Now Hear This! Don't Let Your Ears Show Your Age!

Though our ears are 90 percent formed by age 6, they do change shape and appear to enlarge as we age. The ears droop as soft tissue (skin, fat, and muscle) relaxes and structural support changes. “Bone recedes with time, so there's less foundation to hold the skin and cartilage up,” says board certified NYC Dermatologist Dr. Kally Papantoniou. “Plus, loss of elasticity and collagen in the skin causes sagging.” If you've been hanging major bling from your ears, there are so simple non-invasive solutions.

Over the many years of sun exposure and loss of collagen and elasticity in the skin of the ear lobes, which are usually where the ear piercings are located, can become wrinkled and thinned out. “What this does,” says Dr. Papantoniou, “is weaken the piercing itself so that earrings are not held firmly in the ear and can sag down. The support is also not there so the ear looks shriveled. This is easily improved with the use of hyaluronic acid fillers, such as restylane, juvederm or belotero. The look is completely natural, and the earrings are held up perfectly afterwards, with hardly any down time. For a patient who enjoys wearing large earrings, and has become aware of the appearance of their ears, rejuvenating has become very accessible and effective with fillers.”

Testing for Ear Lobe Droop
Test yourself with an earring like that pictured or described here.


Button Style Tiger Eye Earring suffering from Ear Lobe Droop
One of the most challenging styles of earring a person can wear is the circular button earring. If it’s half an inch in size and has a post in the middle. Put it on with a normal sized gold backing. Most likely that earring will little by little tip forward until it’s pointing to the pavement. This is not only a very unattractive look, but it is hard on your ear-pierced area. The tricky thing about testing is that at first it looks great, but as the day wears on and you use the phone and other activities, it starts to droop or sag.

Important tips for the young and old to prevent sagging

1. Never sleep with earrings. Even if this does not feel uncomfortable, it could mean 8 hours of an ear being tugged by the earring against a pillow.

2. Don’t wear heavy earrings every day routinely. Save this for an important event, or limit the amount of time you wear them to few hours.

3. Don’t forget your sunscreen! Photodamage is the # 1 aging factor for the ear.

4. Consider applying some of your retinol cream to the lower part of the ear when you apply to your face.

5. If you have an over grown scar on the ear, this may be a keloid and it can be treated with either injections or surgical removal, see your dermatologist.


Dr. Kaleroy Papantoniou is a Cosmetic Dermatologist, Board Certified by the American Board of Dermatology. She specializes in Injectables, Lasers, Body Contouring, Surgical and Medical Dermatology. Dr. Papantoniou is also a clinical instructor at Mount Sinai Health Center in New York City. She applies expert techniques and the newest technologies to treat her patients. Dr. Papantoniou focuses on providing her patients with the highest level of care, with special interests in natural and healthy alternatives to treatments and disease prevention. Connect with Dr. Papantoniou via twitter @DrPderm or her website www.DrPapantoniou.com