The area surrounding the eyes is one of the most noticeable when it comes to aging. A droop to the upper eyelids, puffiness under the eyes, and wrinkles can cause people to see you as permanently fatigued or older than you are. These features of aging can develop as early as your twenties and progress from there on in. Fortunately, there are both surgical and non-surgical solutions that will take years off your face and restore your youthful appearance.
Surgical:
Eyelid surgery or blepharoplasty can take place in the upper region or lower region of the orbit. An upper eyelid surgery involves a cosmetic surgeon reorganizing excess tissue and skin as well as reinforcing muscles and tendons in the upper eyelid region. Lower eye surgery focuses on removing much of the fat from the bags under the eyes. The operation generally takes a few hours to complete and initial swelling and bruising will subside in one to two weeks. Although it may take longer for a final appearance to stabilize. Many people are happy with the surgical result as it restores their wide-eyed youthful look and this look is maintained until well into old age. Because a lot of the fat tissue that contributes to the “puffiness” is removed, the fat tissue loses some of its capacity to divide and the bags do not reform easily. Furthermore, because the skin is not stretched by extra fat tissue under your eyes, the skin will retain its elasticity for much longer. The national average cost of blepharoplasty in the United States in 2007 was $3137, making it one of the most cost effective ways to reduce signs of aging.
Non-surgical:
Sometimes the thought of surgery can be intimidating because of the possible complications such as scarring or eye damage. Cheaper non-surgical solutions exist for reducing signs of aging around the eyes and involve injecting patients with safe, non-immunogenic filler substances like Restylane or Juvederm. For example, in the case of reducing the “puffy” appearance under the eyes, the cosmetic surgeon may elect to inject filler near the top of the cheek to smooth out the depression between the cheek and lower eye region which effectively evens out the plane between the cheek and eye “bags.” This eliminates the shadow that may create dark circles under your eyes and the lower eye region no longer appears to project outward. Non-surgical blepharoplasty in the United States typically runs in the range of $1000. The downside is that because Restylane or Juvederm are injected into the face, they tend to be removed by the body over the course of a couple years. Therefore, the patient may have to return in the future for subsequent injections.