“A woman’s face is her work of fiction.” – Oscar Wilde.
If that was true, her cheeks would have been a crucial plot device.
Whether you are thinking of a fresh-faced Lolita or a sleeping princess, she’ll always be blessed with a set of full, softly blushing cheeks – a symbol of youth, good health and nutrition, and wistful young love.
Unfortunately, cheeks are frequently neglected by most women even though those soft creamy peaks take up much more of the face than bright eyes or pouty lips. In fact, the midface forms an important structural support for the face. As fatty tissue over the cheekbones gets gradually depleted by the late 20s to early 30s, cheeks slowly deflate and curvy feminine facial contours fade away. With less fat to fill out the overlying skin, skin sagging, laugh lines and wrinkles become more pronounced as well.
It’s no wonder that increasingly, the area of the body plastic surgeons and doctors are making more voluptuous is the cheeks. After all, clever cosmetic contouring with blushers and illuminating highlighters can only do so much in more severe cases, and bare-faced chic is the buzz word in the beauty world.
Youthful roundness in the cheeks can do magic for your face. Besides restoring soft curves and subtle definition to the face, it’ll take years off the face by diminishing laugh lines and hollows under the eyes. This can be achieved by plastic surgery (implants or endotine midface lifts), but non-invasive cheek injections have been on the rise worldwide.
Perfection by Injection:
Cheeks are increasingly one of the first areas aesthetic doctors and plastic surgeons are restoring for facial rejuvenation. “Appropriate placement of fillers through microinjections can restore the collapsing mid-facial foundation, hence improving laugh lines and undereye hollows at the same time. Even in younger patients, clever contouring with fillers can give you the bone structure you may be lacking,” explains Dr Kenneth Lee.
SKIN reviews the various injections to enhance your cheeks:
Hyaluronic Acid Natural Fillers
Micro-injection of skin-identical hyaluronic acid fills out facial tissues for an instant uplifting experience. It attracts water to the dermis and plumps up skin for a smooth, dewy fresh complexion over the next few days.
Pros: It is extremely safe and results are natural-looking as a normal and vital component of the skin is used. Replenishment of this youth dew restores hydrobalance and optimises skin health from within; and it stimulates local production of new collagen to actually help to fight time.
The latest formulas also contain lidocaine, a local anaesthetic, which minimizes any discomfort. There is minimal to no downtime, with exception of minor swelling and rare cases of mild bruising.
Cons: The effect lasts an average of 9 months (with regular hyaluronic acid fillers like Restylane Perlane) to about 18 months (with a Volume High Definition Facelift).
Collagen Stimulators
Materials like Sculptra (gels containing tiny poly-L-lactic acid, a synthetic material used in resorbable stitches) are injected over two to four sessions into the deep dermis to progressively stimulate collagen growth and add volume over time.
Pros: The effect lasts up to 2 years. With proper numbing of the treatment area, most patients report mild discomfort.
Cons: Results take weeks to months to be fully apparent, and multiple sessions are required to build significant results with risks of bruising and redness each time. A very small number of patients may develop palpable or visible nodules over time, and these either require surgery or are impossible to remove (being a synthetic material, there are no natural dissolving enzymes as opposed to hyaluronic acid fillers which can be melted away with hyalase injections).
Fat Transfer
Excess fat suctioned from the hips or abdomen is purified with technology such as the latest Lipokit. This allows only young and healthy fat cells to be injected back into the cheeks, ensuring optimal uptake by the facial fat pads and longer-lasting results.
Pros: Results are semi-permanent (at least 3 to 5 years). Both problems of flabby body parts and deflated cheeks (or breasts) can be tackled at the same time. As your own body tissues are used, fat injection is generally very safe and well-incorporated into the recipient site.
Cons: Mild post-procedural swelling tends to last longer than hyaluronic acid fillers (about 7 days). Weight gain may cause the injected fat to enlarge as well.
Maintain a Stable Healthy Weight
Beware of mega weight changes as well. Yo-yo dieting can accelerate facial ageing as facial ligaments are stretched out with weight gain; while central facial fat pads shrink, causing the facial foundation to collapse significantly with rapid massive weight loss.
So don’t underestimate the power of high and mighty cheeks as you seek the path to enhance your beauty. And there you have it – a happy ending.