Does the shape of your face tell you your age? Where does aging begin?

The faces of young and old people are very different. Even if we smooth out the wrinkles on the surface of the skin, we can still see the difference in shape. This is because aging not only makes the surface skin lose its elasticity and luster, but also the bones and muscles deep inside are slowly aging.

Like the two faces below, even without the hint of skin tone and fine wrinkles, the difference is still obvious.

Comparison of young and old faces | References [1]

Facial aging starts with the deepening of nasolabial folds

As we age, our entire face changes, but different parts age at different rates.

A recent study of northern Han Chinese women used three-dimensional imaging technology to describe in detail the changes in facial morphology of women of different ages. The study divided 187 people into four groups according to age, collected facial images of each person, and generated an average face model of women in this age group [2].

By comparing the three-dimensional average faces of each group, scientists found that compared with women aged 20 to 29, the overall facial changes in the 30 to 39 age group were relatively small, with only the nasolabial groove slightly deepened and the middle of the face, eyes and lips slightly sunken.

When you are between 40 and 49 years old, the forehead moves backwards, the middle of the face becomes flat, the nasolabial grooves and tear grooves become significantly deeper, the chin begins to protrude, and the cheeks sag on both sides.

In the oldest group of 50-65 years old, in addition to the above-mentioned grooves continuing to deepen and lengthen, the changes in the shape of the facial features are more obvious. The eyes become smaller and the outer corners of the eyes droop, the nose becomes longer and wider, and the nose tip droops, and the lips become thinner and move downward.

Different colored circles indicate aging changes: pink - vertical and horizontal grooves between eyebrows, red - drooping of the outer canthus, blue - horizontal grooves under the eyelids, green - nasolabial folds, black - sagging cheeks | Reference [3]

Aging is not only on the skin, but also deep in the bones

These changes in facial shape come from a combination of gravity, bone resorption, decreased tissue elasticity, and changes in the location of fat.

The facial bones are the basic framework of the appearance, supporting and fixing the muscles, ligaments and other soft tissues above. When the shape of the bones changes, the skin and flesh growing on them will naturally change position.

Bones are the supporting framework

Bones do not suddenly begin to deform in a certain year, but rather they grow and absorb throughout life, constantly changing their shape.

The first thing that appears during aging is the deepening of the nasolabial folds, which is related to the overall retraction of the maxillary bone in the middle of the face. The changes in the bones relax the facial ligaments, causing fat to move downward, resulting in the deepening of the nasolabial folds. The retraction of the maxillary bone also pulls the nose in front, causing the nose wings to move backward, outward and upward along with the bones, causing the nose wings to widen and the nose tip to droop. These changes make the old face flatter and no longer as three-dimensional as when it was young.

Protruding chin and sagging cheeks are mainly caused by the change in the shape of the mandible. This bone supports the lower part of the face. As we age, the whole bone shrinks, but the sides of the chin become more concave, so the chin appears to protrude forward and the cheeks droop.

Facial bones change with age, with arrows pointing to the direction of bone resorption. Reference [4]

Drooping eyebrows are related to orbital bone deformation. As we age, the bone at the edge of the orbit is gradually absorbed, and the orbital area expands. Among them, the bone absorption of the inner side of the upper orbit and the outer side of the lower orbit is more obvious, causing the orbit to gradually change from a square to a diamond shape.

The inner side of the upper eyelid rim moves upward, causing the brow to move upward as well, giving the impression that the outer side of the eyebrow is drooping. The lower eyelid rim expands outward and downward, deepening the crow's feet and the horizontal groove under the eyelid. In addition, the supporting function of the facial bones is weakened, and the outer side of the upper eyelid will be pulled down by the lower eyelid, aggravating the drooping of the upper eyelid.

The shape of the eye socket changes with age, and the bone absorption is more obvious in the red marked area. Reference [4]

Other tissues age, too

In addition to the supporting role of bones, facial aging is also affected by the shape of muscles and fat.

As we age, the amount of muscle and fat on our face gradually decreases. At the same time, the elasticity of muscles and ligaments decreases, weakening the fixation of fat, which eventually causes facial sagging and deepening of nasolabial folds[4].

References

[1] Windhager S, Mitteroecker P, Rupić I, Lauc T, Polašek O, Schaefer K. Facial aging trajectories: A common shape pattern in male and female faces is disrupted after menopause. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2019;169(4):678–688.

[2] Li Jingyu, Wang Yan, Wang Xiaojun. Application of three-dimensional average face construction of northern Han women in the study of facial morphological aging. Chinese Journal of Plastic Surgery. 2019;35(7):628-633.

[3] Cotofana S, Fratila AA, Schenck TL, Redka-Swoboda W, Zilinsky I, Pavicic T. The Anatomy of the Aging Face: A Review. Facial Plast Surg. 2016;32(3):253-260.

[4] Zhao Ye, Wu Sufan. Aging of facial bones. Chinese Journal of Plastic Surgery. 2015;31(6):469-473.

Author: Dai Tianyi

Editor: odette

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