[By Yvonne Lau]

One of the first places where visible signs of aging begin to emerge is around your eyes, as the delicate skin over these areas is extremely thin, becoming even thinner as one ages. Whether it’s wrinkles, hollowness, dark circles, or just plain tired-looking, your eyes experience aging before any other part of your face and will be knocking down every women’ beauty door in time to come. Good news is, as awful as they are, there are proven ways to prevent damage to the skin around your eyes, and even help repair it. When it comes to restoring a youthful look, your eyes are your greatest opportunity. Step up your game change and see eye to eye with your periorbital woes before it’s too late.

The Aging Eye Area

Periorbital wrinkles

Fine lines that show up around your eyes are a result of two main issues— facial expressions secondary to eye muscle movement, and dehydrated skin. If you want to smoothen away these tell-tale signs of aging, it is “eye”-deal to tackle the root causes of your problems. Apply a hydrating eye cream to replenish the delicate undereye skin with much-needed moisture. This helps plump out the shrunken dermis and lessens the appearance of fine lines. Not satisfied? Then take the plunge and go for Botox ®anti-wrinkle microinjections treatment to tackle pesky crow’s feet, relaxing the offending muscle that causes wrinkles around your peepers and results in an instant diminishing of periorbital lines!

Tester’s verdict: “I tried Lancôme Rénergie Lift Multi-Action Eye cream. I was skeptical initially but after about 5 days of religious application, I did notice that the super fine lines under my eyes are somewhat shallower. That is, until I break into a smile, then all my lines are visible again.”

Doctor’s verdict: “It sounds like you have a combination of static and dynamic lines. Static lines are lines that are visible when your face is at rest, while dynamic lines are those that appear when you make facial expressions. While hydrating the skin may help the static lines to an extent, your dynamic crow’s feet can do well with a treatment with Botox which works to relax overactive eye muscles to diminish such lines.”

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Undereye hollowing

You look like you have lost weight, you look gaunt and tired and the hollows of your undereyes are exacerbating the issue. With age, your tear trough shows up as a natural depression extending from the inner corner of the eye. Dermal fillers can be used to address this concern effectively.

Tester’s verdict: “I had the option of going for fillers or Revitalift Undereye for my undereye hollowing. I am a chicken when it comes to needles, so I opted for the milder procedure which is Revitalift. Only two painless pokes under each eye and I was done. I must say I am now a convert because my undereyes looked instantly revitalized when I walked out of the clinic.”

Doctor’s verdict: “Depending on the severity of the hollows, repeated touch up sessions may be necessary. The undereye is a delicate area and it is better to opt for a milder procedure such as Revitalift to prevent overfilling this area as well as to avoid getting the side effects of lumpiness under the eye post-filler.”

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Crepey undereyes

SmartX Lite Eye is fast becoming a one-stop eye revival wonder for those who would like to perk up all aspects of their eyes but doesn’t mind the price tag of a few days of downtime. This fractionated CO2 laser confers a myriad of benefits from improving skin texture and colour to boosting dermal elasticity, especially good for thinned out, crepey undereyes riddled with fine lines. The downtime which includes 5 days of skin browning and flaking is also a far cry from the usual 6 week downtime attributed to traditional CO2 lasers, thereby gaining new converts from skeptics all around the world.

Tester’s verdict: “There was definitely downtime with this one, my skin looked slightly swollen and reddish for the first 2 days, then it looked dry and flaky for the next two days. I was back to normal in 5 days. But when I looked at my undereye skin after the last scab had peeled off, I must say the wait was totally worth it! There isn’t just one thing that was better but a whole range of improvements from skin texture, dark eye circles, fine lines and skin elasticity. If I have some time off, this is one treatment I will do again in a heartbeat.”

Doctor’s verdict: “SmartX Lite skin resurfacing can improve many aspects of the undereye skin from texture to elasticity, but there is undeniable downtime. However, this can be adjusted with bespoke settings tailored to the level of tolerance and each individual’s needs so communicate properly with your doctor and it should work out fine. The patients need to work closely with us to care for the skin post-laser to ensure optimal skin regeneration and highest success of their skin rejuvenation process. So this is one treatment where both doctor and patient has to work together as a team.”

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Heavy tired-looking eyelids

Very often, the upper eyelid skin droops down with age and bedroom eyes are no longer sexy when they are a tad too heavy! As we age, we start to lose elasticity in the skin around the eyes and surrounding muscles begin to relax and give the tired looking droopy gaze. Some are worse off than others due to hereditary factors, excessive sun exposure or smoking. Neogen Plasma Eyelift engages cutting edge nitrogen plasma technology to tighten and lift the eyelids and undereye area. At completely customizable settings, it  delivers precise, controlled pulses of energy which creates uniform tissue heating at a depth which stimulates the remodelling and regeneration of collagen.

How Does NeoGen Work?

NeoGen delivers plasma energy in highly precise, controlled pulses to cause uniform rapid heating of tissue that stimulates a significant physiological response without creating an open wound. Between the Zone of Thermal Damage (ZTD) and the Zone of Thermal Modification (ZTM) is where neocollagenesis and neoelastogenesis takes place, with a depth that correlates to the adjustable level of energy delivered as pre-determined by the operator

Tester’s verdict: “The process was very bearable like a gush of really hot air. For the first 2 days post treatment, the treated areas were mildly red and I look as if I had smokey eyes makeup. It became really quite dry, looking like you’ve applied an ‘egg-white peel’ if you know what I mean. You ought to keep them well moisturized and it’ll slowly flake away to reveal A-M-A-Z-I-N-G softer and tighten skin in 5 to 7 days’ time.

Doctor’s verdict: “One of the key selling features of NeoGen is that it’s entirely safe to use around the eye area which is often known to be tricky. It offers all round periorbital rejuvenation without any risk to the eye, and is best done in a series of sessions as part of our Miracle Eye Reviver Program. NeoGen does not cause vaporization or charring of the skin at the time of treatment. As the treated skin’s surface is not breached and remains intact, it is possible to cleanse and wear makeup immediately if so desired, allowing one to return to his or her routine activities with minimal disruption.”

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Droopy eyelids and saggy skin

Plagued with crepey, wrinkly eyelids and eyebags? If surgical correction or blepharoplasty is not on your agenda, Thermage Eyes is a viable non-surgical eye lift that tightens, lifts and smoothens your eyes to buy you valuable time in the race against aging. By engaging patented monopolar radiofrequency or RF waves as a source of energy, Thermage penetrates deep into the skin to stimulate your body’s natural renewal of collagen, resulting in skin tightening and contouring while keeping the surface skin at a significantly lower temperature with an in-built cooling system to prevent overheating and possible heat injury.

Tester’s verdict: “I thought the Thermage did not give any instant results so I was quite disappointed but after a week, friends and family members commented on how refreshed and bright my eyes looked. That was when I realized that the skin around my eyes had indeed tightened up with time.”

Doctor’s verdict: “Thermage is more an investment type procedure than an instant fix. Most of our patients find that the skin tightening effects of Thermage improve with time. This is one procedure you should plan ahead of time if you want to impress at an important social event.”

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