5 ways to spot and solve under-eye ageing

Updated to include Dusederm Collagen Fillers

Treat signs of aging using under eye dermal fillers

A couple of things happen as we age. The fat compartments under the eyes above the cheeks shrink (atrophy is the scientific term). Thus reducing support for the skin and muscles around the eyes. The bones around the eye sockets also remodel (change shape) which causes even greater loss of support for the overlying soft tissues. This sagging in the under eye area gives rise to the signs of aging. And dermal fillers are a great way to reduce the signs of under eye aging.

5 signs of under-eye-aging:

1. Hollowness or sunken under-eye area is the direct effect of the fat atrophy.
2. The lengthening of the lid cheek junction (above red line)  which is due to the lack of support.
3. The tear-trough deformity, which is a groove under the eyebags. This is also due to the lack of support.
4. The Eyebags. These may be psuedo-eyebags caused by skin laxity rather than actual eyebags, which are caused by fat pad herniation.
5. Dark eye circles. Thin skin draping over muscle gives rise to the darker color. Only very rarely are dark eye circles the result of actual pigmentation on the skin.

The Treatment For Under-eye Aging

The treatment however is relatively simple. Dermal fillers when skillfully injected into the fat compartments in the under-eye area provides support and resolves most of the above problem features. The dermal filler is carefully placed using a cannula (a needle with a rounded tip) to minimize trauma. The dermal filler spreads evenly over the areas treated. Lumpiness is rare with the cannula technique of injection. Bruising can sometime occur even with a cannula but are usually quite minimal.

As far as safety is concern, opinion differs. But cannulas a generally accepted as the gentle method in this area while blood vessels are a plenty. Here is a paper by Dr David Loh on safety in filler injections

As for the crepey skin in the under eye area, the dermal fillers can help somewhat, but usually a bit of laser to tighten up the skin, and reduce the fine lines, and that’s all it takes to brighten up the look. The fractional CO2 laser is good, but has a bit of downtime. Otherwise, Sylfirm or Thermage eyes are not too bad too.

Watch Dr Davin Lim from Australia being treated by Dr David Loh while he was in Singapore. Under eye dermal filler injections.