Volumizing isn’t just for hair anymore.
There was a big shift in plastic surgeon thinking about a decade ago.
Look at the eyelid. We used to remove fat when doing lower eyelid surgery. The thought was remove the bulge, and the eye will look youthful. But the face doesn’t work that way. As you age, you lose facial fat. (Yes yes, you gain it elsewhere where you don’t want it.) As you lose fat in your cheek, you look hollow under the eye, your lower eyelid looks longer, your cheek pad drops, you get lines around your mouth which deepen (stop! stop!) and your face skin slackens. (oy! can you stop already?)
But this is what happens. So fast forward to now- the new generation- no scar, nonsurgical, fill fill fill generation. There is validity to it. I am a surgeon. I love to do surgery. But I saw a patient yesterday who has lost weight. She also exercises more, causing a lower body fat percentage (yes, for those of you with the wee ones, there is hope for us yet to see a gym again.).
She has loose skin.
She would benefit from a facelift. Her skin is loose from age and weight changes. But as I showed her in the mirror, even when I tighten the skin, she is flat. Hollow. The “deflated beach ball.” She needs volume. So instead of rushing to surgery, I recommended she try filler first. To get the result she wants, she must correct the hollowness. She should add volume first (nonsurgical, cheaper, no scar, minimal downtime), and then reevaluate. Adding volume will buy her time, even years, before she wants to do a surgery.
What filler to use?
For first timers, immediate gratification people, and small areas, I like restalyne/perlane or juvederm. For those with higher volume needs who want a longer lasting fill, I like sculptra. Volume doesn’t have to be a overly plump fake look. As with all plastic surgery, when done elegantly and well, it looks seamless. The goal is the “How do you look so good for your age?”, not the “Oh my. did you have a fight with a helium tank?”
So. Pump up the volume. It works.