How to fight loss of tone in the face, neck and décolleté.

Premature aging and loss of tone mainly depends on reduced vitality of skin fibroblasts. Hyaluronic acid-based biorevitalizing injections can be useful to stimulate their activity.

Loss of facial tone is not just an inevitable effect of aging – other factors contribute significantly to our skin’s quality: exposure to the sun, a poor diet, smoking, the onset of menopause, just to name a few.

The mechanical support provided by the dermis is above all a product of its collagen and elastic fibers functioning correctly. A set of “young” fibers consists of properly folded proteins, with an adequate amino acids composition and a regular structural organization capable of imparting tension and elasticity to the dermis. On the contrary, a set of “aged” fibers presents both anomalies in its amino acid composition and in its structure, with fiber disorganization and the presence of rigid bonds between fibrils which alter their mechanical strength (making them stiffer and more prone to breakage) and elasticity.

Aged fibroblasts require new stimuli.

Collagen and elastic fibers, as well as other components present in the intercellular compartment, are synthesized by fibroblasts, a.k.a. dermal cells. The aging process and the loss of skin tone is closely linked to a reduction in the vitality of these cells: their synthesis of proteins and substances like hyaluronic acid is significantly reduced. Likewise, their ability to break down old fiber is also impaired. Treatment for loss of facial tone therefore cannot do without a proliferative and metabolic stimulation of fibroblasts.

Hyaluronic acid-based biorevitalization.

Fortunately, recent discoveries reveal that senescent cells can be specifically stimulated in a targeted manner thanks to the presence of receptors which bind to small fragments of natural (i.e. non-chemically modified) hyaluronic acid. Once complexed, these receptors trigger cell turnover and the synthesis of new structural components. This is the fundamental principle of low-molecular weight hyaluronic acid-based “biorevitalization” techniques.

Hyaluronic acid: what is the most suitable molecular weight?

In addition to low-molecular weight, medium and/or high-molecular weight hyaluronic acid can exert similar effects, as long as they, too, are non-chemically modified (i.e. without the addition of synthetic molecules). In fact, the intercellular compartment also contains enzymes known as hyaluronidases which capable of cutting large hyaluronic acid fragments into smaller units, which are perfectly capable of stimulating the fibroblast self-renewal receptors.

Furthermore, high-molecular weight hyaluronic acid exerts an important antioxidant effect by rapidly neutralizing the free radicals which are responsible for the aging process. Lastly, “hybrid” forms of hyaluronic acid, that is containing complexes of high-, medium- and low-molecular weight hyaluronic acid, have the added benefit of creating a kind of scaffold in the dermis, capable of structurally reproducing all the synthetic and spatial arrangement functions of the dermis’s components.

These “hybrid” forms, which are obtained via an exclusively physical treatment of biosynthetic hyaluronic acid, are currently in wide demand for injection sessions by patients worldwide, precisely because of their patient- and doctor-appraised ability to tone and rejuvenate the skin.

Hyaluronic acid, on repeat.

Hyaluronic acid injection treatments are performed in cycles, usually beginning with two injection sessions one month apart and subsequent sittings every two- to three months. Obviously, proper lifestyle habits, the use of specific food supplements and an optimal cosmetic routine can make an important contribution to the rejuvenation process triggered by injected hyaluronic acid.