Author: ALIONA MANELOVA
Issue: #3, 2015, pp.90-99
are supposed to be happy with whatever is left? Unfortunately, Russian women are particularly afraid of aging. There is no such problem in other countries; there is no cult of youth, and ladies who have reached an elegant age feel self-fulfilled and learn to enjoy life.
Is it not an injustice that fashion models parading on our catwalks are in fact very often young girls, and all beauty events and activities target only the young and beautiful?
So, let’s give it a try and get rid of this injustice and talk about grown- up women. We should encourage them to look at themselves in another way. We should lead them to believe that age does not prevent you from looking attractive or appreciating yourself and having others appreciate you. We know that women become truly charming when they get older. Let’s add a few strokes of “fine tuning” to that inner charm.
Let’s start with the diagnosis ...
How does a face age?
The first wrinkles appear on the forehead, between the eyebrows and around the eyes between 35-45 years. A “canopy” is formed when the upper eyelid starts to droops over the eye.
The tips of the eyebrows begin to sag. The skin loses its tone; it begins to “melt” in the temporal region, along the cheeks, and near the tear trough. The skin on the cheeks becomes loose; the oval shape of the face is not as well-defined. Naso-labial furrows are more pronounced. Small wrinkles become visible on the upper lip.
By the age of fifty the amount of adipose tissue is significantly reduced, which contributes to more pronounced facial features. This applies particularly to the tear trough, an area that continues the cavity below the eye to
the top of the cheekbones. This fat loss, also called “melting cheekbones”, enhances the effect of eye depression due to the formation of a shadow zone.
Cheeks also lose fatty tissue and can no longer support the nasolabial fold, which becomes more and more prominent. Corresponding processes take place in the lower face.
So, what are the objective signs of age in the upper third section of the face?
1. The downward shift of eyebrow tails;
2. The appearance of excess skin on the upper eyelid (note that the eye socket reflects the most apparent signs of facial aging. Eye rejuvenation is recommended to everyone who requests facial rejuvenation for the first time);
3. Downward orientation of lateral (external) canthus.
4. Cross skin folds on the forehead and longitudinal section – above the bridge of the nose.
PRINCIPLES OF REJUVENATING PERMANENT EYEBROW MAKE- UP
Eyebrows ... Women do not attach due importance to this part of the face, but it is namely eyebrow correction that can dramatically change a person’s appearance. Thick, dark eyebrows make the face look older. Plucked thin eyebrows also deprive a woman of her personality, they are “highlights”. Therefore, it is best to keep to the golden mean when correcting eyebrows: we will just remove the excess hairs and give the eyebrows a tidy and well-groomed appearance. As for the length of eyebrows, by plucking the excess hairs along the eyebrow line, we raise the brow tail and make it thinner, which makes the face look fresh because if the ends of the eyebrows are lowered excessively, drooping eyelids become much more prominent.
Here are the basic rules for permanent eyebrow make-up procedures, following which the face will be visually rejuvenated: All the lines must be directed upwards – this is the basic rule for rejuvenating make-up;
The inner medial border of the eyebrows should be lower than the outer, lateral border;
Very long dark eyebrows make the face look older and more severe. Slightly shorter eyebrows, on the contrary, rejuvenate your face and make your eyes look wider and the eyelids more open; Permanently applied colors must match the person’s color type and blend in with the hair color.
BOTILINUM TOXIN: MODELLING THE EFFECTS OF REJUVENATING OPERATIONS
Put your forefingers on the highest point of the eyebrows or just above them and smooth them upwards and outwards.
We can see how much better the eye socket looks and how tight the skin of the upper eyelids appears. Using your middle fingers, gently pull the lateral corners of the eyes. They assume an almond, slightly slanting shape – this effect is not mandatory. If you do not want this shape, remove your middle fingers; the eye sockets and forehead rejuvenation will be evident if the eyebrows are raised. You have just lost ten years! Of course, not every patient is psychologically and financially ready for radical anti-aging surgery. However, botulinum toxin applied in the upper third section of the face, plus well-performed permanent eyebrow procedures constitute an effective alternative for non-surgical rejuvenation.
In my reports, I propose combining permanent eyebrow make-up and botulinum toxin in order to obtain a more pronounced and prolonged rejuvenation effect. Everything should be clear: by disengaging depressants m. corrugator and m.procerus, we activate the antagonist – m.frontalis, the frontal muscle that begins to actively pull up the eyebrows, thus providing maximum lifting. Also, turning off or relaxing the circular eye muscle, we allow the eyebrow tails to rise: the eyes are accentuated and the upper eyelids are raised. The procedures can be performed during the same visit: first – permanent make-up, and second – administration of the toxin.
EFFECTIVE SUPPLEMENT PERMANENT MAKE-UP APPLIED TO THE UPPER EYELIDS
When performing rejuvenating permanent make-up procedures, do not move the tail of the line too far from the ciliary edge.
We should be sure that the line does not make the eyes sag; on the contrary, it should help us give them a lifting effect.
Regarding shading – a rejuvenating effect can be achieved by using the right graphical techniques and colors.
If we talk about colors, we should choose the appropriate shades of eye shadow that will add freshness and brightness to the eyes. As for graphics, it is important to correct the direction of the lines when applying eye shadow. The natural line of the eyelids will then appear to be lifted.
The final touch to refresh the eyes is the use of a highlighter under the brow arch and in the inner corners of the eyes. This technique markedly gives the face more freshness and brightness, making the gaze visually wider and the eyes clearer and younger.
REJUVENATING THE MIDDLE SECTION OF THE FACE
What does the aging process look like in this zone?
• The tear trough becomes a sharp, relief-like boundary between the lower eyelid and cheek;
• The height of the lower eyelid is enhanced. In profile, it marks the distance from the ciliary edge to the tear trough;
• Malar bags appear, another age- related mound just below and to the side of the tear trough;
• The nasolabial fold becomes more visible; the skin on the side of the cheeks tends to sag (from the nose and upper lip).
A well-chosen and well-applied permanent blush will shape desired facial features. When choosing a color pigment, remember that the color should enhance a person’s youthfulness, so most effective will be pastel peach and pale pink shades.
If you have spider veins, choose a peach shade; if your skin is sallow, go for pink shades. Avoid brown and orange pigments that obviously make the face look older. To make cheekbones more prominent, it is important to choose where to apply the permanent make-up, that is, you should apply the pigment only to the top of the cheekbones, avoiding the nasaolabial folds.
AESTHETIC PROBLEMS OF THE LOWER THIRD SECTION OF THE FACE…
The lower third section of the face and its aesthetic dominant – the lip area – are distinguished by the intensity of age-related changes. The vermilion lip borders have no sebaceous glands, so the lips, faster than other parts of the face, begin to lack moisture. In addition, menopause entails an enormous decrease of female estrogen and progesterone hormones.
Consequently, there is degradation of structures responsible for maintaining the skin – collagen and elastin. An oval face becomes less clear-cut, cheeks framing the chin sag and make it look heavier, and wrinkles appear in the corners of the mouth. The vermilion lip borders become thinner and paler; the mouth seems less “meaty- like”, and “plisse soleil” type wrinkles become visible on the upper lip, and sometimes on the lower one too. Over time, the lips and the area around them begin to thin and droop.
The external factors contributing to the aging of the lips and the skin around them include excessive sun exposure, smoking, nutritional disorders, stress, insomnia, and adverse weather conditions (wind, frost, temperature swings). Inadequate selection and use of cosmetics also impacts the appearance of the skin and lips. In general, one can say that the lips and peri-oral area reflect the state of a person’s health. The color and skin turgor, pigmentation, the number and depth of lines and wrinkles around the lips, the color and state of the vermilion lip borders can indicate certain diseases of internal organs and systems.
... AND INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS No one would argue that the permanent make-up looks much more attractive and spectacular on a well-groomed face, no matter to what area we were trying to apply it. Therefore, effective rejuvenation of the lower third section of the face should be comprehensive and include the following:
1) A series of peeling procedures carried out in the peri-oral area (possible alternative dermabrasion, phototherapy, laser polishing), aimed at strengthening and thickening the skin in this area.
2) Permanent make-up carried out with shades corresponding to the client’s skin color type. If 40-year- old women wish to have fuller lips, just highlight the central part of the lips with a lighter color or a more transparent pigment application. The best choice for a 50-year-old woman would be a color that is a couple of shades darker than her natural lips as dark shades make you look older, while pale ones will give you an impersonal face. Another excellent technique for visual rejuvenation – lightening above the upper lip contour, which highlights your lips and makes them look shiny and voluminous.
3) The use of drugs based on hyaluronic acid, which makes up for the missing volume of fading lips. It restores skin hydro balance, normalizes microcirculation, improves tissue nutrition, and overcomes hypoxia.
As a result, we can see an increase in skin turgor and tone, a smoothing of the facial surface, a reduction in the length and depth of wrinkles, and an improvement in the color of the vermilion lip borders.
Patients say that their lips look not only more beautiful, but they are also are more voluminous and moist.
An integrated approach, symbiosis between the doctor and the artist, and an understanding of the physiology of aging and its correction techniques play an important role in complete facial beautification. Permanent make-up, performed together with therapeutic and prophylactic procedures of aesthetic medicine, gives a more pronounced and prolonged result in complex facial rejuvenation.
