Beautiful eyes in the face of a handsome woman are
like eloquence to speech. Edward George.
Eyes are the central focal point of the face and express
- or betray - our emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Unfortunately, as we
age, they can also begin to misrepresent us - dark circles can make us
appear tired or angry. Deep furrows, sagging, bagging are major distractions
from the dazzling inner beauty in all of us. The good news is that common
problems have tried and true solutions.
Dark but
not Mysterious
There are three main causes to the appearance of dark
circles under the eyes.
Allergies: Allergies cause irritated itchy eyes and
it is only natural to rub the area. Unfortunately, over time, this can cause
hyper-pigmentation.
Genetics: Deep-set sunken eyes are a genetic
pre-disposition that creates sunken valleys above the cheekbones causing a
shadow under the eye. The same effect can be seen as bags starts to form
with age. Sometimes this can be accompanied by an actual darkening of the
skin due to genetics or sun damage.
Varicosity: Thirdly, blood vessels in and around the
eye irritated by looking at a computer screen all day, can cause varicosity.
This makes the fine skin under the eye appear darker.
Solutions
For hyper-pigmented skin for people with allergies, take
an antihistamine to prevent swelling. An eye roller kept in the fridge for
the cooling effect is another good solution. Laser can be used to remove
existing pigmentation. For deep-set eyes, Restylane or your own body fat
fillers are used for plumping the area. Fat also bleaches under the skin
because it is white. For varicosity, we use the laser in the same way as we
treat leg veins.
Too Much Baggage
With age and gravity the muscles and tendons that hold
the subcutaneous layer of fat in place, become lax, and the fat herniates
and begins to bulge. For moderate bagginess we can use skin tightening
techniques like Ulthera or Thermage. If the bags are too bad then we must
resort to surgery to remove the bag. It is important to use eye cream with
peptides because peptides are the building blocks for the skin’s protein.
As The Crows Fly
Crows feet are caused by natural facial expression.
Wearing sunglasses is a good place to start on prevention because squinting
causes crow’s-feet. Sunscreen will also help. As we age, however, the body
produces less sebum so moisturiser is essential. For existing crow’s-feet,
they are relatively easy to treat - the first solution is botox. If the skin
around the eye is too loose, we can use a combination of skin-tightening
treatments combined with botox. Vitamin A-derived retinols can help to
smooth out the lines by boosting collagen.
Low Brow
As we age everything drops. So, if you have a heavy brow
we can use three techniques to lift it. Botox, Ulthera and Thermage, which
tighten and lift the muscle. Surgery is the last option.
Puff Daddy
For fine lines and skin laxity we have two treatments:
Fraxel laser which resurfaces the area by creating thousands of tiny
microscopic treatment spots, which stimulate collagen deeper in the dermis.
The newest treatment we have is the SRF Matrix, which, by using a radio
wave, reaches even deeper into the dermis to stimulate collagen and has even
less down time.
Small Eyes
It is possible to adjust the shape of the eye and the
position of the eyebrow with botox. Skin tightening treatments can also
subtly adjust the shape of the eye to create a more open effect.
No matter what you start to see staring back at you in
the mirror, take heart there are more solutions now than ever before to
bring the smile back to your eyes.