The skin has two very important proteins: collagen and elastin.
Elastin is the protein that gives skin elasticity, its tone or tautness and its resistance to stretching. Unfortunately, we lose elastin with aging, sun exposure, poor diet and exposure to toxins, like cigarette smoking. The loss of elasticity contributes to skin hanging loosely when we bend over and the bunching of skin when we drop our chin or bend at the waist. It can also be part of the reason for there being extra skin after pregnancy or weight loss.
Skin Elasticity in Denver
Among the changes in skin with aging, the loss of skin elasticity is one of the most important. Skin elasticity determines the tone of the skin, the ability of the skin to remain firm and resist stretching. The loss of elasticity leads to sagging, wrinkles and folds.
Cosmetic Surgery cannot restore elasticity. With various surgical procedures we can remove extra, stretched out skin, which can improve shape and contour, and reduce some folds.
When we do lifting procedures, we may pull the skin tight, but how tight the skin remains is a function of elasticity. No matter how tight we pull, the skin must return to its resting tone. After surgery, this happens gradually over several weeks.
For example, when people try to see what a Denver facelift might do for them, they will pull their face with their fingers by their ears. The resulting stretch will lift jowls and pull away some extra skin, but it also stretches out wrinkles and fine lines. The smoothening of fine lines and wrinkles can be deceptive. It results from the immediate and active stretch placed on the skin. Even if the skin looks just like that right after the facelift, the skin can’t hold that degree of stretch for very long, and gradually (over several weeks) relaxes.
The degree of tightness (or relaxation) that the skin then maintains is determined by the amount of elasticity or tone in the skin, and not how tight the skin is pulled at the time of surgery.
Of course, pulling too tight (or too often) can result in an unnatural appearance.
So how do we best treat wrinkles?
More in my blogs and on my Denver plastic surgery website about skin care, lasers, chemical peels and skin resurfacing.
Denver Plastic Surgeon Continuing Education: The National Meetings
I just returned from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Meeting in Seattle, Washington. The ASPS is the world’s largest organization of board certified plastic surgeons, so it’s meeting draws experts from around the world.
Attending the meeting is a bit of a manic state: it is truly a three ring circus, with 2 to three major auditoria presenting scientific and clinical papers and symposia, side by side with exhibits and courses.
I have learned to go prepared with specific agendas and plan my time to hear the talks and see the exhibits on my list. At the same time, I know (and hope for) the unexpected will catch my attention, and present a new learning opportunity. That really is the essence of these conventions: the opportunity to learn from experts and colleagues, exchange ideas, and see what advances are on the horizon.
