No Bones About It: Why Many Facelifts Look Unnatural

So have you ever wondered why most facelifts look like, well, facelifts?? Why Joan Rivers looks like she's been caught in a wind-tunnel? It's because most facelifts address loose skin, but do nothing to fill the hollows in the face. It's like making a bed by pulling the comforter tight, but leaving the sheets rumpled beneath it.

You probably already know that you lose fat in your face as you age (and tend to find it in your thighs!). But you also lose BONE as you age--the bones in your face literally become thinner, making eyes look more hollow, jawlines look more loose, and cheeks look more flat. A great article from NPR goes into more detail.

In the world of plastic surgery, there has been a lot of attention given to "volumizing" faces. You may have heard about "liquid facelifts". Or lots of different fillers to fix hollows in the face: Sculptra, Restylane, Radiesse, Juvederm, or even your own fat.

To fix an aging face, you have to treat it like a home renovation: address the foundation first (fill the hollows), then spackle and paint (remove loose skin, sculpt the jawline, and start a good skin care routine).

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