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Due to regulatory guidelines, we are unable to list specific brand names on our website and have used replacement terms instead. To find out what these terms refer to, please contact us directly.
Due to regulatory guidelines, we are unable to list specific brand names on our website and have used replacement terms instead. To find out what these terms refer to, please contact us directly.
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‘Love Island Face’: When Too Many Treatments Make You Look Older

By SL Aesthetic Clinic
  • Published Date:
Last Updated:
October 6, 2025
When Too Many Treatments Make You Look Older

TL;DR 

  • The ‘Love Island Face’ effect is a term used to describe when aesthetic treatments paradoxically make the face look older.
  • This can be avoided by opting for subtle, well-placed treatments and focusing on improving skin health.
  • Your treatments should evolve with you by decade.

Table of Contents

Every era has its beauty ideals: the 90s brought “heroin chic,” the 2010s glorified heavy contouring and “Kardashian features,” and now, the 2020s have brought us “Love Island Face.”

Coined after the hit reality show, the term describes contestants –many in their twenties– who appear significantly older than their actual age due to exaggerated cosmetic enhancements.

What does 'Love Island Face' look like?

Cheeks filled to the brim, lips stretched with filler, jawlines sharpened into extremes, and foreheads that barely move—this aesthetic became shorthand for what happens when treatments tip into excess.

Instead of amplifying youthfulness, the face looks heavier, less expressive, and paradoxically aged.

How do overused fillers contribute to facial ageing?

The irony is striking: treatments designed to restore youth can, when overdone, have the opposite effect. Balance is everything. Here’s what happens when treatments go too far versus when they’re done right:

Overfilled cheeks

Overfilled Cheeks

Too much filler can weigh down the midface, leading to puffiness and sagging. In contrast, well-placed filler restores gentle lift and freshness without distorting proportions.

Excess lip filler

Excessive Lip Filler

Overfilling stretches the lips into “pillows” that throw off harmony. When done well, filler enhances definition and hydration while maintaining balance with the surrounding features.

Over-snatched jawlines

Over-Snatched Jawlines of Vanna Einerson

Example: Love Island contestant, Vanna Einerson

Over-sculpted jaws can look harsh and masculine, ageing rather than rejuvenating. A balanced approach sharpens the profile while retaining softness.

Buccal fat removal

Hollowed cheeks may appear contoured initially, but they often accelerate the appearance of ageing. Natural midface fullness, by contrast, conveys a sense of vitality and youth.

Taken together, these examples show how restraint brings harmony and youth, while excess disrupts it. The most youthful faces are rarely the most sculpted — they are the most balanced.

Why skin quality matters more than quantity

One of the biggest misconceptions about rejuvenation is that it’s all about structure – filling cheeks, sculpting jaws, plumping lips. But often, the real difference between a tired face and a fresh one lies in skin quality.

Smooth texture, even tone, refined pores, and a healthy glow contribute far more to youthfulness than exaggerated features ever will.

Treatments such as skin boosters, collagen stimulators, and lasers target these foundations. Devices such as Sofwave and Ultherapy lift subtly by stimulating collagen, minus the puffiness and facial distortion.

In our clinic, we frequently remind patients that skin quality plays a key role in maintaining youthfulness. Smooth, luminous, resilient skin is far more effective than an exaggerated cheekbone or an over-sculpted jawline.

Want to enhance your skin quality without overdoing it? Book a consultation to find your balance.

Age-appropriate aesthetic treatments: Guidance by decade

Our skin, bone structure, and collagen reserves undergo significant changes over time – which means the best treatments also evolve with each decade. What looks fresh at 30 can look overdone at 50, and what works in your 40s may be unnecessary in your 20s.

Here’s how we guide our patients, decade by decade, towards treatments that preserve youthfulness without tipping into excess:

In your 30s – Prevention and maintenance

The goal here is to protect what you already have. Treatments are light, focusing on glow and prevention rather than transformation.

  • Skinboosters, Anti Wrinkle Treatment, and gentle peels or lasers maintain radiance and smoothness.
  • Early filler should be minimal, only to correct subtle, localised volume loss.

In your 40s – Restoring elasticity and support

As collagen production slows, subtle sagging and early hollowness may appear. Treatments focus on maintaining firmness while restoring structure.

  • Skinboosters and Anti Wrinkle Treatment remain staples for maintaining skin quality and reducing wrinkles.
  • Dermal fillers provide lift and support.
  • Radiofrequency microneedling refines texture and pigmentation.
  • Ultherapy or HIFU delivers a gentle, non-surgical lift.

In your 50s – Hydration and combination therapies

Skin requires deeper hydration and more comprehensive support. Combination approaches achieve the best results.

In your 60s and 70s – Blending surgery and non-invasive care

While significant laxity is best corrected surgically, non-invasive treatments still play a vital supporting role.

  • Surgical lifting often provides the foundation for lasting improvement.
  • Adjunctive treatments — including brightening lasers, skin boosters, and hydration therapies — help maintain luminosity and soften texture.
  • Don’t forget areas beyond the face: the neck and hands respond beautifully to rejuvenating treatments.
Curious which treatments suit your decade best? Schedule a personalised assessment today.

The point of it all

The “Love Island Face” shows how quickly aesthetics can tip into excess. Overfilled cheeks, frozen expressions, and hollowed cheeks don’t make us look younger. In fact, they can do the exact opposite.

But the industry is changing. The future of aesthetics is not about extremes, but about tweakments – subtle, age-appropriate interventions that respect balance and individuality. The most youthful look is not the most sculpted, but the most harmonious.

Curious about the right approach to restore facial youthfulness and balance? Visit us for a consultation. Together, we’ll discover what natural beauty means to you without erasing what makes you, you.

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