Some people have naturally sad-looking faces, which they can’t help – we’ve come across such a person. For this person, most people who don’t know her think she is always sad and miserable or is incapable of showing any kinds of emotions, or she simply doesn’t care; but that’s a story for another day (resting b. face anyone?). On the other hand, there are folks who have developed a naturally sad-looking face over time for one reason or another. So in my search for answers, I caught up with my regular go-to expert in faces and all – Dr. Rory McGoldrick a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, who shed some answers on what causes a naturally sad-looking face, and what could be done about it.
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According to good old (not really old) Dr. Rory, there are some common causes of a naturally sad-looking face; and the best thing is that this sadness can be treated cosmetically, leaving you looking happier or your old self again.
Causes and Treatments of a Naturally Sad-looking Face
Brow Ptosis
This is another fancy term for a droopy brow. Brow ptosis is caused by loss of volume in the upper area of the face, which significantly affects facial expressions like making a person look sad while they are not sad at all. This loss of volume can come about due to aging, weight loss, or prior trauma.
Treatment: In cases of mild brow ptosis, your plastic surgeon can use Botox to lift the brows a tad bit, which is a temporary solution because it normally wears off after 3 to 6 months, but is also good for those who don’t want to go the surgical route. The more permanent solution would be undergoing a brow-lift surgery, which would lift the drooping eyebrow, leaving you looking more alive.
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Premature Nasolabial Folds
Nasolabial folds/lines are generally caused by loss of volume around the area due to several reasons including aging (premature or natural) and drastic weight loss on the face.
Treatment: The solution to correcting premature nasolabial folds is with the use of dermal fillers like Juvederm voluma, which improves the folds while still preserving your natural facial contours. The fillers’ treatment can be combined with laser skin resurfacing to tighten the skin as well as regenerate collagen production.
Marionette Lines
These are those lines that run down from the corners of your mouth, just like an outline of a marionette’s mouth (no one wants to look like a marionette). These lines also tend to make you look miserable and are also caused by a lack of volume to the upper face, leaving deep creases below the mouth.
Treatment: Just like the premature nasolabial folds, marionette lines can be treated with fillers, but this time on the corners of the lips and the chin. On the other hand, to make the results last longer, you can opt for volume restoration with autologous fat injections.
Thin Lips
Although there are people naturally born with thin lips, others develop them over time, which gives them a naturally sad-looking face. The thin lips are caused by aging, a habit of pursing lips, smoking, or dehydration among others, which contribute to collagen depletion. Thin lips not only make you look sad, but they make you look pissed (always pissed).
Treatment: The only treatment for very thin lips is the administration of dermal fillers, whereby the filler is injected into the lips and surrounding areas to plump them up. Note that only a small amount of the filler is used, so as to give the illusion of natural-looking lips. If a lot of filler is used, then you’ll end up with fake-looking lips or ‘duck lips’, which are not very attractive.
Since everyone is made differently, someone might like their naturally sad-looking face, while others would like to change it to a more sunshine look. But hey, everybody has a right to be who they are, and if you like it, don’t change it.
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