Do I need surgery or dermal fillers to treat my under eye bags?

Article medically reviewed by Dr. Gavin Chan

Templestowe Lower, Berwick and Beaumaris Clinics

Dr. Gavin Chan, MBBS, General Registration (MED0001175745), founder of the Victorian Cosmetic Institute, began offering cosmetic medical treatments in 2004. Formerly a trainer for cosmetic pharmaceutical companies, Dr. Chan currently concentrates on offering ongoing training to cosmetic doctors at the Victorian Cosmetic Institute. He ensures that all doctors stay updated with the latest procedures and methods in the cosmetic industry. Read More

Fortunately, there’s more than one way to remove eye bags, under eye hollows and tear troughs.

What are tear troughs, eye bags and under eye hollows?

The under eye area consists of tear troughs, eye bags and under eye hollows and is a common area that patients enquire about. The tear trough area can sag, wrinkle, hollow and appear to have dark circles around it. Tear troughs sit between the cheeks and lower eyelid and the cheeks. They create a hollow where the cheek and lower eyelid meet. In many cases, the appearance of tear troughs is genetic rather than a result of ageing. Tear troughs can become apparent from as early as the twenties.

Many people also get concerned about the eye bags on their lower eyelid area. Eye bags appear as bulges of the lower eyelid. It was once thought that eye bags were a result of laxity of the lower eyelid muscles, which allowed fat to protrude. Today we know they mostly occur due to the fat in the mid-cheek falling away from the lower eyelid. This process causes the lower eyelid to look protruded in relation to the cheek.

Under eye hollows are caused by the loss of fat in the lower eyelids. When the orbital septum weakens, it hollows out with the lower eyelid skin appearing thinner. During the ageing process, you may notice the hollows that sit between your cheeks and lower eyelid getting deeper while the area below your lower eyelid becomes baggier.

Dermal fillers can help smooth the transition between the lower eyelid and cheeks, and make the appearance of your tear troughs, eye bags and eye hollows less obvious.

Dermal filler tear trough correction

Dermal fillers are cosmetic injections that revolumise and restore areas of the face non-surgically. They are made from a clear gel composed of a substance that is naturally found in the skin. In Australia, there are several dermal filler brands to consider using. Due to Therapeutic Goods Administration rules, we’re not able to name the products we use.

The tear trough can be a difficult area in the face to treat with dermal fillers. It’s common for patients to become very critical of the eye area, especially after having treatment done. But having an expectation of perfection and smoothness in the eye area can be fraught with problems.

Because the eye skin and under eye area is very fine here, any slight imperfections can be seen. It’s also important to note that dermal fillers tend to increase and hydrate a few days after treatment. This makes judging the ‘perfect’ dermal filler amount to inject very difficult to achieve. You should also note that the placement of dermal filler is difficult in under eye area. Perceiving the depth of filler and location under the skin can be difficult.

This is why our experienced, professional practitioners prefer to under fill rather than overfill the tear troughs. Over filling the under eye area with dermal fillers can make patients appear like they have been crying or increase the appearance of ‘tiredness ‘. Watch this video to see dermal filler trough correction

Eyelid surgery to fix under eye bags

Ever wondered why your upper eyelids look hooded and your lower eyes get appear baggy? With ageing, the skin of your face will lose elasticity. Because the eyelid skin is the thinnest skin of the face, this area will be the first to show deterioration and ageing.

The thin skin in your upper eyelid skin also gets stretched. This excess skin forms pulls downwards to produce the effect of hooding. Sometimes this extra skin actually comes to rest on the bases of the eyelashes at the margin of the eyelid. When patients get this excess skin removed, it produces a long-term improvement.

Blepharoplasty is a surgical procedure that improves the shape of your eyelids. With the time your upper eyelid skin can stretch and produce a hooding effect. Blepharoplasty can remove this excess skin. If your lower eyelid skin gets stretched with the fat behind it and causes eye bags, blepharoplasty can remove this fat.

How Ulthera and Infini can tighten can tighten your eye skin

Our Ultherapy device uses focused ultrasound energy to tighten and lift your eye skin. Ulthera uses ultrasound waves to a deep point beneath your skin. Normally associated with pregnancy, ultrasound is a high frequency sound wave that’s emitted by a hand piece to capture and reflect images on a picture.

Ultherapy coagulates and heats skin proteins that stimulate collagen formation while lifting and tightening the skin. This deep heat helps it target the problematic deep skin layers without damaging any other structures or skin. Find out more about our Ultherapy non-surgical skin eye lifting solutions here.

Our Infini RF is an effective treatment for skin laxity around the eye area. The combination of control micro wounds from the needling and electro thermal heating of the collagen from the RF element lifts, tightens and firms eye skin. Find out more about our Infini RF eye treatment solutions here

Skincare and make up for under eye bags

Want to nourish your delicate eye skin area? We suggest you consider the following skin care and make up for under eye bags.

Biopelle Tensage Radiance Eye Cream is a lightly tinted cream that helps to even skin tone whilst firming and tightening the delicate eye area. This product includes peptides and antioxidants and is ideal to use in the morning.