Skin Aging Around the Eyes – How to Combat It

If you ever watched America’s Next Top Model, then Tyra Banks herself taught you how to “smize”, meaning “smile with your eyes”. Fast forward a few decades (and into a pandemic), who would have thought we would only have one feature to focus on… the eyes.

Whether you are stuck at home with work and Zoom meetings, helping your kids with virtual learning, or dealing with the stress of the holiday season all mixed in with a pandemic, you might have added some unnecessary bags or circles under the eyes. But fret no more, we have made a helpful guide to the most popular eye-aging concerns and the best products to combat them with.

Fine Lines and Wrinkles Around the Eyes

Fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes are often the first features to betray our age. They are also associated with sleep deprivation, dehydration, sun exposure, and poor lifestyle choices.

Why the eyes, you may ask? The skin beneath your eyes is thin and has numerous blood vessels. As we age, our skin loses its elasticity. After years of wrinkling as we talk and smile, the skin finds it harder and harder to spring back. Finally, the wrinkles, creases, and fine lines that we dread so much set in.

How to Treat Them:

• Lifestyle changes. We know you expected to find this here. Yes – quit smoking, exercise, drink more water, and your skin will reward you (we promise).

• Anti-aging substances backed by research, include an intake of Vitamin A, low molecular collagen peptides, and Ginseng grass. All of them have antioxidant properties.

• Blepharoplasty is an eye surgery procedure to remove wrinkles. In the upper eyelid, excess skin and periorbital fat are removed. The lower eyelid is associated with more malformations and complication. It involves fixing herniated fat pads and blending the lid-cheek junction.

Crow’s Feet and Glabella Wrinkles

Crow’s feet and glabella wrinkles are canthal lines that are a product of years of laughing, smiling, and squinting. Collagen type 1 is a protein that joins tissues and cells. As the years fly by, our bodies produce less and less collagen. Ultimately, our skin becomes saggy and wrinkly.

Luckily for us, this does not mean a life of avoiding laughing and smiling.

How to Treat Crow’s Feet and Glabella Wrinkles

• Botox is botulinum toxin, a neurotoxin produced by the bacteria clostridium botulinum. In high doses, this neurotoxin blocks the firing of certain nerves. Nevertheless, the toxin used in cosmetic procedures has been refined to guarantee its safety and effectiveness.

In short, Botox takes years off any complexion and is the most common combat to crow’s feet and glabella wrinkles. Injected into underlying muscle (around the eyes for crow’s feet) contracts the skin and makes your skin firmer.

• Vibrance Lyft treatment is a novel but safe procedure where polydioxanone (PDO) sutures are gently injected then deposited under your skin. These threads are fine and completely absorb within six months. To heal itself, your skin then produces collagen along the sutures. This collagen will lift and tighten the skin in your face and neck.

• You can also take collagen supplements or eat food rich in nutrients that promote collagen, like zinc, copper, and vitamin C.

Under-Eye Discoloration/Bags

The skin under our eyes is thinner than any other skin on our bodies. As we get older, that skin becomes loose and the blood vessels that sit underneath the skin appear to become darker.

How to Treat Under-eye Discoloration/Bags:

Under-Eye Rejuvenation Treatment aims to eliminate hollowing and bags in your lower eyelids. It also diminishes the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and dark circles.

Under-eye rejuvenation encompasses both invasive and non-invasive procedures. It depends largely on the specific problem at hand and its degree of severity.

Our licensed physicians at Vibrance offer several FDA-approved treatments that combat fine lines under the eyes including injections, wrinkle relaxers that reduce the visibility of wrinkles, dermal fillers containing hyaluronic acid that stimulates collagen synthesis- hence thickening of the skin.

Sagging Skin

As we age, our skin’s collagen production reduces resulting in a thinner epidermis (the skin’s first layer). When skin thins, it becomes crinkly and fine lines then become visible. This will also cause our skin to droop or appear as “saggy”.

How to Treat Sagging Skin:

• Botox is injected into facial muscles around the eyes to relax skin tension, and make skin appear firmer, hence reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Fillers serve to enhance the fullness of areas that have lost volume mostly due to aging. Fillers differ depending on active ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and collagen-stimulating fillers. With a lifespan of roughly 18 months, fillers last longer than Botox.

Pro tip: Your fillers will last longer if you keep hydrated and apply moisturizer religiously.

Thinning Lashes and Brows

We all want beautiful, luscious eyelashes but unfortunately as we age, not only do our lashes thin, but they grow sparse. Our lashes are like the hair on our heads, it grows, sheds, and regrows. However, as we age, the growing process slows and our hair starts to thin, including our beautiful lashes.

How to Treat Thinning Lashes:

• Eyelash extensions have been growing in popularity because of their amazing results. Lash extensions create extra length and volume with a completely natural look. They have an advantage over false lashes since they do not require daily removal, a process that damages and removes your healthy lashes.

Using a semi-permanent bonding agent, extensions are individually applied to your own eyelashes. This gives them a natural-looking boost. Eyelash extensions are great for people with sensitive eyes, as the application process is non-intrusive and does not irritate or cause damage to your lashes.

• Latisse is a widely known lash treatment that helps the lashes grow longer and fuller. It is also the first and only FDA approved prescription treatment for your lashes. With an easy applicator and no irritation, Latisse is perfect for people with an on-the-go lifestyle and schedule.
• Permanent Makeup has quickly become the newest trend for good reasons. No more sitting in front of the mirror for hours getting those eyebrows exactly right. Permanent makeup offered at Vibrance includes eyebrow microblading and shading and permanent eyeliner and lipliner. This option is perfect for people with a busy schedule who may not have time for morning-makeup routines.

At Vibrance MedSpa, we want every experience to be amazing. Rest assured that our licensed physicians provide all our laser and injectable services. Only highly trained skin care professionals will work with you using FDA-approved and results-oriented techniques and products for non-surgical facelifts and other specialties. Put a hold on the holiday stress and contact us today to start feeling your best!