Marionette lines—Inland Empire’s hot, dry, sunny climate makes them quite common. Marionette lines can make a happy person look sad. They can make you look old when you still feel vibrant and full of energy. They routinely appear when you’re in your 40s, but marionette lines can begin as early as your 20s or 30s. What causes marionette lines? How can you eliminate them? Do marionette line fillers work? Do you need a surgical procedure? Which one is the best option for you?
Why Do You Get Marionette Lines?
Marionette lines appear for several reasons. One is aging skin. Inland Empire weather is tough on your skin. In any climate, your collagen and elastin production start to decline after your early 20s. These proteins keep your skin firm and elastic. Too much sun exposure, more than moderate drinking, and any smoking or vaping all reduce your collagen and elastin production even more. Your skin begins to sag, causing lines and wrinkles to appear. That often includes nasolabial folds and marionette lines.
Volume loss also contributes to marionette lines. When you were young, fat pads under your facial skin gave you rounded features and smooth cheeks. As you age, you often add fat where you don’t want it and lose fat where you do want it—under your facial skin. Dieting to lose unwanted fat can reduce your facial fat pads even more, causing lines, wrinkles, hollow cheeks, and marionette lines to appear.
Gravity plays a role in this process. It continually drags your facial muscles and skin downward. That makes your mid-cheeks sag where they’re anchored above your mouth, causing nasolabial folds.
Sagging at the ends of your mouth can also cause marionette lines.
Then there are your expressions. The depressor anguli oris muscles (DAOM) that run from the corners of your mouth to your chin help you express feelings such as sadness and anger. If these muscles become strong, they pull the corners of your mouth down, causing marionette lines. Getting marionette lines in your 20s or early 30s could show that your muscles are a little too strong.
Would BOTOX® or a Marionette Line Filler Work Here?
As a matter of fact, they can. However, a lot depends on your age and the reasons for your marionette lines. If strong depressor anguli oris muscles are responsible, BOTOX® injections could help.
In many cases, volume loss also contributes to the problem. If you’re in your 30s or early 40s, filler injections could reduce your marionette lines. But remember, fillers are temporary. To keep your marionette lines from deepening you’ll need to get more injections on schedule. That’s every year for hyaluronic acid fillers because your body readily absorbs them. Fillers that stimulate collagen production, like Sculptra® and Bellafill, last longer. Bellafill can last up to 5 years. So, as I recommend in “Best Filler for Nasolabial Folds?” on LookYounger.News, Bellafill is often a better value because of its longevity.
Please note that marionette lines filler injections must be performed with care. One of my colleagues reported that several new patients came to him after getting marionette lines filler injections elsewhere and complained, “I look like a chipmunk.”
Another physician, speaking of marionette lines, wrote: “In the past, we used dermal fillers to treat them, but we don’t recommend this anymore simply because it doesn’t work.”
That probably varies from case to case. But it’s worth noting that The Cleveland Clinic stated:
“Various cosmetic treatments can reduce the severity of marionette lines and improve the look of your skin. Surgery is the only long-lasting solution for marionette lines.”
Get Rid of Marionette Lines for Years—Even in Inland Empire
The Cleveland Clinic is right. BOTOX® and marionette lines fillers can help—for a while. The only treatment that can substantially soften or completely get rid of marionette lines for years is a facelift. With facelift options available to you, how do you determine which facelift will work best for you? Your age, the state of your facial muscles and skin, and the degree of facial aging you have will help determine the answer.
Facelift options include:
Mini Lift
You hear a lot about the mini lift from some plastic and facial plastic surgeons. This facelift employs a shorter incision than other types. Using shorter incisions in front of your ears, your surgeon will lift your facial tissues diagonally and suture them down, removing any excess.
The mini lift can firm your jawline, eradicating small jowls and improving large ones. It can eliminate wrinkles on your lower face and tighten up marionette lines. It can also reduce your nasolabial folds.
It’s important to note that the mini lift’s shorter incisions and decreased downtime come at a price. As you’ll see in “Is the Mini Lift or Mini Facelift Cost Really a Bargain?” at LookYounger.News, this procedure’s results are far less than what you can achieve with a full facelift.
If you have significant aging in areas other than just your lower face, a successful mini lift can have unexpected consequences. Just as a new sofa can make your living room rug look old, facial aging you have not addressed can look worse following a mini lift, leaving you with an unfinished look. So, if your nasolabial folds are deep, your cheeks sag, or you have a turkey neck, other procedures are probably better than a mini lift.
SMAS Facelift—Inland Empire’s Traditional Standard
For years, if you had a facelift in Inland Empire, it was probably a SMAS facelift. It can provide a natural, younger look. Your surgeon will tighten up the SMAS membrane in the layers between your skin and your main facial muscles. They will remove or fold over a quarter-inch diagonal strip from the membrane and suture it closed. This will lift your skin and muscles up to one-third of an inch. The final step is to remove excess skin.
This procedure gets rid of lines and wrinkles, jowls, and marionette lines. It will soften nasolabial folds, but it cannot eliminate them. While the results are natural-looking, they are limited. If you have noticeable neck aging or sagging cheeks, you’ll need additional procedures to improve them.
Deep Plane Facelift—Best Treatment for Marionette Lines in Inland Empire
The best facelift available in Inland Empire is the deep plane facelift. This procedure can truly make you look years younger. It eliminates marionette lines, jowls, lines, and wrinkles from your mid-face to your chin. Unlike any other facelift, the deep plane facelift can significantly improve your nasolabial folds and rejuvenate your aging neck without a neck lift. It can dramatically improve your appearance.
Some facial plastic surgeons perform a partial deep plane facelift. At STC Plastic Surgery you can get a full deep plane facelift, just like they perform in New York City and Beverly Hills, but at a much more affordable price. You can learn how in “How to Make a $27,000 Beverly Hills-Quality Facelift Cost Much Less” on LookYounger.News.
Schedule Your Consultation with Dr. Machida—Your Inland Empire Expert
If you’d like to find out which procedure will work best for you, why not come in for a free evaluation? After performing 6,000 facelifts, I can recommend the appropriate procedure to help you get a great new look that will work within your budget.
Learn more about treating your marionette lines by scheduling your consultation with Dr. Brian Machida at STC Plastic Surgery by calling (909) 476-2600 or contact us through our website today.