Hollow Temples

What are Hollow Temples?

Hollow, sunken temples are one of those changes that age you significantly and you may not even realize it. Volume loss here gives a drawn, aged look. It’s an area that isn’t always on the top of the list but it often should be!

Dermal fillers will restore lost volume to your temples and bring back those youthful contours to your upper face. It’s an area we love treating, but you’ll love it more!
It is very common to hear of jowls, nasolabial folds and sagging being facial aging concerns. Less is known of temple hollowing as one of the earliest signs of facial aging. As we grow older, we lose fat tissues from the temple area. Bone starts to recede too. Sunken temples can make you look aged, tired or haggard. A smooth transition over the temples, from the forehead down to the cheekbones, is an undeniable feature youthfulness. Here are some options available to fill ‘em up and restore a smooth contour to the temples.

How to get rid of Hollow Temples

Dermal Fillers

This simple option is a clinic-based procedure. Usually completed within 15 minutes, the temples are plumped up with dermal fillers, which will usually last a few months to a few years, depending on the type of fillers used. The commonest type of filler is hyaluronic acid fillers, which lasts for 6-9 months and the results are reversible with a dissolving injection (hyaluronidase) if you are not happy with the results. Other fillers such as Ellanse fillers are longer lasting, up to 2 years, but it is not dissolvable.

Thick dermal fillers such as Belotero,® Perlane-L, Juvederm Voluma XC, or Radiesse can be carefully injected into the temple area. Avoidance of blood vessels is key. A microcannula technique can help with this. By using a blunt ended microcannula, blood vessels are pushed aside and not pierced as they would be with a needle.

Dream Sculpture

Dream Sculpture harnesses the power of polylactic acid (Sculptra) to naturally increase the collagen in your tissues. It may not have the instant plumping effect of dermal fillers but the lasting, get-better-with-time effect is more lasting. A word of caution with both dermal fillers and Dream Scultpture. The temple is a region that is traversed by many blood vessels. Always look for a skilled doctor when having the procedure down. Injection of either of this material into the blood vessels may result in a cut to the blood supply to the skin and cause skin breakdown. There are reports that the filler material may migrate into blood vessels of the eye, causing blindness. These, thankfully, are rare complications, especially in experienced hands.

Fat Graft

Another way to volumize the temples that is growing in popularity is fat grafting. Here, fat is harvested from areas of abundance, such as the tummy or thighs, processed and re-injected into the face. “The approach I adopt in my Baby Face Restoration procedure is to fill areas that are naturally plump in youth,” explains Dr Chia Hui Ling, Consultant Plastic Surgeon, from SW1 Plastic Surgery Clinic, “like the temples, forehead, paranasal areas and upper cheeks”. Dr Chia added that this technique of rejuvenation delivers naturally youthful results. On top of that, fat grafts contains your very own adipose-derived stem cells which has a reparative ability, excellent for fine lines and wrinkles.