When you ask people to name the tell-tale parts of the body to look at when determining a lady’s age, most people will point to the woman’s hands and neck. However the earlobes are also another sign of a person’s true age.

Just as with any other part of the body, the earlobe will go through the natural ageing process. The earlobe is also constantly exposed to the sun and there are few people who will remember to apply sunscreen to their ears when applying it to the rest of their body!

Earlobes often become elongated over time thanks to a reduction in collagen meaning the elasticity in the skin is reduced. The skin also tends to become elongated, thin and saggy and surface wrinkles may appear. Women who like to wear dangly earrings are particularly at risk as the weight of the earrings may help to pull the earlobe down, accentuating the elongation and sagginess of the lobe.

Given that ear lobes are now known to be a sign to look for as a clue to a woman’s real age, it comes as no surprise that there is a cosmetic surgery procedure to help. The ‘earlobe rejuvenation’, sometimes also known as the ‘ear lobe lift’, is already popular in the US.

Costing around $2,000 for both ears, the cosmetic surgery takes around 40 minutes and uses local anaesthetic therefore can be done during a lunch break.

The earlobe lift involves the cosmetic surgeon making an incision close to where the ear connects to the side of the face. A small amount of tissue and skin is then removed. The incision is precisely made so that it is virtually impossible to see once the wounds have healed. Two internal stitches, which dissolve over time, are then applied and ten stitches are made on the outside of the ear. These are removed after about a week. Invisible surgical tape is then applied rather than standard bandages so that the cosmetic surgery signs are well hidden. The earlobe rejuvenation surgery makes the earlobe look plumper, more rounded and smaller making the earlobe look ‘younger’.

For those who don’t fancy the idea of cosmetic surgery, facial fillers can also help. Injectable fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse and Sculptra can all be injected into the earlobe to smoothen the skin, plump the ear lobe up and make it look younger. For women who wear earrings and whose earring hole has stretched, it is claimed that dermal filler injections can help make the hole smaller. Because the ear doesn’t move much, dermal fillers in the earlobe will tend to last longer than those injected into the face sometimes up to twice as long.

It is also possible to have a chemical peel on the ear lobe to help improve the skin’s appearance.

So whether you are happy having cosmetic surgery or not, there is now no excuse for having aged earlobes!