


“Secondly, because fat is a living tissue, it’s less predictable - though, at the end of the day, using your body’s own fat as filler is always going to be the gold standard.” I needed to know: Why isn’t everyone doing this? “First off, it’s a surgical procedure that includes all of the associated risks and recovery time,” Dr. Sure, I’d heard about the Brazillian Butt Lift (during which plastic surgeons transfer liposuctioned fat from the belly and flanks to bulk up the booty), but I had no idea that similar fat injection techniques were being used to permanently plump up cheeks, lips, under eyes - basically, anywhere that facial fillers were gaining fame. He had me at “ fat grafting.” The Technique Used In Facial Fat Grafting Jason, “which will take care of the skin laxity and the volume loss at the same time.” “Once you get older, you’re better off getting a facelift with fat grafting,” explained Dr.

While I’d never been stellar at mental math, it seemed obvious that, as a sporty-something-year-old, this was going to get pretty pricey by my golden years. “But plan on dermal fillers lasting about six months to a year.” I tried not to wince as I wondered aloud: How often am I going to have to do this? “It varies from patient to patient,” Dr. Jason with questions as he thoughtfully examined my face, injecting hyaluronic acid filler into my tear troughs and cheeks. After discussing all of the risks, I decided to give it a try - peppering Dr. The result: wrinkling and irregularities.įillers, he explained, can restore some of that lost facial volume and refresh the youthful contour temporarily. He explained to me that facial aging isn’t just caused by gravity, but also by the redistribution and loss of fat throughout the face.

To see if I could bring back a bit of my baby face, I met with board certified UCLA plastic surgeon Jason Roostaeian, MD. It hardly seemed fair: Did I really have to choose between a slim physique and a smooth face? I had, admittedly, never given much thought to the fat in my face - until it started to disappear. Before I reached a certain age (let’s just say, it rhymes with “sporty”), I’d only ever cared about what I considered to be an excess of body fat.
