Definition Many normal changes occur in the face with age.
What is the information for this topic? The normal changes that occur with age are often most noticeable on the face. Tone in the muscles of the face slowly decreases. The normal amount of fat underneath the skin also decreases with age. These changes can cause the skin of the face to look flabby or droopy. Skin around the chin may start to sag, causing a double chin. This is more common and obvious in overweight people. Skin colour also darkens and the skin gets drier and develops wrinkles.
The nose lengthens, sometimes quite a bit. The ears lengthen slightly, too. The ear canal and wax glands become drier. This dries out earwax, which causes it to get stuck in the ear canal more easily. This may block the canal and affect hearing in some people.
Hair may go grey and thin or fall out. Delicate skin around the eyes grows loose and wrinkled. This is the cause of droopy eyelids and the lines called crow's feet at the edge of the eyes. The iris, the coloured part of the eye, tends to lose some of its brilliance. The eyes may begin to look grey or light blue, and are not as brightly coloured as in younger years. When teeth are lost, the lips look shrunken. The jaw loses muscle and fat, causing it to become thinner and less prominent. This makes the forehead, nose and mouth appear more prominent. Sun exposure can hasten many of the skin changes seen with age, especially wrinkles. People can wear hats, use sunscreens and avoid sunbathing to help slow the wrinkling process.
Certain creams, ointments and other treatments can help reduce the appearance of ageing skin. However, these products have never been shown to stop or reverse the normal age-related changes that occur in the face. There are no known products that reverse wrinkles, droopy eyelids, or liver spots, which are darkened spots on the skin seen with age. People should be careful when buying these products because many are very expensive and have little, if any, value.
Author: James Broomfield, MD Reviewer: HealthAnswers Australia Medical Review Panel Editor: Dr David Taylor, Chief Medical Officer HealthAnswers Australia Last Updated: 1/10/2001 Contributors Potential conflict of interest information for reviewers available on request
