Has your face shrunk or become less plump than it used to be? Or perhaps, your cheeks are not as chubby or your jawline is not as sharp as before. This loss of volume in the face is a part of the natural aging process, but you can do something about it.
As we age, we experience a gradual depletion of fat, collagen and elastin - substances that help keep skin toned and buoyant. The result? Sunken cheeks, loose facial skin, and a tired-looking appearance.
Multiple factors, including ageing, environmental aggressions, lifestyle, and heredity cause this loss of volume in face.
But don’t worry—there’s hope! Volume loss can be prevented and sometimes reversed by a combination of skincare adjustments and modern cosmetic procedures.
In this guide, you’ll learn about these methods in detail, from the minor lifestyle changes you can make to advanced procedures like fat injections, lip fat transfer, botox, etc.
But first;
What Causes Facial Volume Loss?
As we mentioned before, aging is a complex process characterised by progressive facial volume as a result of several interconnected factors. Knowledge of these causes can help you avoid them and maintain youthful, glowing skin.
Let’s break down the main culprits:
1. Aging
Collagen and elastin are two proteins responsible for skin elasticity and thickness, but as we age, the skin produces less and less amounts of these nourishing substances.
Collagen comprises the connective tissues that give the skin structural form and elastin offers the skin its elasticity.
Women are affected by this more than men and after the age of 20, the collagen production rate slows down at a rate of 1% each year.
Collagen fibre breakdown is even faster in the fourth and fifth decades of human life as hormonal concentrations, such as estrogen, decrease. Additionally, the skin loses its capacity to retain moisture and hence becomes thin, dry and weakened.
Wrinkles and hollowed areas are more noticeable as we age. This is the natural way in which skin deteriorates.
2. Fat Redistribution
Have you noticed that the contours of young faces tend to be smooth and rounded?
This is because our face keeps its volume and tone thanks to fat deposits. However, as we age:
Your fat does not just reduce; it redistributes in the face. Subcutaneous fat reserves in the face, especially cheeks and temporal regions become atrophied or shift downward resulting in emaciation.
However, fat deposits itself in less artistic places like under the chin where people develop sagginess or ‘chins’.
This redistribution can significantly change your face, making it look thinner or puffy depending on the situation.
3. Environmental Damage
Aging signs on the skin’s surface are also determined by your environment. Here’s how environmental air pollutants affect skin function:
● UV Rays: Extended tanning is one of the most significant factors for collagen breakdown. UV rays destroy skin fibres, speeds up the skin's aging process, and cause wrinkles, fine lines and sagging of the skin.
● Pollution: Tobacco smoke and other airborne contaminants produce free radicals, which are highly reactive molecules that damage healthy skin cells, and degrade collagen, and elastin.
● Smoking: Cigarettes introduce toxins into the skin which hinders blood circulation and deprives the skin of oxygen and necessary nutrients. This not only excludes water from the skin but it also kills the skin’s ability to be stretchy afresh.
These changes, which are not favourable to the skin, over time accumulate and cause the face to lose volume earlier than desired.
4. Lifestyle Choices
Our lifestyle and routine activities significantly influence our overall health as well as skin volume. Here are the main culprits:
● Stress: Stress leads to cortisol release – a hormone that weakens skin’s collagen and prevents new skin from forming. This can lead to the formation of pale, weary-looking skin.
● Diet: Consuming foods that provide the body with little or no nutrients speeds up the ageing process. Diets high in sugar are also known to dry up the skin and promote glycation, which destroys collagen fibres.
● Dehydration: The skin loses its natural healthy tone becoming less elastic and becoming dry when one does not take enough water. As with many skin types, dry skin lacks luminosity, appears porous, and considerably enhances the visibility of wrinkles.
● Lack of Sleep: During rest, the body heals and builds muscle. Without it your skin cannot generate collagen; thus it pulls a fast one on ‘aging’.
● Stress management, proper nutrition, adequate water intake, and a good night’s sleep can help to overcome many signs of ageing.
Now;
5 Ways to Prevent the Loss of Volume in Face?
Loss of volume in face is a gradual process that cannot be stopped simply by taking certain measures and precautions. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on preventing it as early as possible.
It is not about finding some magic cure; it is about adopting the routines and employing the treatments that are going to keep your skin in place in the long run.
1. Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle
The building blocks of youthful and glowing skin are in your hands. Here’s how to take care of your skin from the inside out:
Stay Hydrated
The skin consists of 64 percent water. This explains why skin appears dry and loose, making every body part look more sunken after dehydration. However, drinking at least 8-10 glasses of water daily gives your skin the elasticity it needs, eliminating chances of dry skin.
Eat a Balanced Diet
Incorporate foods with skin-enriching nutrients, such as vitamin C, zinc, and other amino acids, into your diet to help enhance the body’s collagen production. For example:
● Citrus fruits: Promote collagen synthesis.
● Leafy greens: A source of antioxidants that help prevent skin damage.
● Salmon and nuts: Ensure the elasticity of the skin by extracting omega-3 fatty acids.
Get Enough Sleep
Lack of sleep leads to ageing skin. Sleep 7-9 hours to allow the body to repair and build up collagen all over the body.
Avoid Harmful Habits
Drinking and smoking harm collagen fibres and dry the skin. Skin texture and elasticity improve in weeks if you quit smoking.
2. Adhere to a specific skincare regimen
Skincare is not only about beauty, but also defence against loss of volume in face. Therefore, make sure you spend your money on products that will nourish and protect your skin.
Sun Protection is Key
Ultraviolet light decomposes collagen and elastin fibres, causing the skin to lose its firmness and develop lines. To counter this, remember to always wear sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher during sunny periods, including cloudy days.
Hydration and Moisturizing
A moisturizer or serum containing hyaluronic acid is recommended as this molecule can retain moisture 1000 times its weight. These help fill the skin and diminish the fine lines.
Boost Collagen with Retinoids
Retinoids are a group of drugs derived from vitamin A which enhances the synthesis of collagen. Use retinol at night, but if you’re new to the product, begin with one or two nights a week.
Consider Antioxidants
Vitamin C serums limit the penetration of free radicals into our skin and stimulate the production of collagen through skin cell stimulation. Use them in the morning to lock in the most protection.
3. Incorporate Facial Exercises
Proper facial exercises known as face yoga also offer the benefit of exercising the facial muscle. They also help the circulation of blood which is essential for skin health. For example:
● Cheek Lifts: Open your mouth as large as possible without letting your lips meet each other. Rest for 10 seconds and then; Repeat 10 times.
● Jawline Sculpting: Stretch your head backwards as well as protrude the lower jaw to the front. Pause for 5 seconds and immediately, do it fifteen times.
Facial exercises are not considered a form of medicine or therapy, but they work well in conjunction.
4. Non-surgical Options
Non-invasive treatments indeed work very well when it comes to the preservation prior to massive loss of volume in face. Here’s what you need to know:
Botox for Prevention
Worry not, Botox isn’t just for those fine lines and crow’s feet. It helps minimize deep facial folds since it makes very inactive muscles work and therefore helps to maintain the skin’s texture.
However, one may wonder, “How much Botox do I need?” The decision depends on the area that requires treatment and the facial features—check with the provider for the best option.
Laser Resurfacing
This treatment encourages the skin to produce collagen to reduce early signs of skin sagging as well as enhance skin texture. However, the laser resurfacing is often expensive, ranging between $1000 to $3000 for a single session. Nevertheless, given the long-term effects, the investment pays off in the long-run.
Microneedling with PRP
Using small needles and naturally derived platelet-rich plasma, microneedling with PRP encourages the body to create more collagen and elastin. It is a non-invasive procedure and has immediate results.
5. Advanced Cosmetic Procedures
Surgical options like facelifts and fat grafting come into play when lifestyle changes and skin care cannot solve the issue of sagging skin and loss of volume in face.
Fat Injections
Lipotransfer is the process of extracting fat from any part of your body (thighs, abdomen) and transplanting to areas that are volumetrically compromised. The results are soft and subtle and can last for many months.
The fat injections face before and after improvements are quite dramatic; you can achieve more voluminous cheeks, fewer wrinkles at the corner of the mouth, and actually look revived.
Lip Fat Transfer
If you have realized that your lips are thinning with age, a lip augmentation procedure will give them their original volume. This procedure is very common because it is made from the fat of your body hence it has a low chance of causing an allergic reaction.
Hyaluronic Acid Fillers
Hyaluronic acid fillers like Juvederm and Restylane restore volume in cheeks, under-eye areas, and lips in quick non-invasive procedures. They can retain a small amount of water and thus they create the appearance of fuller cheeks as soon as they are applied.
What happens if you don’t address volume loss?
One of the facets of facial ageing that is often overlooked is loss of volume in face; it goes beyond superficial changes and can impact your emotional, self-perceived, and social self. A youthful face is not solely wrinkle-free, it is about harmonious proportions, rounded shape, and natural plumpness that signifies good health.
If the loss of volume in face continues unchecked, several changes occur that affect the contour of the face and your communication as well. Here’s what you might experience:
1. Hollow Temples and Cheeks
As fat stored in the face begin to diminish or shift, the temples and cheeks are among the first areas to get skinnier.
● Hollow Temples: It is also common to lose volume in the temples resulting in a narrower upper face appearance. It highlights the bony structures like the orbital bone. This can make the face look rather thin and old.
● Sunken Cheeks: The cheeks are important to the formation of the face and are also part of one’s age-defining features. When they lose volume, the former curvaceous outline becomes narrow or has indentations. This can give the face a tired and dull look.
Differences in facial volume are said to affect social relations: people with thicker, fuller cheeks are believed to be healthier and, therefore, more accessible.
2. Deepening of Nasolabial Folds
The nasolabial folds are the creases that extend from the sides of the nostrils to the angles of the mouth or the smile lines. These lines become more pronounced with age but get much worse with decreased volume in the mid-face area.
As cheek fat reduces or migrates downward, the overlying skin simply forms a flap that appears more noticeable.
Of course, the existence of deep wrinkles, the nasolabial folds will make you appear always frowning or even look drowsy even when you have a happy face.
If left unattended these lines become even more profound as the years go by, causing your face to have a more rugged look.
3. Sagging jawline and the formation of jowls
A youthful face is characterized by a prominent jawline, but volume loss causes sagging and jowls.
Whereas, as fat in the cheeks decreases, the force of gravity drags the skin and gives one a relatively less contoured jawline.
This sags to give the formation of the jowls – the pockets of the looser skin and fat that hang down below the line of the jaw.
It also rotates the lower face making it appear more heavy and bigger relative to the remaining face. This provides your overall facial appearance with a prematurely aged look.
4. Emotional and Psychological Effects
Physical effects such as changes in facial skin volume have a knockdown effect on confidence levels.
● Body Image: According to research by MDPI Open Access Journals on body image social physique, anxiety levels, and self-esteem, people who are unhappy with the way they look are more likely to feel less confident and shy away from social situations.
● Perception by Others: The loss of facial fat volume can make others misunderstand your feelings. Hollow or sunken cheeks can convey feelings of fatigue, sadness or even aggression even if you are nothing of the sort on the inside.
● Professional Impact: A youthful and energetic look at work is frequently associated with higher efficiency and dynamics in certain work-related contexts. The gradual decline in facial volume can also be depressing as the delivery of perspectives and ideas may alter how comrades and customers respond to you.
Why Addressing Volume Loss Matters
Fighting loss of volume in face is not only about the mirror – it is about your mental health and the way you feel in your skin. Contemporary solutions like dermal fillers, fat transfer or non-surgical ones like skin firming can assist in regaining lost volume and having proportionate facial features.
These changes should be managed effectively in advance to avoid the need for other treatments that would give you that young-looking skin.
Conclusion
Loss of volume in face can be prevented through functional life skills practices, the promotion of proper facial care and services, and adequate treatments. Moreover, starting as early as possible, moisturizing, and sun protection, among other remedies such as fat injections or Botox all go a long way.
Skin investment today aims at getting youthful and glowing skin in the future. Therefore, what measures would you employ to retain your facial volume?
Step up for a youthful and vibrant look today
If you have observed indicators of facial volume reduction, it's essential to take proactive measures to preserve your youthful appearance and regain your confidence.
Hyaluronic acid fillers and PDO thread lifts are safe and significantly improve the facial look without having to undergo surgery.
At Diaminy, we focus on PDO threads that lift and sculpt your face and naturally stimulate production of collagen. Combining PDO threads with hyaluronic acid fillers for skin treatments can help regain the lost facial volume, fill in the wrinkles, and correct facial contouring for long-lasting, natural-looking outcomes.
Do not allow loss of volume in face to hinder you – it is time to begin your journey to a more youthful self.
Get in touch with Diaminy today for more information on our products!
