The eyes are the window to the soul, so they say. But what if your eyes are misleading, making you appear more tired and aged than you actually are?

Drooping eyelids, dark circles, and puffy bags can all work to make your eyes seem drowsy, even when you’re not, which is why many people seek out the benefits of eyelid surgery, also known as eyelid Blepharoplasty.

Blepharoplasty is a highly in-demand procedure, often being one of the top five cosmetic surgeries performed every year; sought after to revitalize the eyes to a more alert state. 

Why Do Our Eyes Age?

Despite the advances inexpensive eye creams and serums, the aging process is inevitable. Many things can happen as we age when it comes to the eyes. For starters, the levator muscle, which holds your eyelid in place, can begin to weaken, which causes the eyelids to droop and sag down in front of your eye. The upper lid creates a drowsy appearance. Meanwhile, a sagging lower lid can curl outwards, making it difficult to close the eye when blinking or sleeping properly.

Besides the natural progression of age and genetics, several external factors can accelerate aging around the eyes, such as the following:

• Rubbing the eyes (when tired, dry, or itchy)
• Allergies
• Smoking and alcohol use
• Dehydration
• Living conditions with high pollution
• Prolonged sun exposure
• Frequent application and removal of eye cosmetics

All of the above factors can add extra tension and pull towards the eye area, aggravating sagging in the eyes.

What Blepharoplasty Treats

There is more than one type of eyelid surgery that can be performed independently or in tandem with one another to treat multiple issues around the eye.

In general, surgery like ptosis in Singapore addresses the sagging and drooping portions of the eyelid, tightening the underlying muscles up and removing any excess and drooping skin that obstructs the eye. The incisions are usually made along the crease of the eyelid, making any scars discreet and not easily seen during daily activity.

Lower blepharoplasty, however, treats other signs of aging in the face, such as puffy bags and dark circles.

Dark circles are created when the skin is thin beneath the eyes, and there is little to no underlying fat between the surface and the underlying blood vessels, creating a bruised appearance through the skin. Fat is redistributed in the face (sometimes through a fat transfer procedure, using donor fat collected elsewhere on the body) and maneuvered under the eye, so there is a more supple layer between the skin and under-eye area concealing the dark circle appearance.

Puffy bags, meanwhile, is when loose skin under the eye allows for a collection of fluid to retain beneath it, swelling to create the appearance of bags. With the excess and loose skin removed with blepharoplasty, the undereye area is left flat and smooth.

More Than a Cosmetic Issue

While the leading reason people receive blepharoplasty is, of course, to achieve a more refreshed and youthful appearance, there is another, more serious reason for seeking the procedure.

In some cases, the drooping of the upper eyelid can become so severe that it impairs a person’s vision, creating difficulty or even preventing a person from doing tasks such as reading and driving.

In many cases where the condition has progressed to an impeding level, the procedure will usually be covered by many insurances.