In partnership with SA’s top medical aesthetic companies
You know the expression ‘eyes are the windows of your soul’? Turns out they’re also the first sign of ageing skin. Eeeek! What do we do now?
Do you feel like there was once a time when you’d spring out of bed looking ‘bright eyed and bushy tailed’ but now it’s more like ‘puffy and dark ringed’? You might have to come to terms with the fact that you’re not quite bouncing back as you did in your student days.
By your late 20s, especially if you’ve lived recklessly and ignored the sun-protection rules, your skin will probably start showing the first signs of ageing-related changes. These are most noticeable in your eye area and manifest as under-eye bags, puffiness, dark rings and fine lines that later turn into wrinkles. Your eyes are your first feature to start showing the effects of Father Time as the skin in this area is very thin and, the fact that it only gets thinner combined with repetitive muscle movements, are what causes wrinkles to form.
The good news is that this isn’t the end. Timely intervention with good skin-care treatments (at home and professional) can make a world of difference to how this delicate area ages.
Ageing gracefully is a choice
Ageing isn’t negotiable, but we can choose how we respond to it. The way we see it, opting to age with grace is deciding to be the very best version of yourself at any age.
Gently does it
Fortunately, there are many ways to defy the ageing process without drastically changing our appearance. The first line of defence (and attack) is using good, medically formulated and approved skin care.
For first lines: NeoStrata Eye Cream 4 PHA contains moisture-boosting hyaluronic acid and gluconolactone to strengthen the skin’s protective barrier so it’s less vulnerable to the irritants that can cause premature ageing.
For lines, puffiness and pigmentation: NeoStrata Skin Active Intensive Eye Therapy contains collagen-encouraging peptides to strengthen and plumps while NeoGlucosamine inhibits the production of melanin that causes pigmentation.
Professional eye rejuvenation
There are several ways to treat lines on the eye area as well as deep frown lines.
- Botulinum injections (Botox) deliver great results in treating crow’s feet and are also used to soften lines on the forehead as well as the ‘angry’ ‘11’ lines that form between the eyebrows by temporarily relaxing the muscle contraction. The results are so natural, friends may mistake your refreshed appearance for the effects of a well-deserved holiday. Results last between three and six months and need to be repeated. With repeated injections, lines often appear less severe as the targeted muscles weaken.
- In the hands of skilled, trained and certified medical professionals, hyaluronic acid filler, such as Princess® HA Dermal Fillers, can be injected superficially into the skin to plump up permanent wrinkles and lighten up under eye circles caused by thinning skin.
- From our forties onwards, sagging eyelids become a reality. If you’re not prepared to undergo blepharoplasty surgery to get rid of the excess skin, consider a non-surgical Jett Plasma Lift. The device can only be operated by trained doctors and uses next-generation technology to stimulate new collagen production to lift sagging lids.
- Dermapen (used around the eye area) will also encourage collagen to help you tighten up.
Caution: As we advise with any aesthetic medical and professional procedure, make sure you choose the right treatment partner – qualified skin-care and medical professionals that are trained, certified and working under medical auspices.
Next week we focus on how to deal with a double chin.
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If you decide to age gracefully and would like to find out more about treatments that subtly defies the natural ageing process, visit Skin Renewal on www.skinrenewal.co.za or contact 0861 SKIN SA (754 672).