Why does facial skin sag?

Causes of sagging skin

Sagging skin is caused by two main factors that profoundly change the skin, making it more vulnerable to external aggression and allowing various imperfections to appear.

Biological factors

Among the causes of sagging skin, biological factors play a predominant role. These are mainly:

• Slower cell renewal, which no longer effectively corrects the deterioration of skin cells caused by various external aggressions.
• The accumulation of dead epidermal cells on the skin’s surface, making it thicker and giving the complexion a dull appearance.
• Deterioration of the collagen and elastin fibres essential to tissue formation, leading to a loss of skin elasticity over time.
• Loss of skin moisture due to the degradation of the sebaceous glands over the years

Fat melting

When you look at a child, you never see the bone structure through the skin. In an elderly person, by contrast, the bone structure is more visible because the skin is thinner. Contrary to popular belief, this is due to the loss of facial fat over time, and not to excess skin.

Lipofilling or lipostructure to correct sagging skin

Lipofilling is a surgical technique that heralds the era of regenerative medicine. These subtle injections of autologous fat (taken from the patient) restore facial volumes and improve skin quality thanks to the presence of stem cells and growth factors. By regenerating the skin tissue, the skin becomes denser and firmer, for a harmoniously younger face. Unlike other methods, lipofilling carries a very limited risk of rejection or allergy, since the fat injected is the patient’s own, making it an entirely safe rejuvenation technique.

Correcting sagging skin must first address the melting of facial fat. If this is not taken into account, the result is an unnatural, drawn face.

An initial consultation with Dr Hayot will guide you towards the best technique for firming up your face.