If you’ve tried every serum, cream, and eye mask on the market and are still struggling to resolve your eye issues—it’s time to consider med spa eye treatments. There are a variety of non-surgical methods of revitalizing and refreshing your eyes. Below are the top issues that age your eyes and how to minimize them.

Why Eyes Age Faster?

It’s not uncommon for the first fine lines that form on your face to be around your eyes. There are a few contributing factors.

• Thinner skin: The skin on your face is up to 4 mm thick, while the skin around your eyes is up to .5 mm thick. This makes skin more susceptible to the wrinkle-causing factors below.
• Squinting: If the lighting in your room or on your electronic screens isn’t bright enough, you could be squinting without knowing it. You’ll also squint if you need glasses, your eyewear prescription needs to be updated, or you don’t wear your glasses regularly.
• UV exposure: Bright sunlight (and other bright light) can cause squinting. However, the larger concern is UV damage. With thinner skin, UV damage is accelerated. So, wear sunglasses that block both UVA and UVB rays, consider wearing blue light glasses when using your electronic devices, and apply topical anti-aging eye treatments.
• Facial expressions: When you laugh and smile the skin around your eyes will naturally wrinkle, then snap back in place. Over time, the elastin in your skin won’t snap back, creating repetitive motion fine lines. 

#1 Resolving Red Eyes

Red eyes don’t only age you, but they can leave you feeling self-conscious as you go about your day. This is intensified as it’s often something others will comment on. Red eyes can be caused by a range of factors.

• <Eye strain: Common causes of eye strain include too much screen time, poor lighting during screen time, and poor lighting when watching TV. You may also have red eyes after driving or reading a physical book for long periods of time.
• Allergies: Allergies cause the blood vessels in your eyes to dilate and become inflamed. Lubricating eye drops and antihistamines may help, but you may need to wait for your allergies to pass. Nasal irrigation may also alleviate your symptoms.
• Alcohol: Wine, beer, and alcohol can cause the blood vessels in the eyes to dilate, making your eyes look red. It can also dehydrate you, causing red eyes. If you don’t get enough sleep the night after drinking more than a few beverages, it can intensify your symptoms—leaving your eyes red and puffy.
• Smoke exposure: If you’re exposed to any kind of smoke, it can dry, irritate, and inflame your eyes. If you smoke cigarettes, you may experience chronic red eyes. This is because nicotine causes blood vessels to dilate. Long-term use can contribute to a variety of ophthalmological issues that make your eyes red and accelerate wrinkles at a rate anti-aging eye treatments can’t keep up with. Smoking and vaping THC lowers your blood pressure, causing your blood vessels to dilate.
• Sleep deprivation: When you don’t get enough sleep, your eyes don’t get enough nutrient-rich oxygen. This leaves your eyes red when you wake. This may fade, but your eyes may stay red. 
• Dry eyes: The are many factors that can cause dry eyes, including several of the causes below. Prescription medications, wind exposure, dehydration, and a variety of other causes create dry eyes. 
• Ophthalmological issues: If your eyes are red for no reason, red for more than a few days, or have any other symptoms (including but not limited to pain and swelling), something else could be the cause. Schedule an appointment with a physician immediately and schedule an annual eye exam with your optometrist.

Eye Treatments For Red Eyes

• You can begin with over-the-counter eye lubricants. These often clear up a short-term trigger. Cooling eye masks or cold teabags may soothe the redness, especially if your eyes are red and puffy.
• If you have allergies, nasal irrigation and antihistamines may help, but you may need to wait for your allergies to pass.
• If you have chronic red eyes or red eyes accompanied by any other symptoms, seek medical care.  

#2 Puffy Eyes and Under Eye Bags

You’re most likely to experience puffy eyes and under-eye bags first thing in the morning. The puff may fade as the day goes on, but sometimes bags remain all day. As you age, you may experience daily undereye bags.

The most common causes of bags include:

• Aging: It’s not uncommon to wake with puffy eyes as you age. This is because you’re more likely to experience decreased circulation and undereye fluid retention. 
• Fluid retention: Fluid retention can be caused by eating salty foods the night before. If fluid retention is chronic, use a second pillow when you sleep to minimize the buildup of fluid underneath your eyes when you sleep.
• Other causes: If you smoke nicotine, have allergies, didn’t get enough sleep, or are taking certain medications, it can intensify your puffy eyes.

Eye Treatments For Puffy Eyes

• As mentioned above, if your eye bags are chronic, elevate your head with a second pillow while sleeping.
• Facial rollers or a DIY eye massage can improve circulation and help drain the fluid buildup around the eyes.
• Some topical eye products are specifically designed to soothe puffy eyes and promote circulation.
• Cooling eye masks and cold rollers may also help to reduce morning puffiness.
• In some cases, Bellafill dermal filler can be utilized to minimize chronic under-eye bags.

#3 Dark Circles

It’s not uncommon for the skin underneath your eyes to be a couple of shades darker than the rest of your face. For some, the skin under the eyes is significantly darker. As mentioned above, the skin around your eyes is thinner, making your blood vessels more apparent. This makes the skin underneath your eyes appear to be a few shades darker.  

• Sleep deprivation: If someone tells you that you look tired, your eyes are likely what’s giving you away. Sleep deprivation can intensify all eye issues on this list.
• Aging: As you age, the skin around your eyes gets even thinner. When combined with decreased volume loss, your blood vessels become more visible, causing the appearance of dark circles.
• Hyperpigmentation: UV damage and genetics can cause hyperpigmentation on your face. This can intensify the dark circles underneath your eyes, including small sun spots and larger patches of darker skin.
• Genetics: If one or both of your parents or other family members have dark circles (with or without undereye bags), you may have dark circles from a young age.

Eye Treatments For Dark Circles

• One or more evenings of decreased sleep can cause or intensify dark undereye circles.
• You can add an eye mask, serum, and eye cream design for undereye circles to your daily routine.
• ConsiderLumecca IPL, a non-invasive med spa eye treatment that is highly effective for hyperpigmentation.

#4 Crow’s Feet and Eye Creases

Crow’s feet and lines around your eyes can be shocking, as you may not notice them until you see a photo or video of yourself smiling or laughing. When you apply your skincare products and makeup each day, you may not see a single wrinkle around your eyes—but that doesn’t mean they aren’t present.

• Facial expressions: Laughing, smiling, and other facial expressions create a repetitive motion that accelerates crow’s feet and evolves into fine lines.
• Squinting: Modern electronics lead to crow’s feet and neck creases forming as early as your teens and 20s. This is due to a combination of blue light exposure, squinting, and improper screen and room lighting.
• Aging: As you age, collagen and elastin production slows down. This makes fine lines more apparent. With time, fine lines transition into deep wrinkles.  
• Poor skincare: You should begin using an eye serum and eye moisturizer as soon as you notice fine lines around your eyes. Or you can be proactive and use eye products before the signs of aging are visible. Facial products are too thick to penetrate this thinner skin, so dedicated eye products are required.

Eye Treatments For Crow’s Feet and Eye Creases

• Use an antioxidant-rich morning and evening eye serum and eye cream, substituting for eye masks a few times a week.
• Explore your med spa options, which may include Botox to minimize muscle contractions,hyaluronic acid fillers to smooth, and non-surgical skin tightening treatments to erase fine lines.

#5 Sunken Eye Sockets or Hollow Temples

As you age, you will lose volume in your skin. This is caused by fat pad loss which can lead to sunken eyes, hollow temples, and hollow cheeks.

• Aging:In addition to facial volume loss, the decline in collagen and elastin makes the already thinner skin around your eyes even thinner. This exacerbates the hollowing in your face.
• Weight loss: If you struggle to keep weight on as you age, your face and eyes will appear even more hollow.

Eye Treatments For Sunken Eye Sockets or Hollow Temples

Dermal fillers are the only non-surgical option for filling in areas of significant eye and facial volume loss. You may want to combine dermal fillers with collagen-boosting med spa treatments to slow the visible signs of aging.

Reach Out to Learn More About Our Med Spa Eye Treatments

Valley Medical Weight Loss and Med Spa offers a range of minimally invasive eye treatments to slow and reverse the issues that age your eyes. Schedule a consultation to discuss how we can revitalize your tired eyes!