Stop us if you’ve heard this one:
It’s been our observation that a lot of women really love their bags.
Handbags. Purses. Clutches. Totes. Messenger bags. Whether you like to splurge on the latest offerings from major designers or stick with something simple and durable, each one is practical and functional, as well as an expression of your own personal taste and style!
Of course, there’s one type of bag that we aren’t so excited about. They’re free, almost everyone gets two of them eventually, nobody wants them, and you can’t give them away.
They’re the bags under your eyes.
Fortunately, Dr. Lisa Learn can help you get rid of them—so that at your next social soiree, you only show up with the bags that help you look your best!
Where Did I Even Get These Bags?
The ones in your closet? We can’t help you there.
The ones under your eyes, however? That’s a pretty common side effect of a process we all go through sooner or later: aging.
As we get older, the muscles and connective tissues that surround your eyes and support your eyelids start to weaken. Gradually, they lose the ability to contain or hold back some of the fatty tissue that also helps support your eyelids, which falls forward. Sometimes even fluid can start to pool there, too.
Like a crack in a dam, the space under your eyes starts to swell and puff up. Eventually you may notice visible saggy skin and even dark circles forming.
Aside from normal aging, other factors can accelerate the development of bags under the eyes, or cause them to temporarily appear. For example:
- Trouble sleeping
- Sinus problems
- Allergies
- Smoking
- Alcohol abuse
- Poor diet
- Stress
- UV exposure
The good news, if you can call it that, is that bags under eyes usually do not indicate a deeper medical problem that requires “treatment,” unless you’re actually experiencing symptoms like dry and itchy eyes or impaired vision. Like wrinkles and fine lines, bag under the eyes are often just a normal part of aging.
However, we probably don’t have to tell you that they can be extremely frustrating.
After all, the eyes are the window into the soul, right? Whenever we look at others, it’s the eyes we usually focus on first. So who wants to have droopy, sagging, sleepy bags under their eyes?
Wouldn’t you rather have youthful, fresh looking eyes that reflect on the outside the alert, active person you are on the inside?
What Can I Do About Them?
We’re guessing if you’re at this point, reading this blog, you’ve already tried a bunch of the at-home “solutions” like using a cool compress or covering up with makeup, and found them lacking. Now you’re looking for something a little more effective.
Fortunately, there are a couple of ways we can help you approach this problem.
On the less-invasive side of the spectrum, you might consider chemical peels to lighten the appearance of dark circles under the eyes. The skin under the eyes is very sensitive, however, so it’s important that this is handled by a professional to avoid burns or scars.
Another possibility here is laser resurfacing, using the Claro2 laser. This device uses gentle bursts of laser energy to remove top layers of damaged skin and stimulate lower layers to increase collagen production. This also helps with those dark circles and unwanted under-eye baggage.
The traditional and most permanent way to deal with bags under the eyes is via eyelid surgery, also known (to those who love big, fancy words) as blepharoplasty.
During this process, we’ll remove, reposition, and otherwise tighten up excess skin, fatty deposits, and other saggy, droopy problem areas—above or below the eyes as needed.
It may seem like a small thing compared to some of the other, “bigger” plastic surgery procedures we perform. But you might be surprised at how dramatic the results can be!
As we said, the eyes are the window into the soul and typically the first thing we notice when we look at someone else’s face. So getting rid of that puffiness and tightening up the eyelids can make you look substantially more alert, energetic, and youthful. And that has to feel good!
Following an eyelid surgery procedure, you can definitely expect some moderate swelling and bruising, and you’ll need to lie low for a couple of days. Dry, irritated eyes are a common side effect that can last for a couple of weeks; we’ll prescribe you some eye drops to get you through.
Oh, one more thing—get yourself the biggest, darkest, flashiest pair of designer shades you can find and wear them all the time. You’re going to want to protect your eyes from sunlight and UV exposure as much as possible during the recovery period. Plus, they’ll look awesome when you’re out on the town.
Let Us Help You Keep Your Bags Where They Belong
The office of Dr. Lisa Learn offers a wide variety of beauty services, skin treatments, and surgical options to help you minimize, reduce, or even completely eliminate those dark, unwanted bags under your eyes and keep yourself looking youthful and alert.
To schedule a consultation with Dr. Learn to discuss your options, please give our Fort Lauderdale office a call at (954) 380-8411.
