Undereye Filler in Washington, DC
A common concern among patients is dark circles under the eyes, with many complaints of feeling sunken, hollow or ‘looking tired all the time’. Often many have used expensive ‘undereye creams’ which promise to improve dark circles with little to no improvement. The truth is that, with few exceptions, dark circles under the eyes are not a skin problem but rather a structure problem. Either through normal age related change or genetic predisposition, the undereye area tends to lose its volume over time due to natural reduction in the undereye fat compartments which allow for a smooth transition between the lower eyelid and cheek. This results in the development of an undereye hollow, generally from the medial canthus to the midline of undereye area. This hollow, referred to as the tear trough, allows for shadowing of the area under certain lighting, producing a semicircular or moon shaped ‘dark circle’ under the eye. To test this theory one can take a flash photo directly at their face. If a dark circle is less noticable when taking this photo, it is a good indication that the dark circle is due to shadowing, rather than darkening of the skin, and can be improved with undereye filler.
What is undereye filler treatment and how does it improve dark circles?
Through the careful placement of hyaluronic acid fillers submuscularly in the tear trough region, normal volume can be restored to the area, reducing the undereye hollows which lead to dark circles under the eyes. Typically fillers with moderate lifting capability and low reactivity such as Restylane-L are used in this area. Treatment can be performed with traditional needle based injection or more advance cannula based injection. Cannula based injection utilizes a single entry point through the skin and a blunt-tipped cannula, drastically reducing the incidence of bruising during undereye filler injection which has long been a problem with traditional needle based injections. Typically a single 1cc syringe is injected during each injection session. Often that is all that is needed for full correction of dark circles, however in more severe cases of undereye volume loss multiple treatments may be necessary for satisfactory correction.
Is undereye filler permanent?
As hyaluronic acid fillers degrade over time, the correction is not permanent. However with proper injection technique and filler placement most patients will see 6-12 months of improvement after each injection session. With multiple injection sessions over time the natural collagen stimulating properties of filler can often lead to long lasting improvement even after the HA filler has dissolved.
How do I know if I am a good candidate for undereye filler?
We offer complimentary injectable consultations. During your consultation we will examine your concerns and discuss whether you are a good candidate for undereye filler. Not everybody is a good candidate for undereye filler, so proper evaluation is key. As we are not a volume driven practice, we will provide an honest assessment as to whether filler or other modalities would be the best choice for each patient’s individual undereye anatomy.
