A recent study by surgeons at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, was presented at the annual American Society of Plastic Surgeon’s convention in Seattle. The study examined faces of mothers and their daughters. It found that the faces of the daughters were beginning to show signs of aging like wrinkles, thinning, and the loss of elasticity around the eyes in exactly the same way their mothers’ faces aged. The effects became more noticeable after the daughters reached their mid 30’s.

The study was the first to scientifically prove that women age just like their mothers. Until now, studies of aging of the face have mostly been subjective.

The study consisted of ten mother and daughter pairs that looked very similar and ranged in age from 15 to 90 years of age. Using 3D facial computer imaging the researchers were able to map out the most pronounced similarities of sagging eyelids and volume loss of facial fat that occurred around the tear ducts and the lower eyelids. These areas are most responsible for the loss of elasticity and slumping of muscles in the face as people age.

The loss of skin elasticity results in drooping folds in the upper eyelids and pronounced creases under the eyes. According to one researcher, women when they age, their faces are more noticeable because they change from an oval shape to a square as the skin sags. Men’s faces, on the other hand, tend to be consistently square throughout their lifetime.

Based upon this research, surgeon’s can use this information to aid in cosmetic surgery on the eyes. Eye surgery is one of the most common cosmetic surgery procedures performed today. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPA) eyelid surgery was the fourth most common plastic surgery operation in 2008.

One of the authors of the study, Dr Subhas Gupta, said, “Knowing exactly how a woman’s lower eyelids will change with age can help surgeons plan a surgical “correction” that will prevent the changes seen in her mother.”