Journal
Facial anatomy and ageing,
explained properly
Most information about faces online is written to sell something. This section is not.
Research based articles about facial anatomy, how faces change with age, and what the studies actually say about it. Written and clinically reviewed by a registered medical practitioner, with sources cited and review dates published.
Dr Ibrahim Hawli
MBBS · Registered Medical Practitioner · Ahpra MED0002627622
In short
This is a reference section rather than a marketing one. Articles cover facial anatomy, the mechanisms behind age related change, and what the published evidence supports, with sources cited and review dates published. They do not name or promote prescription medicines, they do not make outcome claims, and where a subject belongs to a dentist, surgeon or general practitioner, they say so and refer it onward.
01 / Purpose
Why this
section exists
Three reasons, and the first is the one that matters most.
01
The questions people ask are not the ones clinic websites answer
A person who notices a change in their face wants to know what is happening and why. Clinic websites answer a different question, which is what to buy. Those are not the same thing, and the gap between them is where most misinformation about faces lives.
02
Understanding the anatomy changes the decision
The thing a person notices and the thing actually causing it are frequently different. A fold that looks like a wrinkle is often a structural boundary. A neck band is often a muscle edge that has separated. Knowing which applies to you changes what is worth doing, and in some cases means the answer is nothing.
03
Most of what is published on these subjects is out of date
Medical understanding moves. Jaw clenching was blamed on the bite for decades and the current evidence says otherwise. Consumer content rarely catches up, because it was written once to rank and then left alone. Articles here carry a review date and are revised when the evidence moves.
02 / Editorial Standards
How these articles
are written
This section has editorial standards, and publishing them is part of the point.
Standard 01
Written and clinically reviewed by a registered doctor
Dr Ibrahim Hawli, MBBS, Ahpra registration MED0002627622. Verifiable on the public register. No article is ghostwritten by an agency and signed off unread.
Standard 02
Sources are peer reviewed journals and clinical studies
Not other clinic websites. Where a specific figure appears, the study it came from is identified. Cadaver studies, imaging analyses and systematic reviews are preferred over opinion pieces.
Standard 03
Where the evidence disagrees, the article says so
This happens more often than consumer content admits. Two well conducted studies on how the jaw changes with age reached opposite conclusions. Stating the disagreement is more useful than resolving it artificially.
Standard 04
Every article carries a review date
Medical content decays. A visible date tells you how current the article is, and an article past its review date is revised or withdrawn rather than left standing.
Standard 05
Limits are stated before benefits
Where something cannot be changed, or can only be partly changed, that appears before any discussion of what is possible.
Standard 06
No article names or promotes a prescription medicine
This is a regulatory requirement in Australia and it is also better writing. Describing what the anatomy does is more informative than naming a product.
03 / Scope
What you will
not find here
Stating this plainly is more useful than a disclaimer at the bottom of the page.
Six things this section does not do, and one long paragraph that explains what belongs elsewhere.
No product or prescription medicine names
Advertising prescription medicines to the public is prohibited in Australia. Articles describe the anatomy and the mechanism instead.
No outcome claims and no comparison imagery
Nothing here promises a result, and comparison photographs do not appear anywhere on this site.
No costs, packages or offers
This is a reference section. What a consultation or procedure costs is discussed at consultation, where it can be discussed properly.
No testimonials or endorsements
Testimonials about regulated health services are restricted, and paid endorsements for higher risk cosmetic procedures are prohibited. Transparency about who writes the articles is offered instead.
Nothing directed at anyone under 18
Advertising cosmetic procedures to minors is prohibited under the current guidelines.
Nothing outside the scope of this practice
Several subjects that sit adjacent to cosmetic medicine belong to other practitioners, and articles here refer them onward rather than claiming them.
Jaw joint disorders, tooth wear and grinding diagnosis belong to dentists and oral medicine specialists. Skeletal jaw disproportion belongs to orthodontists and maxillofacial surgeons. Surgical lifting belongs to surgeons. Sleep disordered breathing belongs to medical practitioners with that expertise. Articles here reference those subjects accurately where relevant and refer them on.
04 / Contents
Browse
by area
Articles are grouped by the region of the face they concern, matching the structure of the concern pages. Each area links to a set of articles covering the anatomy, the age related changes, and what the published evidence supports.
Region 01
The forehead, brows, temples and the area around the eyes. Covers the muscles that produce expression lines, the temporal fat compartments, and the anatomy of the periorbital region.
Region 02
Cheeks, the nose, and the folds that form between them. Covers the fat compartments, the structural boundaries that produce folds, and why a fold is not the same thing as a wrinkle.
Region 03
The lips themselves, the area above them, and the folds running down from the corners of the mouth. Covers the vermilion, the philtrum, and how proportion is actually measured.
Region 04
The jawline, chin, chewing muscles and the boundary between face and neck. Covers mandibular change with age, the muscles involved in clenching, and what the imaging data shows.
Region 05
The platysma, the bands it produces, and the relationship between the neck and the lower face.
Region 06
Skin quality, sun damage, and conditions such as excessive sweating that are medical rather than purely cosmetic.
05 / Start Here
Three articles that
apply to almost everything
If you are not sure where to begin, these three cover ideas that appear across almost every concern this practice assesses.
Reading these three in order will change how the rest of the section reads.
Face yoga, mewing, chewing gum for a sharper jawline, and jaw workouts are widely promoted. Some have modest evidence, some have none, and some can make things worse. What the research actually shows.
Cleft chin, butt chin and chin dimpling look similar and are three different things anatomically. One is a bone feature you have from birth. Two are muscle-related. Which one you have decides what, if anything, can be done.
Excessive sweating has a medical name, two forms, and one important distinction underneath it. Most is benign. Some is a sign of something else. Knowing which is which is the first step.
Jaw pain from clenching has three possible sources: the muscle itself, force transmitted through the teeth, or the jaw joint. Which one you have decides who you should see, and it is not always what people assume.
Article 01
Not the version involving only skin and gravity. Bone remodels, fat compartments change independently of each other, muscles alter with use, and skin changes last. Understanding the order of those changes explains most of what people notice.
Article 02
The single most useful distinction in facial anatomy, and the one that explains why some things respond to treatment and others do not.
Article 03
Tissue quality, muscle activity, tethering points and anatomical variants are established by hand. Why remote assessment from an image is not adequate.
06 / The Evidence
A note on how the
evidence is handled
One thing worth explaining, because it appears throughout this section.
Articles here frequently state that the evidence is mixed, or that a commonly quoted figure is less settled than it appears. That is deliberate, and it is not hedging.
Facial anatomy research is often conducted on small samples, frequently on cadaveric specimens, and historically on narrow populations. A measurement derived from a study of thirty European cadavers may not describe every face. Several widely quoted proportions in cosmetic medicine originate in studies that specified a population, and the specification was dropped as the figure was repeated.
Where that applies, the articles say so. A figure with its origin and its limits stated is more useful than a figure presented as universal, and it is more honest about what is actually known.
07 / About The Author
Written and reviewed by Dr Ibrahim Hawli, MBBS
Registered medical practitioner at Tajmeel Cliniq in Glenroy, Melbourne. Ahpra registration MED0002627622, verifiable on the public register. Level 1 Certification with the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine. Advanced training in non surgical nasal assessment with Aesthetic Intelligence.
Surgery is not performed at this practice. Where a surgical, dental, orthodontic or other specialist opinion is appropriate, that is what the articles recommend.
Questions about anything in this section can be raised at a consultation, or by contacting the clinic directly on 0404 342 222.
08 / Common Questions
Questions about
this section
If your question is not answered here, ask it at your consultation. There is time set aside for exactly that.
Dr Ibrahim Hawli, MBBS, a registered medical practitioner, Ahpra registration MED0002627622. Articles are written and clinically reviewed by him rather than produced by a marketing agency.
Advertising prescription medicines to the public is prohibited in Australia. Articles describe the anatomy and the mechanism instead, which is more informative in any case.
Every article carries a review date and a next review date. Medical understanding moves, and articles are revised when it does rather than left standing indefinitely.
Because it sometimes is. Facial anatomy research is often based on small samples and narrow populations, and well conducted studies occasionally reach opposite conclusions. Stating that is more accurate than presenting one side as settled.
No. They are general information. They cannot account for your individual anatomy, history or medications, which is what an in person assessment is for.
They will help you understand what is happening and what questions to ask. The decision itself follows an individual consultation, because what is appropriate depends on findings that cannot be established from reading.
Ready to book?
Concern pages, if you have already
decided what you want to discuss
The journal is for understanding. The concern pages are for deciding, and each one sets out what happens at consultation for that concern.
Understanding first.
Everything else after.
Articles in this section provide general information about facial anatomy and cosmetic medicine and do not constitute medical advice. Any cosmetic medical procedure carries risks. Individual outcomes vary and not all people are suitable candidates. Any decision follows an individual consultation with a registered medical practitioner.