Your lower face may spend most of its time under a mask these days, but when it becomes safe to venture out without a face covering, you might start noticing aging symptoms that have developed over the past year. With countless therapies to clear away wrinkles and pigmentation issues, while refining facial contours, you can get mask-free ready now and feel not just safe but beautiful when it’s time to stop wearing protective face gear.
Our team of board-certified dermatologists at Millburn Laser Center in Millburn, New Jersey offers comprehensive dermatology services for your cosmetic and medical dermatological needs. We have more laser devices than any practice in the area, so we are sure to have a treatment option for any skin need, including for combination treatments to address concerns of the lower face.
Aging Symptoms of the Lower Face
External signs of aging stem from internal changes that develop over time, as well as from outside influences such as the sun. Internally, your body stops producing as much collagen as it used to, and you begin losing volume in your face. Volume loss appears on the face as deep folds and sagging skin.
Losing bone density, some fat, and muscle firmness also changes the contours of your face, particularly along the jawline. Finally, gravity will begin to take effect, and your skin, tissue, and fat will shift down to your lower face. Meanwhile, the sun and unhealthy habits like smoking can create the following changes:
- Fine lines and wrinkles around the nose, mouth, and chin
- Irregular pigmentation (brown spots, patches, and other discoloration)
- Uneven texture (rough or bumpy skin and enlarged pores)
Treating Surface Wrinkles and Pigmentation Around the Mouth
At our Millburn, NJ skin care clinic, we use several methods to address surface wrinkles around the mouth. At your consultation, we can assess your goals and needs and recommend the best option for you. We might recommend one or a combination of treatments, as combining these treatments can produce a more comprehensive, dramatic improvement when customized to your precise needs and goals. Treatment options include:
Laser Resurfacing
Our board-certified dermatologists use only the best lasers available, including the Fraxel Dual 1550/1927 device. These lasers carefully target irregular pigmentation while leaving the rest of the skin untouched. They can also treat:
- Fine lines and wrinkles
- Irregular pigmentation
- Enlarged pores
- Scarring (from acne or other wounds)
All of these concerns are common around the mouth. During a laser treatment at our Millburn skin care clinic, we will apply topical numbing to the target area to ensure comfort, and then gently glide the chosen device across the treatment area. Your skin may be sensitive for a few days, and it should heal within a week to reveal brighter, more youthful skin.
Injectable Treatments
The types of wrinkles found in the lower face are typically static wrinkles, which develop as a result of collagen depletion. We use hyaluronic acid dermal fillers to plump the skin and smooth these lines away.
The Restylane family of dermal fillers consists of five formulations, each tailored to treat specific areas and concerns. Three of these fillers are specially made to treat the lower face:
- Restylane: This is the original filler in this line, and it can treat lines around the nose and mouth, including nasolabial folds and marionette lines, and restore volume.
- Restylane Refyne: Refyne contains Galderma’s proprietary XpresHAn technology, which uses advanced tissue integration to create natural results on shallow and deep lines of the face.
- Restylane Silk: Once used solely as a lip filler, dermatologists now also use Silk to fill in vertical lines above the upper lip, known as lipstick or smoker’s lines.
Dermal fillers like these mimic the natural hyaluronic acid found in the skin, and when injected by board-certified dermatologists, dermal fillers can provide natural, beautiful results for the lower face.
Firming and Smoothing the Skin
RF Microneedling and chemical peels remain at the forefront of minimally-invasive skin rejuvenating techniques. Microneedling works by stimulating collagen production within the skin, building a stronger, firmer, healthier-looking epidermis.
Chemical peels target the surface of the skin itself, removing the damaged outer layer to reveal a beautiful, untouched layer underneath. You can undergo both these treatments to further enhance your results and treat both the deep and superficial layers of your skin.
Sculpting the Jawline
Framing your entire lower face is your jaw, and a beautiful jawline can restore youthfulness to your entire face and amplify your other cosmetic dermatology treatment results. At our Millburn, NJ office, we offer CoolSculpting for not only contouring your body but also for freezing away stubborn fat deposits under the chin, known as submental fat.
We position the specially-designed applicator head under your chin, and the device then cools the tissue to a temperature the fat cells cannot survive. Since fat freezes at a higher temperature than other cells in the body, surrounding skin and tissue remain untouched during the procedure. For the next 4-6 months, the affected fat cells will naturally leave your body, revealing a more sculpted jawline.
Our dermatologists also use fillers as an even less invasive option for creating more desirable contours along the jawline.
Schedule A Consultation At Our Millburn Skin Care Clinic Today
Don’t wait until your mask is already off to treat the aging symptoms you’re seeing on your lower face. Contact our office today to schedule a consultation and receive your custom treatment plan.