Aging forces changes to the facial shape to become more apparent. To avoid the surgery required to address skeletal changes, formulators and consumers alike have changed their focus to a new anti-aging target —sagging skin. Sagging is a complex phenomenon involving changes in the dermis, subcutaneous fat tissue and muscular changes. This article reviews research related to this phenomenon and topical approaches to address it.
Aging forces changes to the facial shape to become more apparent. To avoid the surgery required to address skeletal changes, formulators and consumers alike have changed their focus to a new anti-aging target —sagging skin. Sagging is a complex phenomenon involving changes in the dermis, subcutaneous fat tissue and muscular changes. This article reviews research related to this phenomenon and topical approaches to address it.
Most research in skin sagging has been conducted in Japan. One study1 confirmed that around the age of 40, Japanese women experience reduced volume in the upper face and increased volume in the cheeks and around the chin, including the jawline.1 Until then, sagging in the nasolabial groove is more noticeable, and the mouth-corner area becomes prominent thereafter, when sagging in the cheeks transfers to the areas around the mouth.2
Compared with Japanese populations over the age of 40, sagging is significantly higher in Caucasians; indeed, Caucasian women seem to have a higher susceptibility to sagging in the subzygomatic area.3, 4 Regardless, sagging represents a familiar concern to many, as it loosens facial definition; appears as drooping at the corners of the eyes; and deepens nasolabial lines.
Causes of Sagging
Sagging is a complex phenomenon involving changes in the dermis, subcutaneous fat tissue and muscular changes; a loss in skin elasticity alone is insufficient to explain it. While all factors that contribute to sagging and changes in the internal structure of facial skin have yet to be fully elucidated, Japanese research has attempted to shed light on a number of mechanisms.
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