Reflections on Beauty

Facial Bone Loss

There were surprising findings in a recent “twin study” published on the website version of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal of the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons).

Science has shown that twins identically age, inasmuch as they are genetically identical. Notwithstanding that fact, many of us have seen the photo studies of twins in which one twin was a smoker and the other was not, making it clear that environmental choices can influence aging regardless of genetics. However, a new twin study reveals that other choices, such as the timing of weight gain or loss, the use of antidepressants, and being divorced, also influence our perceived age.

Divorce Ages Us

The study’s author, Bahaman Guyuron, MD, professor and chairman, department of plastic surgery, University Hospitals Case Medical Center and his research colleagues obtained questionnaires and digital photos of 186 pairs of identical twins. The photos were then shared with an independent panel of individuals who were asked to estimate the perceived age difference between the sibling pairs. Surprisingly, twins who were divorced looked approximately two years older than their still-married sibs.

Even more surprising? Weight loss and gain can affect your perceived age, depending upon whether you lose or gain the weight before or after the age of 40. In the twin sets that were over the age of 40, the heavier twin was thought to be younger. In the under-40 group, the twin who was thinner appeared to be the younger twin!

Antidepressants played a role as well. Twins who were on prescription antidepressants were perceived as significantly older, possibly due to the consistent relaxation of facial muscles that occurs with antidepressant usage.  This relaxation can lead to facial sagging, creating an older appearance.

“This research is important for two reasons,” Dr. Guyuron said. “First, we have discovered a number of new factors that contribute to aging and second, our findings put science behind the idea that volume replacement rejuvenates the face.”

We heartily second Dr. Guyuron’s finding in that regard. A face that is soft and full is younger looking than a face that is tightly pulled. That’s why a “liquid face lift”can take years off one’s appearance: because the use of dermal fillers can plump up the hollows and recreate the look of a youthful face. And it’s another reason that the “old” face lifts of the past, that simply pulled back sagging facial skin and tissue, did little to create the vision of youthfulness. The wrinkles were gone, yes, but so was the volume. Volume that’s created with dermal fillers, such as Sculptra, Restylane, Juvederm and Perlane can help “hold off” a face lift and, when a face lift is the next logical step, fat can be removed via liposuction and inserted into the face to add volume along with the lift.

Courtesy Alltuts.com

In our culture, women are brought up to be authentic and true to themselves. Meanwhile, the tabloids bombard us with images of picture-perfect celebs who seem to never age. The signals are certainly mixed and, on the surface, it has created a paradox – should you be true to your natural self or fight tooth and nail to hold on to your youth?

But if you look a little closer it actually makes sense.  We find that many of our patients really don’t care about how great Angelina looks in the celebrity weeklies – they simply want to look as good as they feel.

Most of our patients are healthy and vital women.  They exercise regularly and they eat well.  On the inside, they feel as good or better than they did when they were in their 20’s.  But over the years, sun exposure, gravity and Father Time have taken a toll on their exterior.  Aesthetics is simply a way to get the outside to look as youthful and energized as they feel inside. It’s not so much about what other people see, it’s about how satisfied the patient is with what they see in the mirror.  It’s about taking care of yourself and feeling good, both inside and out.

This is why we strive for natural looking results that make our patients look refreshed and vital, but also like the same woman who walked in the door before being treated.

After all, they aren’t trying to look like someone else or to meet anyone else’s standards – they are doing it for themselves.

Courtesy MrDowling.com

Did you know that back in Cleopatra’s time, she slept every night beneath a gold face mask because she believed it made her skin soft and glowing? Even though Cleopatra was daft enough to marry her own brother, she was apparently on to something with that gold mask.

Today’s skin treatment manufacturers claim that their gold-enhanced products have both antimicrobial and antioxidant abilities, can minimize UV damage and lessen skin discoloration. Apparently gold has properties that slow the breakdown of elastin in the skin, which can delay the appearance of wrinkles. Elastin is the protein within the skin that gives skin its elastic properties. Unfortunately, elastin declines with age. Therefore, if gold can help our elastin “live longer,” that would be a fortune indeed for most of us!

Up to now, however, no long-term studies have been performed to test gold’s ability to deliver on any of the claims above. So, if you decide to buy products that include gold among their ingredients, it’s wise to know that it might not deliver on its promise for youth in a jar.

Just because you act your age it doesn’t mean you  have to look it. According to a recent  study, men and women over the age of fifty are more fixated on their appearance than ever before.

A survey, administered by UK’s Saga Magazine, interviewed 10,000 people. The findings showed that baby boomers of both genders show a high interest in plastic surgery, wrinkle reduction and fake tanning.

StyleList.com reports that people over the age of 50 are 10 times more likely to use fake tanner or tanning beds and 14 times more likely to use wrinkle reduction products. Not only that, in one generation the frequency of cosmetic surgery has nearly doubled.

The study also found that the annual spending on cosmetics for the 50+ crowd has increased from $2.8 billion to $3.3 billion in one decade. Fifteen percent of women over fifty admitted to wearing padded bras—5 times as many as the previous generation.

So what is driving this trend of aging vanity? Perhaps it is because cosmetic surgery has become more mainstream and accepted than in previous generations. Celebrities like Kim Cattrall and Jane Fonda are also putting a new face to the phrase “aging gracefully.”

“Cosmetic surgery is not such the taboo it might once have been, and for the over-50s it is certainly an option,” Saga Magazine editor Emma Soames told The Daily Mail.

There are a plethora of treatments available to reduce the signs of aging in women over the age of 50. Botox and dermal fillers are very popular non-invasive treatments, while blepharoplasty and facelifts top the list for plastic surgery. At Reflections Center for Skin & Body in New Jersey, we have an array treatment options available to create a customized rejuvenation plan for any age.

A recent study at the University of Michigan has found that age is a better predictor of satisfaction with plastic surgery than outlook. In other words, whether you tend to be positive or negative, optimistic or pessimistic, if you’re older, you’re happier with your results (sorry, Heidi Montag!).

The short study involved 51 patients who had plastic surgery procedures between 2007 and 2008. Those older than 53 years of age were more satisfied with their procedures’ results than those who are younger. Further, patients who were being treated for depression were happier than those who were not depressed (or at least weren’t being treated for depression).

Why? Perhaps those older among us have more realistic expectations.

According to the researchers, “…it will be interesting to design larger scale studies to examine the potential associations between perceived surgical outcomes and sex, education, marital status, depression and/or inclination toward optimism/pessimism.”

Also according to the researchers, “The ability to preoperatively identify patient characteristics (psychological, social or demographic) that might impact the subjective perception of surgical outcome and predict dissatisfaction with facial plastic surgery could be highly useful to surgeons.”