Non-surgical Treatment for Undereye Bags?

The safest non-surgical treatment of under eye bags, dark circles and hollows are Hyaluronic Acid Gel fillers. This class of fillers includes Restylane, Belotero, Juvederm, Perlane, Voluma and others. They are all the same product, just made up of different consistencies (ie. density, thickness, flow, etc). Injecting these fillers should not be done indiscriminately without a true understanding of how they work or the differences in their biochemical makeup. It is this knowledge of the filler products that makes all the difference in outcome. Upon examination, I take a customized approach when treating patients, determining the best filler treatment plan based on their anatomical needs and personal aesthetic goals. Please make sure you find a board certified injector, as this is a very delicate area and needs to be treated by someone with a lot of expertise to give you safe and effective results.

There are non-surgical treatments to help improve the lower eyelids if the bags are slight. If the bags are more pronounced, however, none of these non-surgical treatments address the cause and permanently resolve the issue the way that blepharoplasty surgery does. Undereye bags most commonly are caused by herniation of the lower-eyelid fat pads which protrude through the muscles under the eyes. The nonsurgical options are not as effective or long lasting, but can help in cases that are not too severe. Someone with mild undereye bags might benefit from having filler injected below the bag to fill in the step-off created by the herniated fat. Another option is to tighten the loose skin with treatments that stimulate collagen formation, such as microneedling with RF (radiofrequency). These procedures are performed in a treatment room and require only minimal downtime. In some cases, the “bags” are actually darker skin caused by pigmentation, in which case, peels or lasers could help to diminish the pigmentation. I recommend consulting in person with a board-certified plastic surgeon to discuss your concerns and goals and see which treatment or combination of treatments would be right for you.

There are several treatments to improve the appearance of under eye bags.  The most common is fillers which use volume to disguise contour irregularities.  The treatment is done in the office and the results last up to one year.  Fillers work well when combined with other treatments such as lasers, microneedling and chemical peels for a more complete result.

A combination approach will give the most improvement with undereye bags. For my patients who wish to avoid surgery, we use fillers, lasers, microneedling/PRP and stem cells to improve under the eyes. I suggest consulting with an expert to develop a treatment plan best suited for your short and long term goals. Best, Dr. Emer

This is a good question! There are several options but the one our office likes to utilize is ablative fracitonal CO2 resurfacing to tighten the collagen (and skin).  This is a good option with little downtime (3-5 days).  However, it is hard to say what is exactly needed without a consultation with a board certified dermatologist who has cosmetic training.  The gold standard for under eye bags is an under eye blepharoplasty but as other posters have mentioned under eye bags can be minimized with fillers in the tear trough decreasing that demarcation from eye to cheek.  I wish you all the best!

There are often two changes that can occur in the lower eyelid area due to the aging process. One is the puffiness. This component does require surgery to remove. The second feature is a deep groove that can form between the lower eyelid and cheek. Fillers can help to smooth this area out, helping to soften the aging eye look-buying time before one considers surgery.