Face aged really quick over the last year. What is this?

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Hi, I was always quite lucky with my appearance and never felt like I have to worry about aging. Genes, I guess? however, over the last year I noticed that I really started to look like an old woman. I'm 50.. so not that young - but also, not that massively old. So why I suddenly look like this?... My face looks heavy, eyes look small, face looks big. All droopy, lined, jowly. WHF is this..? Any shared experience would be welcome.

Same happened to me over about a year. Loss of oestrogen leads to loss of collagen. It's the loss of collagen in your skin that leads to the loss of structure and sagging of the face.
Women with square faces seem to have less impact from that.

The sugars from alcohol and unhealthy diets will also add to this but I think loss of oestrogen is the major cause.

Nothing can reverse it except strategically placed fillers eg in nose to mouth & mouth to chin lines, but HRT and a healthy diet will help slow the progression down in future.

Sounds like the jowls and double chin are linked to excess fat. I'd focus on losing weight, that would reverse it. If you have eye bags, try going to bed earlier and drinking more water instead of caffeinated drinks.

I would probably agree but I put on weight gradually over the several years and this change to my appearance happened seemingly independent of wait gain (last year I was around the same weight but looking much younger).

For me it happened mid fifties. I was always told I looked a lot younger than my age, but suddenly I feel everything is going south, my jaw line, eyes. I do need to lose weight and am on it, but worry I'll look even saggier!

Menopause really accelerated ageing.

Not convinced about the stress thing. My life the last six years has been more stressful/traumatic than most people ever experience, yet I think I’ve aged normally ( almost 51).

I hate all the ‘ it’s ok to age as no man needs to shag you anymore stuff’ as I still love sex and want men to want me.

I've never heard of this, I've been using it for a few years with no eye issues.

I’m a size 8

Jowls aren’t a weight thing. People are just programmed to age differently due to various factors. People with good cheek bones are less likely to jowl, as the cheek bones hold up their face.

I’m a size 6 and jowling is one of the ways I am ageing. My Dad was the same. It’s genetic.

Interesting to see that most people have plateaued at best, but the mum who stopped her extreme drinking had a reversal as did the PP who took up strength training. Taking notes

But everything we get into our bodies for fuel goes into our stomach. Why does collagen puzzle you. Any nutrients our body requires for everything including skin comes through our digestive system.

Like the rest here I think ageing does happen in spurts and there is even some studies to back this up I've read in the past.

I think for women perimenopause and menopause is probably the biggest issue. I think your collagen production slows down even earlier in your 30's. Then the slow decline continues until you hit menopause and your collagen and skin density falls off a cliff! That is also when you really see the effects of habits like smoking, sun exposure, stress, bad diet and so on really show up as your youthful hormone profile stops compensating.

I started HRT at 43 and am not yet post menopausal at 46. Initially the HRT along with some dermal needling really seemed to help my skin but just this past year I felt like I was looking and feeling worse so I have upped my dose and things seem to be better now and as well as doing dermal needling I've added in an LED mask, and a growth factor serum and will probably do a TCA peel before the summer. It feels like every couple of years what I was doing before just isn't enough anymore. I've already been doing tretinoin for 23 years and SPF all my life, I've never done sun bathing, never smoked and I haven't had an alcoholic drink since I was a 18.

I think my skin looks alright for my age but there is always room for improvement. I've read that you need to start with "collagen banking" which you do prior to your menopause to compensate for the loss as you get older but I don't know if there is any science to back that up or if its just a way to sell women more treatments.

I am interested in interventions like radiofrequency, microcurrent and the newer injectables like the polynucleotide but I'm still looking into all that. I do do some guasha lymphatic drainage and I think it does help and some facial exercises but I never know how much good it does as every face is different you probably need to take care of how it is affecting you. For example I've seen some bad results with the oralift device.

There are also supplements and dietary changes to make, I've veggie and cook everything from scratch with loads of fresh fruit and veg but I've got a sweet tooth and I don't drink enough water.

I know people will say its natural to look older as you get older and of course it is but their is new research that actually links the health and aging of your skin to how you are aging internally and your health as you get older which means that doing what you can to look younger (within reason) and maintain your skin is actually a pretty smart thing to do to protect your overall health and longevity and looking better for longer is just a bonus.

Yeah I think weight training helps boost human growth hormone. I do some yoga and cardio but I am going to start doing some proper strength training.

I haven't drank booze for 28 years so that hasn't been an issue.

A doctor told me that if you aren't getting enough protein in your diet then collagen supplements do help but as they do get broken down into their various amino acids they will just work the same way as any other protein in your diet and some collagen supplements also contain co-factors which can help but he said getting it all from the diet was better as some of the supplements contain contaminants. However I think for a lot of women the collagen supplements work as a good insurance.

Apparently cottage cheese is a great option if your struggling to get enough protein as it has a high amount of proline if people prefer to avoid the supplements, eating enough protein is also good for brain fog.

Apparently glycation (collagen damage from sugars) accounts only for about 4% of skin aging and most Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are actually from cooked meats as opposed to things like sweets. However eating too much sugar is bad for you in so many ways that it is best to moderate your intake of sweet treats.

No idea but I’m mid 40s and my friends a few years older than me are suddenly all having face lifts so i don’t think it’s just you. Think something happens in early 50s 😄

Thanks - but since she's been dead over 10 years, I don't think I'll pass on your comment

@NadjasFamiliar It was just a general comment to add to the thread no need to be rude.

Mine was pain that caused it, I had spinal surgery but looked in the mirror and the pain was basically etched all over my face
Had a few Botox treatments then started using tretinoin from skin and me

But, you quoted me? Did you not mean to?

I did but I was just picking up on the general idea that eating too much sugar causes wrinkles when glycation causes only about 4% of skin aging and most of the cause is from cooked meats. I wasn't suggesting you tell your late mother to stop eating sweets but suggesting in general to everyone that eating too much sugar is unhealthy for other reasons and just because it might not have a large impact on you skin via glycation it's still an idea to reduce intake.

Wouldn’t be easier, cheaper and more effective to have a facelift/eye lift etc. All these non surgical treatments seem to cost a fortune, have minimal effect and need repeating often? Granted I know not everyone wants to go under the knife but at least the results would last a long time and pound for pound seems a better investment.

It isn't that expensive as yet for me and I don't need a face lift or even botox or filler as of yet. I have a skincare budget, if I feel like I need a facelift in the future then I will have one but currently I like to just do what I do to keep my skin looking good. My HRT is free from the NHS.

For me, I think it was the onset of menopause/perimenopause. HRT seems to be helping, but it's early days.

You can go on HRT even if you still have periods (a useless GP told me initially that you couldn't - costing me several years during which I could have benefited - but you can).

Davina McCall has a book called Menopausing which gives useful info.

@Hattie98 I think getting on HRT prior to the menopause does really preserve your looks a lot actually. Many women wait until they are post menopausal to start and by then a lot of the damage with collagen loss has already happened.