Eyes show the first signs of aging and are a common area of concern for patients. There are many factors that play a role in the appearance of your eyes.
As an aesthetic doctor, I am evaluating the quality of the skin, the way the muscles contract when smiling or squinting and how the underlying bone and fat are supporting a youthful appearance.
Many patients initially approach their aesthetic consultations by stating their age, “I just turned 40, what should I be doing.” My approach is to treat the age of the skin, not the patient’s biological age. A person at any age may display signs of aging at varying degrees. I take a custom approach that is tailored to the individual.
Below are the five key characteristics that are considered when designing a treatment plan for my patients.
You want to take a multi-faceted approach that addresses these concerns. Below I am sharing a list of the key treatments that you should consider in order to revitalize the look of your eyes:
Eye Cream
One of the first things women notice are fine lines and wrinkles cropping up around their eyes. This usually prompts patients to invest in an eye cream. Although an eye cream that contains effective anti-aging ingredients is essential, prevention is key.
Did you ever hear the saying “the best wrinkle is the one you never get?”
Starting eye cream early on helps keep wrinkles at bay. There are countless eye creams on the market but the one characteristic that they all have in common is that they are keeping the delicate skin hydrated. Dry skin is more prone to creating fine lines and wrinkles. Eye creams provide long last hydration which helps prevent and diminish lines and wrinkles around the eye.
I highly recommend Ideal Complex Revitalizing Eye Gel by PCA Skin. This cutting-edge eye gel strengthens, firms and lifts the skin around the entire eye area, including the eyelid.
The beauty is that this eye treatment is an all-in-one product that can reduce dark circles, puffiness, fine lines, wrinkles and sagging eyelids simultaneously. The light, silky texture makes this product suitable for all skin types and results can be seen as early as one week.
Dysport and BOTOX Wrinkle Relaxers
Dysport and BOTOX both do a phenomenal job at addressing crow’s feet.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved Botox to temporally reduce the appearance of fine lines around the eyes. It works by relaxing the obicularis orbis muscle which prevents it from contracting. This both minimizes the wrinkles you have and prevents new wrinkles from forming.
Patients that treat this area every 90 days can expect to see a drastic improvement around their eyes.
Dermal Fillers
I often hear complaints about under-eye puffiness and bags, but there’s another concern that is coming up more and more, under-eye hollows.
Women who experience this feel like they look tired, even when they are not. Yes, topical eye creams and treatments like wrinkle relaxers and lasers address the quality of the skin, but do not correct volume loss.
What causes hollowing of the eyes?
A few things occur simultaneously that have a significant impact.
One, the fat pads that shape this area begin to drop, leaving a hollow look. Then you also have bone loss, which offers less support to the area.
As we age, the elastin and collagen in the mid-dermis diminishes, which causes sagging to occur. This process can be delayed by applying sunscreen daily, not smoking and wearing polarized sunglasses to minimize damage.
However, to correct hollowing that has already occurred, dermal fillers offer a magical solution. Dermal fillers are comprised of hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring sugar in the body, that literally “fills” this area to restore volume under the eye and upper cheek.
The most popular filler to treat hollowing is Restylane, which delivers instant results.
The best part is…
If you don’t like the outcome, there is a treatment available that dissolves the dermal filler. Usually one or two treatments are typically enough to see a difference, depending on the number of syringes used.
How long your results will last depends on your skin type, lifestyle and age, but typically six to eight months.
eMatrix Sublative Rejuvenation
Sublative Rejuvenation with eMatrix is a new, unique FDA-cleared treatment that gently resurfaces the skin using radiofrequency. This treatment provides wrinkle reduction, skin tightening and enhanced skin tone and texture for all skin types.
In addition, eMatrix Sublative Rejuvenation has shown to be clinically effective for scar revision and treating superficial skin abnormities such as acne scars.
The beauty of eMatrix Sublative Rejuvenation is the radiofrequency that is used, as well as, the delivery method. The intense heat is generated under the skin’s surface without disrupting the surface of the skin in the process.
This allows maximum results to be achieved without the usual downtime associated with ablative treatments.
The majority of patients have reported mild redness for approximately 48 hours post treatment, and some experience flaking for up to 5 days. This treatment results in increased collagen levels and the production of new healthy skin cells.
Mild to moderate wrinkles and skin discolorations are significantly reduced and the texture of the skin becomes smoother and more elastic.
