Eyelid Ptosis – How Eyelid Surgery Can Help Heavy Eyes
What Is Eyelid Ptosis and How Eyelid Surgery Can Increase Vision Eyelid ptosis can be more than just a…
Genetics, ageing, sun damage, dehydration, and more can all cause bags under your eyes, puffy eyelids, and dark circles under your eyes. Those can give the impression that you’re exhausted or haven’t slept well even though you feel well-rested. There are several natural remedies that you can try at home that may help you reduce puffiness and make your eyes look less tired. You can also consult a plastic surgeon about your surgical and non-surgical options for tired-looking eyes.
Dr Michael Kernohan is a specialist plastic surgeon in Sydney, Australia offering a range of surgical and non-surgical facial treatments.
Puffy eyelids, under-eye bags, and dark circles under the eyes are the tell-tale signs of tired eyes.
You can immediately tell if someone’s been crying, exhausted, or up all night by looking at their eyes. However, lack of sleep and fatigue aren’t the only reasons why your eyes may look weary.
There are several reasons for sleepy and tired eyes that have nothing to do with sleep.
Some people have a genetic predisposition to fat build-up in their eyelids. The excess fat can cause bags under the eyes, which make the eyes look puffy and exhausted.
Others are born with excess skin around the upper eyelids that make the eyes look hooded.
Moreover, medical studies have shown that dark circles under the eyes may also run in the family.
Another reason why your eyes may look tired is a tear trough deformity. Tear trough deformity is a deep indentation between the eye and the nose that creates the illusion that the eyes are sunken and hollow. Some people are born with deep tear troughs, while others develop them as they grow older.
The skin around your eyes is some of the thinnest on your body. As you age, your skin stretches and loses elasticity through the reduction of collagen and elastin. The muscles supporting your eyelids also begin to thin and weaken.
This can cause the appearance of heavy, loose skin around the eyelids, which can make the eyes appear tired.
Dark circles can also appear under your eyes as you grow older. With age, your skin stretches and thins out, and the blood vessels under it become more visible. Which creates a darker under-eye appearance.
In some cases, dark circles under the eyes are caused by loss of volume. This happens as the fat pads in the lower eyelid shift downward with age. The volume loss creates a shadow that makes the under eyes appear darker than they actually are.
Too much sun exposure triggers your body to excessively produce melanin, the pigment that gives your skin its colour. Which can result in hyperpigmentation (dark skin patches) under the eyes.
It’s widely known that staying hydrated is the key to healthier skin. The skin around your eyes can start to look dull if you don’t drink enough water.
Salty foods, some medications, and certain diseases can lead to water retention, which causes swelling and puffiness in different body parts, including the eyes.
Allergies can cause your body to release chemicals called histamines. These chemicals can cause your eyes to swell up and look puffy.
Cigarettes and other tobacco products damage your skin and speed up the ageing process.
Various medical conditions can cause heavy eyelids or bags under the eyes. These include renal disease, thyroid eye disease, diabetes, Myasthenia Gravis, and eye infections.
Although tired-looking eyes aren’t typically a cause for concern, they can give the impression that you constantly feel tired.
There are several things you can do at home to make your eyes less puffy naturally. Home remedies for tired-looking eyes can include:
These simple measurements can help you reduce tired eyes almost instantly. Nonetheless, their effects are limited and temporary.
If you can’t get rid of tired-looking eyes naturally, several medical treatments can offer you a more effective and permanent solution.
There are several non-surgical treatment options available to help alleviate the appearance of tired eyes, including;
Several eye creams can help reduce dark circles, puffiness, and bags under the eyes. Topical under-eye serums, such as Melalumin, are effective in lightening dark circles under the eyes.
Studies also show that eye creams that contain Low Molecular Weight Heparan Sulfate Glycosaminoglycans (LMW‐HS) can effectively reduce eye puffiness and dark circles.
Chemical peels can be tailored to the sensitive skin around the eyes to address concerns such as dullness, fine lines, and dark circles. By gently exfoliating the outer layer of skin, these treatments work on skin texture and tone, helping refresh your appearance. Suitable for those seeking to reduce the signs of fatigue and increase brightness to the eye area, chemical peels offer a non-invasive approach.
Laser skin resurfacing therapy can help alter sun-damaged skin and reduce wrinkles and fine lines around the eyes.
You can receive platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections in your lower eyelid regions. These injections can strengthen the skin around your eyes.
Volumising Treatments for tired, sunken eyes focus on addressing volume loss in the under-eye area. These treatments target the tear trough region to reduce the appearance of hollows and shadowing often linked to fatigue or ageing, offering a refreshed appearance through a professional, tailored approach.
That is an ultrasound-based therapy. An Ultherapy treatment involves using focused ultrasound to lift and tighten skin on the neck, chin, and brow. The ultrasound energy stimulates the production of new collagen deep within the skin and can effectively treat skin laxity around the eyes.
Although non-surgical treatments may be effective in alleviating the appearance of a tired-looking face, they only give short-term results. Different cosmetic procedures can offer a more permanent way to reduce the appeance of tired-looking eyes.
Under-eye fat transfer is a cosmetic procedure that uses your body’s own fat to fill in sunken and hollow areas under your eyes.
Your surgeon can use liposuction to remove fat from a donor site, usually the stomach, thighs, or hips. The fat is purified and injected into the skin below your lower eyelids.
After this procedure, your eyes will appear less tired. It’s worth noting that, with time, your body will reabsorb some of the transferred fat, which causes a decrease in volume again.
Blepharoplasty, or eyelid surgery, is a cosmetic procedure that removes excess skin and fat from the upper eyelids, lower eyelids, or both. It’s one of the most effective way to correct tired eyes.
During an upper eyelid lift:
During a lower eyelid surgery:
A brow lift, also known as a forehead lift or upper facelift, is a cosmetic procedure that raises the skin and soft tissue of the forehead and brow.
You can get a forehead lift if you have low, descending brows weighing down on your upper eyelids, giving your eyes a sleepy or puffy appearance.
Depending on the extent of lift you need, your surgeon will make one of three incisions:
A brow lift surgery lifts the eyebrows and modifies the forehead.
Dr Michael Kernohan will thoroughly examine your face and offer you the optimal surgical or non-surgical treatment for your tired-looking eyes.