Restylane: Stories

I am 42 and have struggled with very dark circles under my eyes for a few years now, so I decided to try to fix it with Restylane. I did have some very serious bruising under one eye, but it was immediately evident that my under-eye circles were much less visible. It has been over a month now and I have absolutely no regrets. My confidence is back.

I did some research first and chose to go to a well known cosmetic surgeon's office. A young nurse there did most of the derma filler injections and I was okay with that, assuming that the doctor must have confidence in her. I had a consultation with her about a week before the procedure, and we decided that I would have one syringe of Restylane for the under-eye area and two syringes of Juvederm put into my cheeks. I believe that Resty is a thinner substance and Juve is a bit thicker.

During the procedure the nurse was very professional. I was nervous when we started, so I got hot and felt a bit dizzy, but the nurse turned up the air and gave me a cold bottle of water which did the trick. She injected the Restylane under each eye and gently spread it with a Q-tip. She did her best to avoid blood vessels, but I think she must have hit one under my left eye when we were just about to finish. She knew right away and told me that it would bruise in that spot because a small lump began to form. It did not hurt. In fact the whole thing was not very painful for me. I left with sunglasses and two little ice packs in hand. My cheeks felt swollen and lumpy - that corrected itself within a couple days. However, a "shiner" soon developed under my left eye. It looked like someone punched me. I had to wait for the swelling and bruising to fade over the next 7-8 days. I knew going into this about the potential for bruising, so I did not over-react. It was mostly inconvenient because I needed to work and could not fully cover my shiner with makeup.

Now, just over a month later, I smile when I look in the mirror and I feel more confident than I have in years. I cannot say that the dark circles are 100% gone, but I look good without make up, and with a little make up I look much younger than 42. I spent more than I planned but I would (will) do it again to maintain my new look. The only thing I wish I had known before is that a black eye is possible, even when the nurse or doctor is being extremely careful, and it can take a week or more for that black eye to fade away.