Youthful, alert eyes can communicate an attractive vitality. Aging eyes, and in some cases, genetics, can create an older, tired appearance. I often see men and women who are considering eyelid surgery because they have wrinkled skin, droopy eyelids, and fat bulges under the eyes.
In some cases, however, surgery isn’t necessary. Non surgical eyelid lift options like laser resurfacing, nonsurgical skin tightening and lifting, dermal fillers, micro fat grafting, and even an enhanced skincare regimen can improve the appearance of both the upper and lower eyelids for some patients.
It’s probably not surprising that many of the patients I see ask about alternatives to eyelid surgery that can produce the desired results. In this post, we’ll discuss the best options for fixing sagging eyelids and improving bags under the eyes and show eye lift before and after photos to illustrate.
How do you fix droopy eyelids?
Nonsurgical treatments for upper and lower eyelids may be combined with blepharoplasty to produce the best results. When I examine patients and listen to them describe what bothers them about the appearance of their eyelids, my job is to recommend a personalized treatment plan.
That treatment plan is really based on the answer to a single question: “What is the best approach in your specific situation?”
In many cases, precise surgical excision of lax skin (blepharoplasty) of the upper and lower eyelids is the most effective procedure to aesthetically:
- Define and expose the double-lid line and lift sagging upper lid skin from the lash margin and;
- Reduce excess skin folds draping below the lower lid margin
In the patient shown here, the treatment plan called for blepharoplasty and a brow lift.
How can I lift my eyelids without surgery?
This is a question we hear quite often. Men and women who want to rejuvenate the eye area without surgery have a few options, but they won’t create the dramatic, long-term results of eyelid surgery.
Injectable Treatments
BOTOX Cosmetic® injections can significantly improve the contours of the upper eyelid and brow. Treatments should address both of these areas because they are interrelated, and neuromodulators that minimize wrinkles can produce a slight brow lift, too. Dermal fillers such as Restylane® can also play a role in creating a more youthful-looking eyebrow arch.
I wouldn’t recommend using chemical peels, laser skin resurfacing treatments, or radiofrequency devices on the upper eyelid skin. And, in some cases, upper eyelid surgery may be the best choice to create a more alert and younger appearance. Injectable fillers can also restore volume in the area below the eyes. I may even combine upper blepharoplasty with filler in the tear trough and a volumizing filler in the cheeks to create comprehensive results.
Laser Treatments
The delicate skin of the lower and upper lids represents perhaps the thinnest skin on your entire body. If you’re concerned about fine lines or lax skin, laser skin resurfacing treatment can be an excellent solution. A chemical peel might be another option to correct skin discoloration under the eyes.
Repositioning Fat
Other common lower eyelid concerns include dark circles, bulges, or changes to the contours, which are conditions caused by fat pads in the lower eyelid gradually falling forward. Eyelid surgery is necessary in these cases to remove and reposition fat to retain the volume that creates a youthful appearance. (You can learn more about who makes a good candidate for this procedure in our related blog post.)
I may even recommend transferring a small amount of fat from a patient’s abdomen into the undereye area to restore lost facial volume, a procedure called fat grafting. You can see the results of upper and lower blepharoplasty and fat grafting in my Instagram post below:
I also use surgery to remove excess skin because laser treatments or chemical peels provide limited benefits, especially considering that the surgical procedure offers exceptional, long-lasting results.
As I mentioned earlier, nonsurgical treatments can be effective under the right circumstances. But the dramatic changes produced by upper and lower eyelid surgery—which can be combined in a single procedure—are apparent when you look at before-and-after photos of some of my previous patients.
If you’re looking for a med spa or plastic surgery specialist in the Toronto and Oshawa areas to enhance your eyelids, contact our office using the online form or call us directly at (416) 925-7337 (Toronto location) or (905) 743-9888 (Oshawa location) to schedule an appointment.
Upper eyelid fillers
Thank you for contacting us. Please call the practice at (416) 925-7337 to schedule a consultation.
How much is lower eyelid surgery& how much downtime needed for full recovery?
Thank you for contacting us. Please call the practice at (416) 925-7337 to schedule a consultation so that our surgeons can perform an assessment and provide a customized estimate for your treatment.