PROOF YOU END UP WITH THE FACE YOU DESERVE
As years of smoking, drinking and sunbathing take their toll on Kate Moss, experts reveal why it’s ...
IT TAKES a brave — or foolish — woman to stand next to a rival almost half your age, especially when she’s just taken your crown as the UK’s highest paid supermodel. So, at 41, Kate Moss was perhaps unwise to pose next to her fresh-faced successor, Cara Develingne, 23, at a fashion event in Milan this week. So how has Kate’s face changed since she exploded into the British fashion world as a teenager in 1988 — before Cara was even born?
CROW’S FEET & WRINKLES
AS A model who has always known how to party, it’s maybe no surprise that Kate’s most pronounced signs of age are her laughter lines.
Dr Maria Gonzalez, of the Cardiff’s Specialist Skin Clinic, says Kate’s crow’s feet are due to ‘a combination of the thinning of the skin and shrinking of the cartilage and bones around the eyes’.
However, Knightsbridge dermatologist Dr Sarah Tonkin believes Kate has wisely avoided trying to obliterate them completely with Botox, and resorted to fillers instead, to avoid a fake, frozen look.
‘You can see she also has some horizontal forehead lines, which are in keeping with her age. But I can’t see any signs of Botox, except perhaps on her vertical frown lines.
‘But she has wisely left the rest alone, which is a more chic and sensible way to do it. These days it’s all about looking good for your age, not trying to look half your age.’
However, Kate has certainly put her body through its paces during the past 20 years.
Famed for attending boozefuelled parties that last several days, her notorious lifestyle will no doubt have played its part.
A fixture of the louche Primrose Hill set, she was also pictured snorting what appeared to be cocaine during a relationship with rocker and high-profile drug addict Pete Doherty.
On top of that, she’s suffered the stress of a split from the father of her daughter Lila Grace, and is now riding the storm of a rocky patch in her marriage to musician Jamie Hince — which all take their toll.
SMOKER’S TEETH
THE fact that Kate has never had the perfect smile has always been part of her charm — and slightly set her apart from other supermodels.
In fact, according to Vogue, her ever so slightly lop- sided grin is also part of her ‘ineffable cool’.
However, it seems that years of smoking have definitely turned down the voltage on her smile.
Expert say milky white teeth are one of the clearest indicators of youth. So the fact that Kate allowed nicotine to turn hers a yellowy-grey is putting years on her.
With age, teeth also become more overcrowded — due to ‘mesial’ drift — or the natural tendency of the ligaments connecting them to shorten and pull them forward.
Dr Tif Qureshi, former president of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, says: ‘If the teeth are already crooked, they will be become more pronounced.
‘From pictures I’ve seen over the years, Kate has always had slightly crooked teeth and over time they will just get more crooked.’
The passing of the years is another reason her teeth look yellow.
Over time, the enamel starts to wear off, revealing a softer substance called dentyne, which absorbs stains like a sponge.
Dental surgeon Zaki Kanaan, of Fulham and Hammersmith dentist K2 Dental, goes as far as to say that Kate has the teeth of a woman seven years older.
‘Basically, it’s the partying lifestyle. Let’s say you got drunk one night and don’t brush your teeth. The plaque, which is soft, will start to calcify in your mouth overnight like lime-scale in a kettle.
‘That makes it hard to remove and once that starts to build up between the teeth it starts to stain with tea and coffee because it’s not smooth.’
It’s also likely that Kate is becoming a bit ‘long in the tooth’, adds Mr Kanaan. ‘ The phrase is used to describe someone getting older, because as we age the gums recede and the teeth appear longer,’ he says.
Dentist Tim Bradstock-Smith, of the London Smile Clinic, says that in younger models, such as Cara, you will see about 3mm to 5 mm of front tooth below the lip.
‘But as wear and tear grinds them down and the lip starts to drop, you may not see any of the teeth at all, making someone like Kate appear older.’
PUFFY CHEEKS
KATE’S razor-sharp, perfectly symmetrical cheekbones have graced hundreds of magazine covers.
But with age the skull starts to shrink so that by the age of 41, her cheekbones will not be quite as prominent, even if only by a f ew millimetres.
According to dermatologist Kishinger Rajni: ‘These changes would be evident in a woman of 41, to varying degrees, depending on lifestyle and genetic factors.’
By the early 40s, the fat pads in the face also start to shrink and drop slightly. It means that if Kate wants to avoid an ageing, hollow look, she will most likely be resorting to facial fillers to make up for the lost volume, says Dr Sarah Tonks, of Knightsbridge’s Omniya clinic.
‘To keep looking this good, I think everything below the eyes will have been filled. But, if so, this has been done by an expert hand using smaller amounts that are more thinly spread to give a very natural look.’
Kate’s jawline also looks admirably firm for a woman her age, says Dr Tonks.
‘I would guess she has maybe had some fillers right in the back corners of her jaw, just to help lift it a bit,’ she says. ‘Overall I would say that she looks age appropriate, but good for her years.’
BRITTLE HAIR
HER mantra: ‘ Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’ may have helped Kate keep her slender figure.
But hair scientist Iain Sallis says that, at 41, the effects of constant dieting are starting to show in her hair.
Iain says: ‘Your hair starts thinning by about 3 per cent a year after the age of 20, which is when your hair is at its most thick and lustrous, as Cara’s is.
‘However, if you constantly diet, like many supermodels do, the B vitamins get diverted away from the hair and skin to the organs where they are more needed, so the hair does not grow as well as it should.’
Kate’s hair is also likely to have been hammered by smoking, adds Iain. ‘Smoking decreases the blood flow through the capillaries so the hair bulbs get less blood supply.
‘The UV rays from her time in the sun — on top of the bleaching — will start breaking down the proteins in the hair, causing it to
discolour and go dry and brittle and become frizzy.’
THINNING LIPS
Kate has always been famed for her perfect, rose- bud shaped mouth. But these latest pictures seem to show her lips look thinner and less defined.
experts say years of pursing her lips when she smoked and her love of sunbathing — which breaks down the collagen that gives them their plumpness — are the main reason Kate’s pout is no longer as perfect as it once was. Dr Sarah tonks says: ‘You produce less collagen as you age, and collagen is what supports the body’s soft tissues. too much sun exposure can also cause collagen to break down.
‘But even wearing lip balm or lipstick with sunscreen isn’t always enough to combat the ageing issue of thinning lips.
‘as the lips decrease in volume, this allows the skin around the edge to fold more. You no longer have a such a strong border, which is why some older women find their lipstick bleeds.’
GREYING SKIN
With more almost 20 years between them, it’s not surprising that Cara looks fresh-faced, compared with Kate, says oral and facial expert Dr Kishan Raichura.
‘Cara’s skin is hydrated and clear; free from wrinkles and crow’s feet. When we see untouched images of the pair, it’s clear to see the generation gap between them facially.
Smoking will also show up in her skin texture at this age, he adds.
‘Smoking cigarettes starves the microcirculation of the skin and robs the epidermis to some extent of oxygen rich blood. this usually leads to a greyer complexion that is often noticeable in smokers.
‘however, Kate will have access to some of the most advanced skincare treatments in the world. Regardless, there is little doubt her flawless face would be even more radiant if she was a non-smoker.’
Dr Maria Gonzalez, of the Cardiff’s Specialist Skin Clinic, says much of the ageing on Kate’s face is likely to be due to sun exposure.
‘a lot of the damage that we see as people age, especially with somebody like Kate Moss, who leads a glamorous life and travels a lot, is probably more than 50 per cent due to sun exposure. it doesn’t matter if you use Factor 50, it’s not going to protect you from the sun.’
the other dramatic effect of ageing is damage to collagen in the skin.
‘in a young person the collagen is very uniform and linear. in an older person it becomes very broken up and disorganised.
‘and that has the impression of making your face look a bit rough with wrinkles. there’s less of it, less elasticity, less collagen and the skin actually thins which is why you get lines such as crow’s feet which she’s showing very clearly.
‘When you abuse your skin with alcohol, cigarettes, late nights and too much sun, no amount of good genes and expensive products can stop the damage.
‘Kate’s skin is dehydrated and puffy and ageing too fast and even though she is heavily made up, it’s obvious her skin no longer has that dewy youthful sheen that Cara’s skin displays.’
however, for therapist Marisa Peer, Kate is still beautiful, partly due to her confidence. ‘But then, her party lifestyle is part of who she is and if she has chosen hedonism over preserving her looks and that makes her happy, then it’s the right thing for her.’