As we age or even lose weight, you may notice your cheeks and eyes beginning to hollow. This is due to the loss of volume and decreased support for facial features. Sunken cheeks often go along with sagging skin and can be cosmetically corrected with a simple procedure.
The aging process causes a loss of bone, fat pads fall, loss of elasticity and collagen, causing mid face volume. This then leads to decreases in "plumpness" around the mouth area, resulting in thin lips, the hability to increase volume and hydration in the lips.
Sunken cheeks are just another example of how our facial features age. Sunken cheeks occur when a person doesn't have a lot of flesh between the bony arch of cheek under the eyes (zygoma) and the lower jawbone (mandible). As we grow older, we lose facial fat which gives our cheeks a youthful ‘plumpness’.
Although age is a major cause of sunken cheeks there are a number of other things which may result in this condition.
You may develop hollow cheeks due to illness, such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (an inherited condition caused by collagen defects), lipoatrophy (a loss of facial fat commonly associated with HIV), advanced tuberculosis and eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa.
Other causes of hollow cheeks include dehydration, malnutrition, smoking, a lack of sleep, and harsh weather conditions. You may also find you have sunken cheeks after weight loss.
Sunken cheeks are not exclusive to one particular sex as both men and women can have them.
Collagen is a protein which is found throughout the body, including in the skin. This protein keeps our skin looking young and plump, but as we age our collagen levels deplete. This leads to sagging skin. As we age we also lose the fat located just beneath the surface of the skin (subcutaneous fat) from around the eyes and mouth. Although over time this fat is lost, our bone structure does not change. The combination of these factors can result in the appearance of sunken cheeks.
Surgical or non-surgical procedures to restore fuller cheeks can help to turn the clock back by up to ten years.
Dermal fillers are a quick, effective, non-surgical option to tackle the problem of sunken cheeks and increase volume and hydration in the lips, nasolabialfolds, marionette lines, and cheeks.
These injectable treatments fill out hollow cheeks to recreate voluminous, youthful skin.
The active ingredient in dermal fillers, hyaluronic acid, is naturally found in the skin, and combats several signs of aging, including hollow cheeks.
As we get older, collagen, elastin, and even facial fat pads break down, resulting in some changes that can cause the appearance of a sunken face. The effect is even more pronounced when the fat pads begin to drift south, which can exacerbate sunken cheeks and undereye hollows.
Sunken cheeks are a common skin condition that occur as a result of the inevitable natural aging process, or in some cases, weight loss. As you age, you may begin to notice your cheeks are becoming visually flatter or more hollow. Some people may also find that their natural face structure begins to look sunken.
Dark, hollow or sunken eyes are often associated with detrimental lifestyle traits, from rising stress levels and poor nutrition to physical exhaustion. Although these factors can contribute to the formation of dark circles, it's often genetics that plays the biggest role.