How do I get rid of eye wrinkles?

Wrinkles around the eyes and under-eye bags are often an inevitable part of our ageing process. On a daily basis, men and women ask us what they can do to improve signs of ageing in this area. Before we explore the treatments that help this problem, let’s have a quick look at the factors that contribute to signs of ageing around your eyes:

1. We lose the tone and strength in our face with the ageing process and this can mean that the underlying fat starts to bulge under the eyes which can give the impression of ‘bags’.
2. The lovely plump fat pouches that make up our facial structure (think defined cheeks, smooth temples) shrink and, thanks to gravity, drop; not only can this leave you with flat cheeks and a sagging jawline it can also lead to your undereye looking hollow and dark and emphasise other signs of ageing around the eye.
3. On top of the fat and muscle loss, we also lose bone mass. Think of your bone and fat pads as your facial scaffolding and your skin as a sheet wrapped tightly over it. When we start to lose that ‘scaffolding’ (bone) around our eyes they can start to look sunken and hollow as the skin and muscle don’t have the underlying structure to hold it in place and support it as it once did.
4. The collagen and elastin in your skin surrounding the eyes, like the rest of your skin, slow down production as you age. The result? Wrinkles, lines, crepiness, thin and loose skin.
5. Repetitive muscle movement is often a big contributor to certain wrinkles; ‘crows feet’ which appear at the side of your eyes can be largely blamed on frequent movement such as animated smiling. Although lots of us like these lines at the side of our eyes (they often give us a bit of character, don’t they?) many of us want to soften them a little and prevent them from becoming very deep wrinkles. This repetitive muscle movement combined with the fact that our elastin and collagen stores are dwindling means that the skin cannot bounce back into shape as smoothly it once did, resulting in wrinkles.

So, how do you treat eye wrinkles and other signs of ageing around your eyes?

Luckily, there are many treatments that are available to tackle ageing eyes. Whilst it can be really tempting to look for an over-night miracle cure, it’s not usually the case that one treatment or an eye cream alone is going to solve the problem; think about the number of factors that contribute to ageing eyes that we explored earlier. You may need a combination of treatments to really improve your concern. The best approach is going to be bespoke; what works for you may not be right for your friend because we’re all unique. Some of us may be much more suitable for surgery if our signs of ageing are particularly advanced, however many of us will be suitable for non-surgical treatments to correct and prevent signs of ageing around our eyes.

Products

Products definitely have a role in maintaining the youthful skin around your eyes. Creams will also be able to correct signs of ageing to a degree and support any cosmetic eye treatments you have.

“When should I start using an eye cream?” is a question we’re asked all the time at Skin to Love. The answer is, your mid-20s is the ideal time to start looking after this fragile area because prevention is much better than a cure. Don’t wait until you start to see wrinkles and bags to treat them if you can help it. If you’re no longer in your 20s and you haven’t started using a cream yet doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start now. ‘Now’ is better than ‘never’!

There are countless eye creams on the market so it can be difficult to know what to choose so our tip is to look for a product that has active ingredients in it (this goes for your face creams as well); if you don’t, you’ll essentially be using a barrier cream of which it’s the greatest asset is preventing water leaving your skin (this the job of all moisturisers), which definitely has its merits but it’s highly unlikely that it will actively correct or protect you from signs of ageing if it doesn’t contain active ingredients. Retinol is a great ingredient to use around your eye (make sure that you chose one with strength suitable for this delicate area), as is hyaluronic acid. Peptides within an eye cream are a fabulous way to trick your skin into producing new, bouncy collagen. Our clients love Revision Skincare Teamine Eye Complex for dark circles and puffiness; Medik8 Retinol Eye for turning their skin cells over and softening signs of wrinkles; and Skin to Love Anti-aging Eye Cream which is supercharged with collagen-stimulating peptides.

Treatments

Non-surgical cosmetic treatments can be used as a treatment on their own or in combination with each other to tackle multiple concerns around your eyes. Your medical practitioner will discuss the most appropriate treatments for your particular concerns however, here are some of our most loved treatments:

• Thermage CPT is a unique, one-time treatment that delivers long-lasting rejuvenation which results in tighter, smoother, firmer skin on your eyes including eyelids. You can also have this super popular treatment on your face, your neck or your body. It’s a favourite amongst celebrities such as actress Jennifer Aniston, talk-show host Oprah Winfrey and boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. for its non-surgical skin tightening and the ability to immediately continue your usual activities.

Ideal for crepiness, thinning skin, lines around the eyes, loose skin and ‘heavy’, hooded eyelids. This is taken as a single treatment.

• SuneKos is an injectable treatment that’s entirely different to filler or Botox treatments; this treatment uses a patented formula which combines amino acids (the essential building blocks of elastin and collagen) with hyaluronic acid. It can be used around your eyes to regenerate the Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM) of your skin which is where your collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid is created. Sunekos deeply hydrates and plumps the treated tissue, reduces the severity of your wrinkles and triggers a dramatic boost to your elastin and collagen.

Ideal for lines and wrinkles, the first signs of hollowness under the eye, loose skin and eye bags. A course of four treatments is required.

• Wrinkle relaxing injections, commonly referred to as Botox, this treatment works by softening the intensity of the muscle contractions in specific areas which create lines and wrinkles. Frown lines and crows feet around the eyes are very popular treatment areas.

Ideal for ‘crows feet’ at the side of your eyes. This is taken as a single treatment, no course required.

• Dermal fillers are well known for their ability to help soften signs of ageing and restore the appearance of plump, smooth, healthy-looking skin by filling depressions such as nose-to-mouth lines, certain fillers can also be superb for improving a sunken, hollowed appearance under the eyes.

Ideal for hollowness under your eyes often referred to as the ‘tear trough’ area. This is usually a single treatment, however, in some instances your practitioner may decide to treat you in 2 phases.

• Byonik is guided by your heartbeat this NASA technology improves fine lines and wrinkles, crepiness and skin texture. It also wakes up your collagen and elastin fibres whilst saturating your skin cells with the deeply hydrating hyaluronic acid and powerful antioxidants. All of this with absolutely no down-time! Perfect for dehydrated, ageing skin around the eyes.

Ideal for improving the quality of your skin, deep hydration, antioxidant protection (we need this to fight the ageing effects pollutants have on our skin), reinvigorating our existing collagen and elastin and stimulating further production. Best taken as a course of treatment.

• Regenlite is a brand of Pulse Dye Laser, works by ‘tricking’ your body into forming completely new collagen within your skin. Studies have shown a 99.5% increase in the collagen production rate following the first treatment.

Ideal for tackling lines and wrinkles by stimulating new collagen. Best taken as a course of treatment.

If you would like to learn more about non-surgical cosmetic eye treatments and would like personalised recommendations, don’t hesitate to book a consultation with one of our medical practitioners. Call The Skin to Love Clinic on 01727837429 for more information.