ABSTRACT
Aging is an inevitable process. Most patients identify the concept of self-image in
their facial appearance. The face is also our interface with the outside world. Changes
in the face secondary to aging are the most apparent. Some aspects of aging are fairly
uncontrollable, and these are largely based on hereditary factors. Other factors are
somewhat controllable and are largely the result of exposure to the elements and harmful
habits. The processes of facial aging are slowly becoming understood. Although different
patients appear to age at different rates, biologic aging does not seem necessarily
to follow chronologic aging in the same fashion in different individuals. However,
a fundamental pattern as well as sequence in aging is fairly predictable and describable.
The effects of ultraviolet radiation and involutional changes are manifested in the
skin as wrinkles. Involutional changes in the suspensory structures in the face result
in skin laxity and dependency. In this article, the various factors involved in aging
are reviewed. The effects of these factors in different regions are discussed, with
representative illustrations to represent concepts.
KEY WORDS
Facial aging - rhytids - photoaging
