Expert Spotlight

Dr Tim Edwards
Plastic Surgeon

Beautiful eyes

Under-eye dark circles, drooping brows and wrinkles around the eyes are common with age. These signs of ageing in the eye area can make us look tired or angry – even when we don’t feel that way.

“The eyes are the most important part of the face for me. When people talk to you, they look into your eyes,” said Dr Tim Edwards. “So if your eyes look tired or angry, that is the impression someone would have of you.”

Fortunately, a range of cosmetic treatments are available to rejuvenate the eye area.

Drooping brows

Brow descent is a sign of ageing that can make a person look serious or even angry. Lifting the brow can result in a more youthful appearance and one way to achieve this is through the use of dermal fillers in the area under the brow line.

Some people may have upper eyelid skin that is so stretched it hangs down in a fold, giving a hooded look to the eyes. In severe cases, excess eyelid skin may even rest on the lashes and needs to be surgically removed.

Tear troughs

Due to sagging of the cheek with age, a hollow called a ‘tear trough’ may develop between the lower eyelid and cheek, leading to a tired look. Tear troughs can be treated with a dermal filler about every 6 months.

Crow’s feet

‘Crow’s feet’ or wrinkles around the eyes may be treated by a combination of anti-wrinkle injections and laser treatment. Wrinkles are ‘dynamic’ when they are produced only during facial expression, such as smiling. However, with age, the skin loses its elasticity, and the lines gradually become ‘static’ or present even when we do not form facial expressions.

Anti-wrinkle treatment acts on reducing dynamic wrinkles by relaxing the wrinkle-causing muscles. The fractionated resurfacing laser smooths static wrinkles by stimulating collagen production.

“The regular use of anti-wrinkle treatment every 3–4 months helps prevent static wrinkles from forming,” said Dr Edwards.

Dark circles

Dark circles around the eyes may form due to sun exposure and the skin growing thinner with age. These problems may be helped by topical vitamin C preparations. Vitamin C has been shown to reverse some of the ageing effects caused by sun exposure. It also boosts production of collagen in the skin.

What to expect in a consultation

If you visit a cosmetic clinic for a particular concern in the eye area, e.g. crow’s feet, don’t be surprised if the clinician talks through with you about the entire eye area and suggests a treatment plan.

“Assessing all the features of the eyes is important so that we can achieve a balanced and harmonious look with cosmetic treatments,” Dr Edwards said.

“For those who are having their first experience with cosmetic treatment, we gently introduce each treatment separately so that patients can appreciate the results and gain confidence,” he said. “But what is nice for time-poor people is that you can also combine treatments, for instance filler treatment in the tear troughs with anti-wrinkle treatment for crow’s feet.”