Wearing face masks, our eyes hold center stage.
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With a new emphasis on the eyes, now is the time to ensure your eyes are as well crafted as possible.
There’s no doubt that the eyes hold center stage when we wear a mask that covers our mouth. And this new norm has led to changes in how we interact and engage with each other.
Whether it’s a flutter of eyelashes or a focused stare, our eyes have always communicated something about us to the world. And never more so than now, since face masks are compulsory.
Eye contact is a fundamental aspect of communication and intimacy. How you look at someone is also a sign of honesty. Not only do our eyes reveal our state of mind, we’ve also learnt how to smile with them.
It’s no wonder that this new obsession with our eyes has led to us to seek out ways to aesthetically improve this area of our face. Suddenly we are becoming more aware of under eye hollows, eye bags, dark circles, loose or wrinkled skin, and also the surrounding area of the frown and brow shape. These are the areas with which we are primarily engaging with each other currently, and so it is natural that we seek to improve them.
As much as aesthetic physicians love to work on the mid to lower face with an emphasis on cheek enhancement, lifting of the jawline, plumping of the lips, and achieving that desirable V shape or oval shape, working around the eye area can be very rewarding in achieving a more rested and refreshed look.
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Less is more
When working around the eyes, my less is more motto is even more important. The correct choice of product, the correct product placement, and the correct product volume is critical. There is nothing to be gained from over filling the under eye hollows, and indeed excess product in this area is very undesirable.
The best candidates for a dermal filler treatment, are patients with thick skin, mild to moderate eye bags, and deep under eye hollows.
My personal approach to rejuvenating the eye area in a suitable patient is to inject dermal filler to the tear trough hollow, blend this with the nose-cheek area if this area is flat, and I also like to treat lateral hollows if they exist. In addition, I also like to treat the frown area with muscle relaxant injections, and I like to lift the outer brow if the brow is heavy or lacking shape, with either muscle relaxant injections or dermal filler.
I optimise patient comfort by utilising prescription only numbing creams, local anaesthetic, application of ice, and ensuring the treatment is done slowly, methodically, and never rushed.
When we are refreshing the eye area, we often incorporate treatment of the crows feet lines with muscle relaxant injections. I prefer to just soften these lines as if this area is over treated, yes the lines will be gone, but the expressiveness can start to look blank. And in these times of smiling with our eyes, I would be even more conservative with the use of muscle relaxant injections to this area.
“I optimise patient comfort by utilising prescription only numbing creams, local anaesthetic, application of ice, and ensuring the treatment is done slowly, methodically, and never rushed.”
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Can all eyes be treated?
Patients with thin skin, loose skin, or large eye bags represent a challenge in achieving a great outcome. These patients can be treated but their expectations should be modest.
The outcome can be optimised by staged treatments with small quantities injected at each stage, rather than treating in one session. Thin, loose skin can be improved with utilising additional treatments such as skin needling collagen induction, PRP plasma injections, and the use of devices such as the plasma pen, fractionated CO2 laser, and micro needle RF. And of course surgical correction for those who have excess skin that would be better managed with blepharoplasty.