Thank you for the question. You are 30-years-old and
you didn’t submit a photo but you are describing in your question a situation where you developed
some lines in your mouth, lines in your forehead, eye bags and you are concerned about ways
to slow down aging. And so you have investigated a lot of things and you are currently using
tretinoin or retin-A and you are asking about other modalities. And you mentioned certain
thermal energy devices that you’ve been advised that it is not right for your age
or whether other devices may be able to assist you with your anti-aging quest.
Well, certainly I can give you some guidance with this question in the absence of a photo
but I think some general rules of thumb apply which I have learned in my practice. I’ve
been practicing over 20 years in Manhattan and Long Island and I’m a cosmetic surgeon,
Board-certified by the American board of cosmetic surgery. I’m also a Fellowship-trained oculofacial
plastic and reconstructive surgeon so I can also talk to you about ways I deal about facial
aging related to under eye bags as well as other facial aging changes.
So to begin with, when it comes to anti-aging or the slowing of the aging process, I also
want to think first holistically what accelerates aging. Just think about stressors. Stressors
include lack of sleep, poor diet, toxins such as smoking, such as excess sunlight. So to
begin with, the foundation is to take good care of yourself and your health and do all
those things that are intentionally good for your body.
Now that aside, as far as under eye bags are concerned, one of the most common problems
that we deal in our practice is under eye bags and this is because under eye bags transcends
both age, gender and ethnicity and it really is something that occurs at very young ages.
We’ve operated patients as young as in their teen years and as well as older or a much
later decade, 80’s and beyond. So if the bags in your eyes are persistent and significant,
performing a procedure for under eye bags is fairly straightforward depending on the
degree of the under eye bags. For example, if a person has mild under eye bags, well
then I can actually camouflage under eye bags with non-surgical options such as the placement
of a filler like Restylane and combine that typically with a metabolic treatment that
we use called platelet-rich plasma (PRP). The idea is platelet-rich plasma (PRP) which
is derived from your own blood which is a concentration of wound healing growth factors
that occur or released when you have a cut. And basically we separate out the key elements
and we inject that under the skin and helps stimulate collagen and it improves discolorations,
dark under eye circles and helps to really work in synergy with a filler like Restylane.
Now if your bags are more significant, then the option of a surgical procedure becomes
relevant or is indicated and this is a procedure, for younger man and who is 30-years-old like
yourself, we do something called transconjunctival blepharoplasty. Transconjunctival blepharoplasty
means that we are able to address the fat packets from the inside, from behind the eyelid
without any outside incision or scar. It’s a very popular procedure in our practice and
we do it every week and it has a dramatic effect in the overall appearance. It is fantastic
not to have under eye bags.
In terms of the other issues, there are ways to be proactive and sometimes it does make
sense to do things such as Botox™, to use some fillers such as the hyaluronic acid filler
but in general, I think that you can be measured and careful about how much you invest into
these type of services that are offered with facial aging. Basically, think about doing
things holistically and then a little bit of Botox™, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and
the periodic use of injectables and something good for your skin whether it is something
like microdermabrasion or in our practice, we use something called Hydrafacial which
is a glycolic acid-based method of technology using water to help exfoliate the skin and
stimulate the skin. So I think you need to meet with some doctors, learn about the options
so that you will figure out what makes sense for you in terms of outcome and of course
and in terms of budget.
So I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your question!