MD Codes Targets the Causes of Aging, Not the Signs
Have you ever stopped to consider what it is that makes us look our age? If you look at yourself in the mirror, the answer seems obvious: It’s your skin’s tone & texture, and the wrinkles, hollows, sags and folds that give away your age. All of these signs of aging are plainly visible, so it seems only logical that if you want to look younger and more refreshed, you would address each of these problems directly.
The outward signs of aging are the first things we see, but they are caused by changes in the underlying facial structures.
The truth is more complicated than that. All of these visible signs of aging are caused by changes that are occurring throughout all the layers of your face, from the top of the skin’s surface right down to the underlying bone structure.
Simplified version of the MD Codes map. Each dot indicates an injection site and the type and amount of Juvederm to be injected.
MD Codes is an innovative technique that uses dermal fillers, such as Juvederm, to restore the soft, full contours and gentle definition of youth by addressing the changes in the underlying facial structures. Using a very specific formula, MD Codes identifies a series of specific points on the face to guide injections.
MD Codes was developed by Dr. Mauricio de Maio, a plastic surgeon from Sao Paolo, Brazil, who has gained international recognition for his new and innovative technique that creates beautiful, youthful and natural-looking results with no downtime and without the need for surgery.
Dr. Hegmann, has been training with Dr. de Maio on MD Codes over the course of the past three years and has incorporated his method into his treatments. Now you can benefit from this innovative new technique at the Kanata Skin Clinic.
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How We Age
In order to understand why we look our age, and what can be done to restore a youthful appearance, we have to look at the effects of aging on each of the structures that make up our face.
1. Aging Skin
Youthful skin is soft, supple, smooth, elastic and well hydrated. Youthful skin cells renew themselves relatively quickly. As we age, we lose oil glands which keep the skin hydrated. We also lose collagen and elastin, which help to keep the skin soft and supple. This contributes to the formation of wrinkles such as crow’s feet and frown lines that first appear only when your face is animated, but eventually etch themselves permanently into the surface of the skin. The loss of elastin and collagen also causes the skin to lose its youthful elasticity and sag over time.
Genetic factors play an important role in aging. The degree of thinning, loss of elasticity and dryness can all be inherited.
How you live your life can also affect the appearance of aging. Sun exposure, use of tanning beds, smoking, alcohol, diet and stress can cause redness, spider veins, brown spots, rough skin and wrinkles.
2. Depletion and Shifting of Underlying Fat Pads
A layer of fat lies just beneath the skin’s surface, which provides facial volume, contours and fullness. A youthful face has more volume in the fat layer, which fills out facial features and gives them contour and definition. As we age, the fat layer thins and descends, causing our face to lose volume, flattening out contours and losing definition. Hollows can form under the eyes and around the nose and mouth. Loose skin can result in sagging around the jawline. Conversely, fat can accumulate below the chin, resulting in fullness between the neck and chin, sometimes giving the appearance of a “double chin.” The loss of volume and descent of the fat pads can make the face appear deflated, and the cheeks sunken.
3. Repeated Muscle Movement and Loss of Muscle Tone
Beneath the fat layer lies our facial muscles, which animate our face and allow us to show emotion. When we smile and laugh, or create other facial expressions, these muscles contract, and wrinkles such as crow’s feet or frown lines may appear. Initially, these wrinkles are only temporary, and disappear once the muscles relax. However, as the skin ages and the overlying fat layer is depleted, these wrinkles become permanent.
Like all muscles, facial muscles also weaken as we age. The loss of muscle tone can contribute to a sagging appearance, the jawline loses its contour, and our profile becomes less defined.
4. Loss of Bone Structure
Facial bones provide the foundation for the muscle, fat pads and skin layer which lies above it. This bone structure creates our own unique shape and contour.
As we age, we lose bone structure, which changes the shape and contour of the face. The eye socket enlarges, the angle of the brow bone decreases and the loss of bone structure contributes to the loss of definition of our jawline.
Aging Is Inevitable. Looking Your Age Is Not.
Luckily, we live in a time where we now have a good understanding of the aging process and have developed very effective technologies that can deal with it.
Photorejuvenation, fractional lasers, HydraFacials, chemical peels and medical-grade skin care products are very effective in addressing signs of aging on the skin’s surface. MD Codes, an exciting new technique using dermal fillers such as Juvederm, can very effectively address the signs of aging caused by changes in the underlying structures.
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Article written by Dr. Erik Hegmann, MD
Dr. Erik Hegmann, MD, is a family physician who has focused on Cosmetic and Laser Medicine at his Kanata office since 2004. Dr. Hegmann has an extensive educational background with a Master of Science, specializing in cancer research, from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Facility in Toronto, and a degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the Unversity of Toronto graduating with Honours.