Do you have dark eye circles, under eye lines or eye bags?
Dr Justin Boey, Medical Director, explains how under eye (tear trough) dermal fillers can help to improve these aesthetic problems that make you look tired.
The under eye area is one of the first areas on your face that shows significant signs of ageing. Thankfully, through various medical treatments, this can be combated effectively.
In particular, under eye (tear trough) filler treatment can help to reduce dark eye circles, fill under eye hollows and minimise eye wrinkles.
Contents
- 1 What are under eye (tear trough) fillers?
- 2 How do under eye fillers improve your under eyes and eye bags?
- 3 How do I know which under eye treatment option is best for me?
- 4 What are tear troughs?
- 5 How can we treat the tear troughs?
- 6 How is under eye (tear trough) filler performed?
- 7 How long can under eye (tear trough) filler result last?
- 8 What causes ageing and why do we use fillers?
- 9 Are under eye (tear trough) filler treatments safe?
- 10 Can dermal fillers be used for all skin types?
- 11 Who should not receive dermal filler treatments?
- 12 Side effects of under eye (tear trough) fillers
- 13 What should I do before a under eye (tear trough) filler treatment?
- 14 What should I avoid after under eye filler treatment?
- 15 Can under eye fillers treat all forms of dark eye circles?
- 16 Is under eye (tear trough) filler painful?
- 17 How long will I take to recover from under eye/ tear trough fillers?
- 18 Can I reverse/ dissolve my under eye fillers?
- 19 How often should I have under eye (tear trough) treatments?
- 20 Price/ Cost of Under Eye (Tear Trough) Fillers in Singapore
What are under eye (tear trough) fillers?
Under eye (tear trough) fillers are soft gels containing hyaluronic acid, which is a natural bio-degradable compound found in your connective tissues.
Common brands of under eye fillers include Restylane, Juvederm, Belotero and Stylage.
In the past, the only treatment options were surgical eye bag treatments if you wish to improve sunken eyes and remove eye bags.
Thankfully, non-surgical options are readily available nowadays.
With under eye dermal fillers, the under eye areas can be treated safely and effectively to give both immediate and long lasting results.
How do under eye fillers improve your under eyes and eye bags?
Under eye dermal fillers improves the appearance of dark eye circles due to sunken eyes by volumising the area and stretching the skin so that the area does not appear hollow. This reduces dark shadows by plumping up the sunken areas around the eyes. Sunken eyes are also known as tear troughs.
Apart from volume loss, dark eye circles can form because of a lack of sleep or alcohol consumption. Other causes of dark eye circles include thin skin and collagen loss. It could also be genetic. Nasal allergy can cause the blood vessels around your under-eyes to dilate, which gives a dark purplish appearance.
For patient with eye bags, under eye fillers injected around the eye bags can camouflage the eye bags so that they do not appear as obvious.
Eye bags are due to aging and collagen loss. As you age, the fat pads around your eyes will sag and droop outwards. This results in prominent eye bags. To treat eye bags comprehensively, apart from under eye fillers, other collagen stimulating treatments like Ultraformer HIFU and AGNES Eye treatment are also required.
How do I know which under eye treatment option is best for me?
If you have sunken eyes or deep “tear trough” and static fine under eye lines (lines that are present at rest), dermal fillers are the most suitable treatment.
However, if you have saggy under eye skin or “loose” skin, other collagen stimulating treatments like Ultraformer HIFU or EndyMed Eye treatments might be more suitable.
A formal medical consultation is recommended to discuss all your questions and to establish which treatment option will suit you best.
What are tear troughs?
‘Tear trough” is the hollow line that develops from the inner corner of the eye that extends laterally across to the lower cheek.
Having hollow areas under the eyes with flattened cheeks is one of the most significant changes sign of ageing.
As the youthful plumpness of our cheeks slowly fades due to fat loss, the tear trough starts to deepen and lengthen.
Eventually, the tear trough extends laterally across the lower cheek.
How can we treat the tear troughs?
Dermal fillers are used under the eyes to dramatically improve deep tear troughs. By treating areas of lost volume, the hollows and shadows look less obvious.
This is one of the most rewarding treatments.
Patients often note that they look considerably younger and less tired afterwards.
In almost all cases, it’s essential to treat both the cheek and the tear troughs together as a combined procedure.
A tear trough needs support from the lateral aspect of the cheek and eye areas before we can add filler to the under eye itself.
How is under eye (tear trough) filler performed?
Under eye dermal fillers are injected precisely to the tear trough area of the under eye to fill up the hollowness that surrounds the eye. This also helps to camouflage or hide eye bags.
After a consultation to determine if under eye dermal fillers are a suitable treatment, topical anaesthesia (numbing cream) will be applied for 15-20 minutes at your under eye area.
Next, the dermal filler will be injected to your under eye area in small and precise doses.
There are 2 methods for under eye filler injection: using sharp needle or blunt micro-cannula.
I prefer the blunt micro-cannula approach. A blunt micro-cannula allows me to reduce the chances of potential bruising and swelling because there is less chance of injuring the under eye blood vessels.
IAs the key opinion leader in Singapore for DermaSculpt micro-cannula, I observe that the social downtime of dermal filler injections to the under eye is reduced dramatically from 5-7 days of bruising to 1-2 days of mild redness.
No one will be able to tell that you have just undergone the treatment apart from 1 tiny injection mark on each cheek that looks like a tiny pimple. This recovers in 1-2 days. You can apply make-up immediately after the treatment to conceal the needle entry points.
We will apply recovery creams to your under eye area to help you to recover faster.
How long can under eye (tear trough) filler result last?
Improvements is visible immediately after the dermal fillers at injected in your under eye region. The results become more natural as the swelling resolves in 1-3 days after the non-surgical eye bag removal treatment. The result should last between 9 and 12 months, depending on individual as results may vary.
Factors that affect how long the under eye filler will last include:
- Smoking
- Lifestyle
- Metabolism
- Medical conditions
What causes ageing and why do we use fillers?
Hormone changes, sun damage, smoking and time itself are the main factors that cause fine lines and wrinkles.
Our skin also becomes more fragile as it thins and losses its elasticity. This is caused by the loss of collagen and hyaluronic acid present naturally in our skin.
In addition, the skin also loses fat stored beneath it in so called ‘fat pads’. This results in volume loss which manifests as hollowing or deflation of your under eyes and cheeks.
As a consequence, ageing makes your face look less plump and your skin loses its youthful appearance.
Dermal fillers help to address the fat loss aspect of facial aging by volumizing the treated areas.
Are under eye (tear trough) filler treatments safe?
Yes. In our expert hands, under eye treatments are a safe and effective treatment. Dr Boey has performed over 500 under eye (tear trough) dermal filler injections.
For injectable treatments, experience means everything.
Pick your injector doctor wisely.
Can dermal fillers be used for all skin types?
Yes. Hyaluronic acid fillers are appropriate for patients of all skin types. They are colourless gels that should are not visible under the skin.
Who should not receive dermal filler treatments?
There are a few important conditions that are considered unsafe for the use of dermal fillers.
These include:
– Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
– Any bleeding disorder
– Skin allergies affecting the face
Patients taking the following medicines should also NOT have filler treatments:
– A known allergy to local anaesthetics or fillers
A detailed medical history will be taken prior to your treatment and it is your responsibility to declare any medical conditions that you suffer from.
Side effects of under eye (tear trough) fillers
When under eye filler treatments are performed by an expert injector, side effects are minimal.
You may experience mild redness and some swelling immediately after the treatment. However, these are temporary and should resolve in a few hours or up to a day. You can apply make-up to conceal the needle marks.
Rarer side effects:
– Skin infection
– Granuloma formation
Very rare side effects include:
– Skin necrosis
– Blindness
This is why we emphasise that only HSA approved dermal fillers should be used for treatment.
Apart from medical complications, there are also side-effects that are cosmetic in nature – ugly results, asymmetry and over-filling of the tear trough.
The under eye (tear trough) area is one of the most delicate areas of your face. It is a challenging area for filler injections especially for inexperienced doctors.
In my practice, I have seen cases of poorly injected fillers at the under eyes. Thankfully, this can be reversed by using hyaluronidase to dissolve away the bad filler result.
- Tyndall’s Effect
Tyndall’s effect is the bluish tinge at the under eye due to too superficial placement of the filler product.
- Over-filling of the tear trough
Over-filling of the tear trough results in a “sausage’’ bump or festoons. This is due to too much filler being placed too superficially, resulting in a sausage-shaped bump.
That is why you should always get your under eye filler treatments performed by an experienced and expert filler injector.
What should I do before a under eye (tear trough) filler treatment?
Avoid alcohol on the day of your treatment.
Avoid the following medicines for 3 days prior to the treatment to minimise the risk of bruising:
– Aspirin
– Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (Ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen)
– Fish oil supplements
– Vitamin E supplements
– Gingko Biloba, ginseng or any other herbal remedies
What should I avoid after under eye filler treatment?
Avoid alcohol and exercise for 6 to 12 hours after the treatments. This is to reduce the risk of swelling or bruising.
Avoid deep massage to the treated under eye area so that the fillers do not move.
Can under eye fillers treat all forms of dark eye circles?
Unfortunately, under eye fillers can only treat dark eye circles that are due to eye bags and sunken eyes (tear trough hollowing).
Under eye fillers cannot treat dark eye circles that are due to allergy or skin pigmentation (brownish discolouration of under eye skin).
For dark eye circles due to skin pigmentation, Pico Lasers are a more appropriate treatment.
If you have dark eye circles due to multiple causes, a combination of treatments is required for best results.
Is under eye (tear trough) filler painful?
Thankfully, under eye filler is not painful.
With the use of topical anaesthesia (numbing cream), ice packs and blunt micro-cannula, most patients can tolerate the treatment well.
In fact, most patients commented that the treatment is a lot less painful than what they thought it’ll be.
Most people would think that injecting fillers under the eye is painful, but it is not.
How long will I take to recover from under eye/ tear trough fillers?
Most patients recover in 1-2 days.
However, there is a small risk of bruising that might take 3-5 days to fully recovery.
Hence, we suggest that you do not undergo the under eye filler treatment if you have any important social events in the next 5 days.
Can I reverse/ dissolve my under eye fillers?
The key advantage of using hyaluronic acid fillers (compared to other types of fillers) is that they are dissolvable.
If you don’t like the results they can be dissolved using hyaluronidase.
How often should I have under eye (tear trough) treatments?
As a rough guide, filler treatments can be done every 6 -12 months to help maintain a consistent appearance.
You should consult with your doctor in person to determine if there is any residual filler left and when is the best time for a touch-up treatment.
Price/ Cost of Under Eye (Tear Trough) Fillers in Singapore
The price/ cost of under eye (tear trough) fillers are between $800-$1200 per syringe.
The difference in prices depends on the brand of filler being used.
- Hyaluronic acid fillers: We offer Teosyal ReDensity II, Restylane Vital/ Vital Light, Belotero Soft/ Balance, Juvederm and Stylage. These fillers last between 6 to 12 months.
- PDRN fillers: Rejuran I is a collagen stimulator filler that is also very popular for under eye treatment. The protocol for Rejuran I filler is different from HA fillers. 3 sessions of Rejuran I are required at monthly intervals. Subsequently, top up treatments are suggested every 6 months. Price of Rejuran I is from $500/ syringe.
Under eye fillers can successfully combat loss of volume around your eyes and reduce the appearance of your eye bags.
Not only will under eye fillers make you appear more awake and alert, it will also help to give you a more youthful look as well.
Questions? Enquire now for more information.
