EYES WIDE OPEN

In the quest for younger-looking eyes, nonsurgical rejuvenation options take you from fatigued to fabulous

The eyes. There is nothing more powerful on your face: They cry, they laugh; they show disappointment, dreaminess or deceit; they reveal surprise and shock, happiness and honesty. Beyond expressing how you feel, they can even define who you are. With all the importance we place on the eyes, it seems like a cruel twist of fate that they exhibit signs of aging so soon.

“People form opinions of other people based on their eyes, more than any other area on the face,” notes Dr. Susan Stevens Tanne, Medical Director of Cosmetic Laser MD. “People assume that if your eyes look young, it implies that you have more energy, more spunk, and are more of a go-getter.”

You may feel perky, but if your eyes look droopy, tired and sad, your whole demeanor can appear fatigued, depressed and old—all characteristics that appear on the daily “don’t” list. Unlike other facial imperfections, which can be camouflaged with artful makeup, problem areas around eyes are tougher to hide. Makeup and facial creams can’t cover up wrinkles and creases caused by volume loss under the eyes and in the temples.

No need to fret. At Cosmetic Laser MD we have your non-surgical solutions. A youthful, bright-eyed look can be restored—without going under the knife—with a variety of products and nonsurgical procedures.

About 90% of COSMETIC LASER MD’s anti-aging patients have some concern about the aging skin around their eyes. Thankfully, this is one area that we can easily rejuvenate with our arsenal of treatments and products. Minor cosmetic tweaks can go a long way toward improving this critical area. We have identified three major eye-aging culprits, and offer solutions for each concern. For total rejuvenation, a combination of treatments and products usually works best. Good morning bright eyes!

Lighten Up!

Dark circles definitely aren’t a “do” in the quest to maintain youthful-looking eyes. First, you need to determine the cause. As the skin thins with age, underlying blood vessels may show through, appearing as dark circles. Sometimes the pigment of the skin actually changes color as red blood cells break down. In other cases, those circles are actually dark shadows. As facial skin sags and loses volume, the area above the cheeks (the tear trough) hollows out, causing a shadowed effect. And sometimes dark circles have nothing to do with age—you just have them and probably always did, just like your parents and siblings.

Easy fix: An excellent concealer can do the trick for some.

Medical fix: If the dark circles are caused by shadows, injectable fillers in the under-eye hollows can make them disappear. "I get beautiful results with hyaluronic acid fillers like Juvéderm and Restylane, as well as with Selphyl enhanced fat from one’s own body,” says Dr. Tanne. "These fillers can fill the hollow areas beneath the eye, restoring that smooth youthful volume."

Also consider: Products that contain Vitamin K and/or caffeine can improve the appearance of dark circles, says Dr. Tanne, who recommends Circles from her Tanne MD Medical Grade Skincare line.

Tighten Up!

Your facial skin and muscles weaken with age—and that includes the skin above and below your eyes. The eyelids stretch, causing the upper lids to droop, while fluid and/or fat begins to fill in the loose space below the eyes, creating bags and puffiness.

Easy fix: Home remedies can be surprisingly effective for under-eye bags. “Sleeping with your head elevated via pillows, icing the areas with cold compresses in the morning, and using a topical cream that contains an ingredient to constrict the underlying blood vessels, such as caffeine - try The Firm from Tanne MD Medical Grade Skincare - decreases the amount of excess fluid in the under-eye tissue,” says Dr.Tanne.

Medical fix: The E-Matrix Laser offers remarkable results to this delicate area. It absolutely turns back the hands of time, and with little or no downtime, and little or no discomfort.

Also consider: Botox and Dysport can erase crow’s feet and raise the eyebrows, offering a mini-brow lift for patients with minor eyelid drooping.

Smooth It Out!

Thinning skin, sun damage and facial expressions all conspire to create lines and wrinkles on our aging faces, which show up first and most prominently, around the eyes. This thin, fragile skin is in constant motion, and produces wrinkling long before it appears on other areas of the face.

Easy fix: Our featured eye product, EYE DEFENSE, has been specially formulated to contain a comprehensive system of all-trans retinol, peptides, chelators, antioxidants and moisturizers targeting puffiness, dark circles, lines and wrinkles, firmness and tightness, enhanced skin texture and smoothness. We recently came across a statistic that 90% of cosmetic dermatologists use some form of retinol around their eye area.

Medical fix: “A series of chemical peels - such as Apeele - does an excellent job in tightening lower eyelid crinkles,” Dr. Tanne says. And Botox or Dysport is the go-to remedy for crows-feet and other superficial lines caused by facial expressions (squinting, raising eyebrows, frowning). "I like to smooth out these irritating lines while allowing you to maintain a normal, expressive appearance—without that paralyzed look.”

Also consider: Need an immediate line eraser for an important date or event? Try Instantly Ageless "Facelift in a Bottle" for an 8 - 10 hour quick fix!

Love your Lashes

If your eyelashes are a little sparse, we've got the remedy.

Sadly, even our eyelashes age. as hair follicles age, lashes can appear thinner and less dense. The cure is Latisse which "jumpstarts" hair follicles to stimulate growth, increases melanin pigment (resulting in darker lashes) and causes lashes to grow longer than they normally would. Use it once per day before bed. Just place a thin layer of solution along your upper eyelash line with a small brush. With the first tw0 months you will start to see darker, thicker, longer lashes.