissues. Atmospheric pollution, whether ozone, hydrocarbons, solvents, tobacco, exhaust fumes, aggravates oxidative stress and reduces collagen.

Deficiencies in the diet of essential fatty acids and antioxidants can trigger skin aging.

Smoking is also a factor in premature aging of the skin, induced by the production of free oxygen radicals.

Deficiencies in essential fatty acids and antioxidants in the diet can trigger skin aging.

Every person is different, to some they will look 10 years younger, while to others they will look 10 years older.

Signs of Aging

Effectively Fight Against Aging

You are a woman ? You would like to be informed and advised for a surgical or aesthetic medicine procedure. Let yourself be guided.

18-30 Years Old

At 20, the face is full, with present volumes and almost perfect contours. The forehead is smooth, without expression lines, the eye area without fine lines, no dark circles, the cheekbones are high, the oval of the face well defined and the neck perfect due to the good tone of the muscles. The skin has a tight and fine grain, without any spots.

From the age of 25, skin aging begins. The face is still youthful, photoaging, caused by UV rays, is still discreet but we observe a thinning of the epidermis due to the slowdown in cell renewal. The dermis begins to lose its collagen and elasticity. The skin becomes flabbier, less elastic. Expression lines begin to appear on the forehead and fine lines at the corners of the eyes (crow’s feet). Nasolabial folds (from the nose to the corners of the lips) begin to be more apparent. The volumes are intact, but the lips can begin to thin. Sun creases, especially in smokers, appear around the mouth (perioral wrinkles).

30-45 Years Old

Women between 30 and 40 are at the peak of femininity. This is often the period of personal development, self-confidence, and the appreciation of experience. If you have taken care of your skin regularly with moisturizing cosmetics, by practicing sports and eating a balanced diet, your skin will remain fresh and unsightly wrinkles will only appear later. However, life often brings its own set of aggressions in spite of us: stress at work, lack of sleep, excessive sun exposure can prematurely age the face and hands, and pregnancies the body.

From the age of 35, our collagen fibers will tighten and make the skin less firm. As a result, it will retain its natural moisture less well. This is the beginning of the first volumetric changes. The upper eyelid begins to drop (dermatochalasis phenomenon). The bone structure of the orbit becomes more apparent. It is said that the face becomes « skeletonized ». The drop of the eyelids causes the tail of the eyebrow to drop. Dynamic wrinkles are clearly visible on the upper and lower parts of the face. Static wrinkles are clear.

From the age of forty, expression lines begin to appear due to slower cell renewal, which causes the epidermis to slacken. Forehead wrinkles deepen a little more, as do frown lines between the eyebrows, as do crow’s feet at the ends of the eyes. Volume begins to melt away at the temples, cheekbones and tear troughs. Jowls appear and the oval of the face is less perfect. Nasolabial folds deepen (wrinkles running from the wings of the nose to the corners of the mouth). We will then turn rather to aesthetic medicine to treat these wrinkles. The first expression lines will be easily and naturally contained with Botox injections. No fear! The injections are minimal and do not freeze the face. The wrinkles are simply reduced and you retain all the personality of your expressions without suffering the marks of time. Later, hyaluronic acid injections can treat deeper furrows and the beginning of sagging tissues that cause ptosis of the lower face.

Finally, over the years, the skin dries out and loses its suppleness. Skinboosters are the ideal solution in aesthetic medicine to restore vitality. For the silhouette, aesthetic medicine and surgery compete for solutions. If a few simple resistant bulges have appeared despite your sports practice, cryolipolysis will probably be the ideal solution. But if the remodeling is more significant, only liposuction will be effective in treating larger masses in the saddlebags, waist, knees or thighs.

For a belly distended by pregnancy: no other choice than abdominoplasty, just like breast lift surgery for breast ptosis.

45-60 Years Old

Between the ages of 45 and 60, subcutaneous tissues diminish and bone structures begin to show through the skin, particularly in the cheekbone area, accentuating dark circles and deepening nasolabial folds even more. The skin becomes thinner and less radiant. It loses its firmness. The contours of the face are a little more blurred and expression lines are more apparent.This is the time of skin ptosis and muscle wasting, which lead to the alteration of the oval. The tear trough appears in the inner part of the cheekbone. The upper eyelids drop even more, the skin wrinkles and bags under the eyes appear.

The reduction in the collagen and elastin levels causes the lower part of the face to sag, leading to more significant jowls and contributing to the deepening of the bitterness folds around the mouth and perioral fine lines. The lips are not spared: they become thinner and lose firmness (the upper lip lengthens and the vermilion, the « red lip », becomes thinner). There is an increase in the folds of the mouth, a double chin, pigment spots, and a sagging of the corner of the mouth and the tip of the nose. Hormonal deficiency amplifies innate aging (due to our genes) and acquired aging (due to the sun, smoking, etc.).

60+ Years Old

From the age of 60, the process accelerates. The face loses its density and pulp. The skin becomes increasingly thin and flabby. The eyelids, increasingly flabby, sag. The spots are more and more numerous. A slow process of demineralization tends to also alter the bone structure which loses volume.

At this stage, the temples begin to hollow out, accentuating the bone relief. Aging is diffuse and affects all elements of the face. Thus, the skin will sag, the muscles atrophy and the fat melts. The bone structures are particularly visible. The oval of the face is completely relaxed, accentuating the jowls and promoting the appearance of the double chin. Little by little, the volumes disappear and the bone structure deteriorates due to demineralization. The neck becomes adorned with particularly visible horizontal wrinkles and the muscles relax, causing vertical cords called « dewlaps ».

We also observe the multiplication of dark spots on the hands but also on the face, the appearance of hair on areas that are usually devoid of it, an alteration of healing, dryness leading to pruritus as well as more frequent dematoses. All these effects will continue to develop and become more apparent as time passes.