Carole Nelson BrownThis is for the women aged 50+ who want to freshen up one of the biggest problem areas – the pesky under eyes. When a 20 yr old who comes in to a clinic, her muscle ,skin, hyaluronic acid and collagen are depleted yet. They can just get a touch of filler here and there to fix small issues. It stands to reason that at 55 or 60 we are anatomically different and need a age appropriate approach.
Where it started
<- Look at that poor little anime creature. Do you think my eyeballs could be any bigger? You can already see the start of my under eye situation but, thankfully, my fashion game was already on point.
Although there’s no stopping the aging process, we can certainly soften it. I am blessed with good genetics and for being closer to 59 than 58 yrs old, I can’t really complain. Despite not always putting effort into caring for the good skin I’ve been blessed with, it has not abandoned me. Thank you genetics.
My real only “thing” is my hollow, blue under eye area, always there but getting worse as I age. It was easier to deal with when I was younger, with skin that was plump and tight as a drum with virtually no pores. I would joke about a melon baller mishap, whip out concealer and oversized glasses and be on my way.
Fast forward to hitting my fifties and really starting to fixate on that area. Now, skin is not so plump or tight, gravity is doing it’s thing and it’s all I can see in the mirror. Hiding behind my glasses still helps a bit but it kept gnawing at me. It became all i could see in the mirror or in photos and made me feel so much older than I felt. So much for 40 yr old me swearing they would NEVER do anything to their face.
I finally did my first under eye fillers in 2019 and for a couple years, it worked well. I have now let a whole year go by without doing it again because I realized I wasn’t as happy with the results as I once was. Curious about alternatives, like surgery, I booked a consultation.
How it’s Going
My first visit to FORM Face +Body was about a year ago. I wrote a profile on the clinic and Drs Jalil and Somogyi so I felt comfortable going there for a consultation. Libby recently received some baby botox to stave off the wrinkles on her early 40’s baby skin. Sonya is also working with the clinic to deal with her melasma and some other concerns as well.
Both are super happy working with registered nurse, Megan Phillips, who performs non-surgical aesthetics for this busy North York clinic. The fact that she is also a portrait painter and I think that gives her an amazing eye. The two doctors are kept busy doing cosmetic and reconstructive surgery but are always available for a consultation booking.
It is time to go under the knife?
Is it time for me to consider blepharoplasty (eye surgery on the upper or lower lids)? After a consultation with Drs Somogyi and Jalil and Nurse Megan we determined that I was I not yet a candidate for surgery. That said, treating my problem area will now require a more synchronistic approach. Basically, I can no longer just do a spot fix and be on my way. I will give all the details on blepharoplasty in an upcoming story on surgical options.
Whew, no surgery just yet
In order to improve the area under my eyes, we addressed my cheeks. Unbeknownst to me, they were experiencing some separation of the two medial fat pads. This is very common at my age and it was totally pulling my features down and contributing to what was going on under my eyes. Once Megan pointed it out to me, it was all I could see. I was so fixated on what was going on directly under my eyes that I was ignoring the spots surrounding it.
This would require a bit of cheek filler, which I had not considered before. She pointed out that this cheek area was actually part of my the supportive structure of my under eyes. Again, treating the face as a whole and not just zeroing in on the particular feature. No chipmunk cheeks for me, just camouflaging the separation. It is all really just camouflage, in the end.
Filler also attracts water to your skin so Megan likes to under treat about ten percent. This allows room for your body to accept all the water it has around it. This allows it to expand and accept it. So it wasn’t all in my head that my skin felt more supple and dewy after getting fillers.
We also discussed the role of botox in addressing the under eye area. Together, we decided a bit of botox around the crows feet and on my forehead would soften things up. Basically, keep it balanced, smoothing out the crows feet and forehead so everything works together. As a makeup artist, I equated it to someone who does elaborate eye makeup but doesn’t cover blemishes and add a bit of lip colour. It looks out of whack. I don’t want to look out of whack.
Basically, sometimes to fix something in one area, you have to do another thing in a place that you might not have thought would be related.
wise words from Nurse Megan:
“whatever I do in one area will pull an effect in another”
Megan explained all potential side effects from botox and filler, gave me post care instructions and reminded me again at the end. She showed me all of the muscles and areas she was referring to on a chart so I could understand the why’s and where’s of what she proposed to do. I LOVE that she was so thorough and thoughtful. I didn’t feel rushed, no upselling. In fact, I would say she went out of her way to convince me its best to start small and slow and see where we are down the road.
Filler gives instant results apart from a bit of swelling or bruising. The fact that I chose to drink a big slug of scotch the night before ( i knew it was a no no) was, as she merrily informed me, on me. To avoid bruising, avoid alcohol for at least 24 hrs before and after.
She believes filler lasts longer than we used to think – MRI studies are showing evidence of filler ten years post treatment! Botox, on the other hand, doesn’t stick around. The effect lasts 3-5 months on average. Megan waits to see sme muscle movement come back before your next treatment. We don’t want any muscle atrophy after long term use.
The final treatment plan
In the end, we did a bit of cheek filler, a bit of botox which allowed for much less filler actually under my eyes than before. The botox was kept to a more conservative dose as I have a very expressive face (think Fred Flintstone level ) and would not want to lose movement in my eyebrows.
As I said, the effects of the filler are immediate but it took about 5 days before I started to see the botox working but by the end of two weeks, you will have your final results. I am now three weeks post treatment and couldn’t be happier.
Megan gave me some great products to try out that are available at the clinic:
SKINBETTER SCIENCE Instant Effect Get Eye. It will help to tighten a firm while it reduces the bags under my eyes. You squeeze out a bit and roll on it and let it soak in. The cool feel of the gel on the roller is pretty amazing.
Alumier AluminEye an Award-winning eye brightening cream that moisturizes while helping diminish the appearance of fine lines, dark circles and puffiness.
Alumier Bright & Clear Solution since I didn’t have an exfoliant. Lactic acid, Salicylic Acid and caviar lime gently exfoliate cellular debris to brighten and improve skin texture.
We made a plan for me to come back the next week and discuss what we might do about the area around my mouth, another problem area common in women my age. My upper lip is disappearing and the sides of my mouth pull down, making me look perpetually pissed off. Keep an eye out on my next instalment where we deal with that lower face situation.
In the meantime, book your own consult with the team for a trusted approach to aging gracefully.
As always, although my experience was generously hosted by FORM Face + Body my views and opinions are very much my own.