3 Treatments to Refresh Your Eyes

Wrinkled skin makes you look old whether you are or not. Droopy eyelids make you look tired even when you’re wide awake. If your eyes are sending unintended messages, we have three treatment options that can restore them.

Board-certified plastic surgeon Frederick H. Watkins, MD, is one of the most sought-after specialists in Maryland and Virginia. Whether you want to refine your body’s contours, restore your prepregnancy figure with a mommy makeover, or repair damaged features after a traumatic event, Dr. Watkins has the expertise and experience to meet your highest expectations.

When it comes to eyes, he’s equal parts skilled surgeon and talented artist — but surgery isn’t the only tool in his kit. Here, Dr. Watkins explains three treatment options to refresh your wrinkled, saggy, tired-looking eyes.

Neurotoxins: The crease erasers

As you age, your skin develops two types of wrinkles. One type, called dynamic wrinkles, results from years of making facial expressions. Every time you laugh, smile, frown, grimace, and squint, your facial skin folds and creases. 

When you’re young, your skin is full of proteins like collagen and elastin that enable it to bounce back to its original shape as soon as you relax your muscles and stop making the expression. But when those proteins fade, your skin loses its resiliency, and the creases remain even when your face is at rest.

For dynamic wrinkles, Dr. Watkins recommends neurotoxins like Botox® and Jeuveau® that temporarily paralyze the muscles that create wrinkles, crow’s feet, and frown lines. These treatments block signals between your nerves and muscles, eliminating the source of your dynamic wrinkles. 

The procedure is simple and painless — Dr. Watkins injects small amounts of these products into specific muscles. It's quick, and you can return to your daily activities immediately after your treatment. The effects typically last 3-4 months, after which you can repeat the process and keep the results going.

Dermal fillers: The volume restorers

The second type of wrinkle is called static wrinkles because they require no facial activity to appear. Static wrinkles are the fine lines and textural changes that occur when your skin ages and loses collagen, elastin, fat, and moisture. Without these structural elements below the surface, your skin shrinks and shrivels like a deflated balloon.

We fix static wrinkles with dermal fillers, injectable substances that restore lost volume, particularly in your under-eye area, where hollows can make you look tired or aged. These fillers attract water to the area, resulting in a plumped-up effect that softens the appearance of hollows.

Dr. Watkins uses several types of injectable dermal fillers, including hyaluronic acid-based fillers like Juvéderm® and Restylane®, and calcium hydroxylapatite fillers like Radiesse™. The effects vary and each specializes in different types of wrinkles and areas; they typically last 6-18 months.

Blepharoplasty: The eye-opener

If gravity and time have conspired against you and caused your eyelids to droop downward, giving you a perpetually tired or disinterested look, Dr. Watkins can help.

As a highly experienced plastic surgeon, he offers blepharoplasty, or an eyelid lift, a surgical procedure that rejuvenates your eyes by removing excess skin and fat from the upper and/or lower eyelids. This procedure addresses droopy eyelids, under-eye bags, and wrinkles around your eyes, resulting in a more alert and youthful appearance.

Dr. Watkins typically performs blepharoplasty here in our office using local anesthesia, which means you can go home afterward. Neurotoxins and fillers also work well with blepharoplasty, so depending on your specific needs and goals, he may use a combination of treatments to lift, open, and refresh your eyes.

If your eyes are giving away your age, or worse — lying about it — request a consultation online or call our location in McLean, Virginia, or Rockville, Maryland, to find out which treatments are best for you.