Eyelift Treatment

Have you ever wondered why older people get large bags under their eyes? It is the same reason why the skin gets wrinkly. As we get older, the elasticity of the skin starts to diminish slowly. Once you lose elasticity, excessive skin builds on the upper eyelids and lower eyelids. However, due to the pull of gravity, the excessive skin underneath the lower eyelids become large bags that droop down.

Elasticity is what allows the skin to fall back into shape after it is stretched or pulled by gravity. Think about what happens to your facial skin when you smile or squint. Do you notice how your facial skin folds up as you do these things? But when you stop smiling or squinting, the skin falls back into shape and looks smooth and flat again. This is only possible because of the elastin proteins in the skin allow for better flexibility.

Unfortunately, the skin does not produce as many elastin proteins as it gets older. The consequence is skin wrinkles and big bags underneath the lower eyelids. These things do not offer a very attractive look, and a lot of people are sensitive to them. The good news is that modern cosmetic treatments exist to combat these problems. Some people get better results than others, depending on the condition of their skin.

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Blepharoplasty aka. Eyelift

When to Get an Eyelift Treatment

It is better to get the eyelift treatment as soon as you start noticing bulges, wrinkles, or bumps on your eyelids. Cosmetic surgeons prefer to treat healthier people who have not lived with this problem for very long. When you reach the age of 35, that is when the elasticity decline in the skin becomes visibility noticeable. From there, it gradually gets worse with each year that passes by.

If you wait too long to get the eyelift treatment, then it is more difficult for the cosmetic surgeon to eliminate the droopiness and excess skin folds. Sometimes they won’t even agree to treat patients if they’re too old or in poor health. That is why they recommend younger people between 35 and 55 get the surgery. If you’re in your 60s or 70s, then it is likely too late for you to get this surgery.

What to Expect

Eyelift treatment is about a 2-hour surgery performed on your lower eyelids and upper eyelids. Because of the invasiveness involved, the practitioner will administer a local anesthetic injection into the skin around the eyes. An oral and/or IV sedative may also be administered too.

The eyelid surgeon will work on your upper eyelids first by focusing on its natural lines. Cuts will be made into these natural lines which will create a separation between the skin and the tissue underneath. Any excess skin and fat within this area will get removed. Small stitches are used to close up these cuts afterwards and must remain in the skin for between 3 to 6 days.

As for the lower eyelids, the surgeon will likely create a small incision to get inside them and remove the excess fat that is there. The cut lines from the incision can be softened with the use of an erbium laser or CO2 laser. Alternatively, if the incision is made along the margin of the lower eyelashes, the cut line won’t remain for very long afterwards. The surgeon can still remove fat and excess skin by making the cut there.

When the surgery is over, you can expect about 3 to 5 days of downtime to allow your eyelids to heal. You may experience minor irritations, such as dry eyes, but they should go away after a few weeks. The doctor will recommend that you use ice packs, eye drops, and over-the-counter painkillers to deal with these issues.