6 Best Treatments for Sagging Cheeks

Maintaining our well-sculpted facial features is key in order to continue to resemble our younger selves. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Once aging catches up, it’s normal to see fine lines and wrinkles begin to appear on our skin. The skin naturally loses its elasticity and suppleness, leaving us with loose or sagging cheeks and jawline, revealing our actual age or making us appear older.

Luckily, thanks to the rapid advancements in aesthetic medicine, there are now many ways to age gracefully and delay the signs of aging. In this article, we share the top six best treatments for sagging cheeks available today.

Let’s delve right in!

Common Causes of Sagging Cheeks

Sagging cheeks are primarily a result of facial volume loss, which typically occurs as one gets older. As you age, essential proteins in the skin, collagen and elastin, which are credited for structure, elasticity, suppleness, and youthful glow, are broken down faster and produced less. Due to the loss of volume, the cheeks turn flat with skin hanging loose, creating jowls and making the jawline less defined. Aside from sagging cheeks, the development of a double chin and nasolabial folds from the corners of the nose to the mouth are also a telltale sign of facial volume loss.

While aging is the number one culprit behind facial volume loss, it can also be accelerated by several factors, including:

• Rapid weight loss
• Chronic unprotected sun exposure
• Hormonal changes
• Medical illness
• Stress
• Smoking
• Facial trauma or injury

 

 

The Best Treatments for Sagging Cheeks

1. Botox Injections

Botox injections show considerable potential as one of the best treatments for sagging cheeks. This non-surgical cosmetic treatment was dubbed the “Nefertiti Lift,” named after the Egyptian queen with a gracefully elongated neck. It involves injecting the Botulinum toxin (Botox, Dysport, or Xeomin) to the muscles of the lower part cheeks, jaw, and neck.

It accurately targets and relaxes the platysma band of muscles that run vertically from the bottom of the face down to your collarbone. As a result, the Nefertiti Lift:

• Minimizes the appearance of loose and hanging skin in the lower face
• Creates a lifted and more youthful look
• Gives the illusion of perfect symmetry in the facial features
• Adds a pronounced definition to the jawline
• Diminishes fine lines and wrinkles in the neck

The Nefertiti Lift is an excellent, minimally invasive treatment alternative for those seeking facial rejuvenation and contouring but are not yet ready to go through the extremes of an invasive cosmetic surgical procedure.

2. Dermal Fillers

Dermal fillers like Juvederm, Radiesse, and Teosyal are included in our list of best treatments for sagging cheeks because of their ability to correct facial volume loss. These soft tissue fillers can also lift sunken and sagging skin around the cheek area with their plumping effect, and give you cheekbones and accentuate your face’s natural contours in a way that’s subtle and natural-looking.

Cosmetic injectable treatments like dermal fillers have become a go-to beauty secret for many people because they are minimally invasive, have little to no downtime, and give you instant gratification with their immediate results.
Although fillers are not forever, they contain wonderful collagen-stimulating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHa) that produce dramatic enhancements in your skin long after the body has broken down the product.

If you are looking for a temporary treatment for sagging cheeks, fillers are definitely worth considering. The results of cheek fillers can potentially last anywhere around six months for up to two years, depending on the brand and the type of soft tissue filler that your doctor will use.

 

 

3. Platelet Rich Plasma

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), also known as the vampire facial, has gained so much attention in recent years and is hailed as the “fountain of youth.” According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, while more evidence is needed to know whether this treatment works or not, PRP is currently seen as a viable non-surgical anti-aging treatment by:

• Introducing volume to sagging cheeks
• Reducing fine lines and wrinkles
• Addressing deep creases
• Improving the appearance of acne scars
• Enhancing skin complexion

PRP is a three-step process that involves:

1. Drawing out blood from your arm.
2. Your blood sample will be placed and spun in a centrifuge to separate the beneficial platelets and platelet-rich plasma, which boosts natural collagen production.
3. The PRP will be introduced through the microneedling technique across the cheeks and other treatment areas in the face to allow the skin to absorb the proteins.

The final results of PRP become more noticeable within six weeks after your first treatment. Your doctor may recommend another appointment or combining PRP with non-surgical laser skin resurfacing or skin tightening procedures to maximize its effectiveness.

4. Thermage

Thermage is among the best treatments for sagging cheeks for younger patients who are only beginning to see mild jowl formation.

It is a revolutionary laser skin tightening treatment that uses radiofrequency energy to heat the deepest layers of the dermis to firm up the skin’s surface and promote collagen production. As a versatile non-surgical cosmetic procedure, Thermage can be used to lift, contour, and improve the overall skin quality of different areas of the face including the cheeks, eyelids, forehead, and even the neck, arms, and hands.

Thermage is a perfect lunchtime cosmetic treatment, a typical appointment can take 20 minutes to an hour, depending on your case. It has virtually zero downtime, which means you can come back to the office or see your friends for coffee, and no one would have a clue that there’s magic happening in your skin. Your doctor may recommend a series of two to six treatments spaced weeks apart to see continuous skin tightening results.

 

 

5. Ultherapy

Ultherapy is one of the best treatments for sagging cheeks that does not require invasive surgical procedures or significant downtime. The ideal candidate should be someone in their younger years who has excellent skin laxity.

This non-invasive skin-tightening treatment can lift, firm, contour, and emphasize definition in the facial area using advanced ultrasound technology. It also promotes healthy collagen production in the skin, delivering anti-aging benefits months post-treatment.

It’s a hassle-free in-office cosmetic procedure that takes anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes. Expect subtle but significant improvements right after your first session with minimal redness or warmth in the treatment area as a side effect, which dissipates on its own after a few minutes.

Other than to treat sagging cheeks, Ultherapy is also cleared by the FDA for the treatment of an individual’s brow, chin, chest, and neck areas.

6. Facelift

While the non-surgical cosmetic treatments mentioned above can produce dramatic improvements for younger patients, plastic surgery is still the best treatment for sagging cheeks on older patients. A facelift procedure effectively lifts and firms up the sagging facial tissues to achieve a younger appearance. It surgically removes loose, excess, and hanging skin around the facial area, smoothes out deep folds, and tightens the deep facial tissues.

There are different types of facelifts:

• Mini Facelift – This type of facelift is best suited for patients with a mild degree of sagging cheeks and jowls. It involves tightening the facial tissues, correcting the jowls, and lifting the jawline using shorter incisions that are cleverly concealed along the hairline above the ears or in the natural creases around the ears. A mini facelift offers facial rejuvenation and is a proactive approach against the visible signs of aging before they become too obvious.
  Although less invasive and painful than a full facelift, a mini facelift is still performed under local anesthesia with oral or intravenous sedation and will involve at least a week of downtime.
• Standard or Traditional Facelift – For older patients with more advanced signs of aging like pronounced sagging of cheeks, jowls, and the neck, a standard or full facelift may be more practical. This plastic surgery procedure is undeniably more extensive than a mini facelift, but the results are absolutely worth it. In the hands of a talented and qualified plastic surgeon, you can turn back the hands of time with a refreshed and younger look.
• McLean Clinic’s Three-Day Facelift – At McLean Clinic, facelifts are performed in the comfort of our private plastic surgery clinic in Mississauga, Ontario. Dr. Hugh McLean uses advanced surgical techniques that boast incredible results but with less bruising and downtime than a typical facelift procedure.

Best Treatment for Sagging Cheeks at McLean Clinic

From Botox to fillers, and Thermage to facelifts, we’ve got the best treatments for sagging cheeks at McLean Clinic. Dr. McLean is a board-certified plastic surgeon with decades of experience in aesthetic medical treatments and his passion is to help you achieve your desired results. If you’re interested in any of these procedures, please send us a message and a member of our team will get back to you shortly.

Book your free consultation today!