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Eyes are Windows to the Soul

The eyes are the window to the soul; our most often noted and viewed facial feature, and unfortunately the eyes are the first facial feature to show signs of facial aging.

Eyelid Aging Begins Early

Eyelid aging changes begin as early as the late 20’s and early 30’s and.  The most common sign of eyelid aging is “tired eyes” and it re one of the most common concerns that motivate people to seek plastic surgery..

"We now have a way of knowing precisely where in the lower eyelids you will age and where you will age the most and we can plan the correction based on the prediction," says study author Subhas Gupta, MD, a plastic surgeon in Loma Linda, Calif.

The researchers looked at 10 sets of similar-looking mom-daughter pairs via high-tech 3D computer modeling to determine which areas around the eye lost the greatest amounts of volume over time. A clear pattern emerged: Sagging and volume loss around the inner corners of the eye and lower eyelids in the mothers mimicked the early signs of lower eyelid aging in the daughters. The mom-and-daughter pairs ranged in age from 15 to 90. By and large, volume loss in this area began when women entered their 30s and was greater than previously estimated.

"If you come in when you are 30, we can tell you where you will have changes and quantify what you will need and where," he says.

"The findings were surprisingly repetitive regardless of ethnicity and actual age difference between mothers and daughters," he says.

"You can beat Mother Nature to the punch and not have your mother's eyes," he says. Now the researchers plan to look at the whole face in a larger number of mother-daughter pairs to see if the findings hold.

Richard J. Greco, MD, a plastic surgeon in Savannah, Ga., says the researchers looked at the severe aging progression in moms and early aging in daughters, "and found that the patterns were similar in both.

"If your mom has great genes-- taut skin, no jowls -- you will probably age well," Greco says.

The flip side is also true, he says.

Prevention of Eyelid Aging

Sun block, wrap around sun glasses, and general sun protection are essential eyelid aging prevention techniques, especially in the south, southwest and west where sun exposure is greatest and outdoor activities are so common. A healthy diet and exercise help prevent premature skin aging and tired eyes. Botox prevents crow’s feet. A good anti-aging skin cream like Retin A or vitamin C can help prevent and reverse eyelid skin aging and eyelid wrinkles.

Modern eyelid rejuvenation surgery utilizes the laser and revolutionary new blepharoplasty techniques to rejuvenate the aging eyelid with minimal or no scarring and can correct tired eyes while preserving the beautiful eyelid shape. Surgical lower eyelid rejuvenation utilizes a laser incision on the inside of the lower eyelid through the pink portion of the eyelid called a transconjunctival blepharoplasty. During this procedure the eyelid fat is repositioned to remove the eye bag without creating a hollow eyelid appearance. Dark circles under the eyes are removed by a procedure called the arcus marginalis release, all with no scar. Upper eyelid hooding or eye hoods are also removed with the laser with virtually no bleeding, thus less bruising, quicker recovery and a small scar that is invisible when the eye is open. If wrinkles and sun damage of the eyelid are severe a new more gentle Lux 2940 microfractional laser skin peel can be done to smooth and freshen the eyelid skin for total eyelid rejuvenation.

With prevention, eyelid aging can be forestalled and early eyelid nagging can be treated with simple painless non-surgical high tech methods. Once eyelid aging has occurred remarkable truly revolutionary laser eyelid rejuvenation techniques are available to correct tired eyes, restore a youthful, open, alert, bright look to the eyes, the window to our soul.

Non-surgical Eyelid Rejuvenation

Exfoliation of eyelid skin, stimulation of new collagen formation in sun damaged eyelid skin, and tightening of eyelid skin can all be achieved non-surgically and can correct early eyelid aging changes and tired eyes. Topical Retin A, microdrmabrasion and Dermasound are good non-surgical eyelid rejuvenation techniques. For more severe eyelid aging, laser skin rejuvenation with newer less intensive eyelid laser skin peeling techniques such as the activefx laser skin peel or the microlaserpeel, or the lux2940 microfractional laser peel can exfoliate and tighten eyelid skin and remove eyelid wrinkles.