ABSTRACT
African Americans tend to manifest signs of aging 10 to 20 years later than age-matched lighter counterparts and develop muscle-related or expressive “smile” lines over time more predominantly than suninduced wrinkles over the face ( 13 ). Their faces present the signs of aging differently, as well, with more sagging of the malar fat pads and in the mid-face ( 22 ). In contrast, linear wrinkling along the forehead, corners of the eyes and mouth, is seen more commonly in Caucasians. In a study comparing Chinese and European women, Chinese women exhibited a pattern more like African Americans ( 14 ). They showed fewer fine wrinkles and more folds and fat pad re-distribution than age-matched Caucasians.
