Tear Trough Lift -Dealing with those dark circles around your eyes

One of the most noticeable signs of aging is the appearance of ‘hollows’ around the eyes. They can start as dark circles and progress slowly, making us look tired or stressed, or in some cases they can even develop seemingly overnight!

Thankfully, with modern procedures such as the Tear Trough lift, this condition is one that you can definitely reverse – you just need to know your options! Today, we’ll tell you all about them, starting with surgical solutions and then covering the non-invasive nonsurgical options as well.

Let’s talk about the Tear Trough lift and what you need to know to take control of those dark circles around your eyes!

Tear Troughs 101 – What they are and what causes them

‘Tear trough’ is a term that refers to the groove which resides between your lower eyelid and your cheek and like every part of the body, it can be affected by factors such as weight loss, illness, genetic disposition, or simply getting older. 

In that ‘triangle’ of space under the eye, what essentially happens is that the skin can become loose as the volume of fat below it lessens and as collagen production starts slowing down. Left untreated, this can cause lines to appear at the lower eyelid and eventually a ‘sunken’ appearance around the eyes.

If your parents or grandparents had them, then most likely this is something that you will experience as well, but it can also come from illness, losing a lot of weight, too much time in the sun, and a number of other environmental and personal factors.

The good news is that you have LOTS of options for treating the development of tear troughs if they have become severe or even stopping them in their tracks NOW if you like. Let’s take a closer look at these so that you can see the most popular methods for combatting Tear troughs that are being used every day!

The surgical options for a tear trough lift

In this section, we’ll tell you about the most popular surgical options for a tear trough lift – the Lower Blepharoplasty. We’ll go over what the procedure entails, including how long it takes to perform, your expected recovery time, and the average durations of the results.

After that, we’ll do the same with the non-surgical options so that you can compare all of the available methods to make an informed decision if you are considering a tear trough lift of your own!

With that said, Let’s take a look at the surgical options for a tear trough lift!

Lower Blepharoplasty

Blepharoplasty is the surgical term for eyelid surgery, so a Lower Blepharoplasty is a surgery associated with your lower eyelid. This may or may not be your doctor’s first recommendation – typically, dermal fillers are tried first, but there are a number of reasons why this procedure may be recommended:

• Very loose eyelid skin
• Severe tear troughs that require a more focused solution
• Dermal fillers are not achieving the desired effect
• Health issues are making other treatments prohibitive
• The patient simply desires a more permanent solution to their tear troughs

The procedure itself consists of excising excess skin, with the surgeon beginning the procedure by making a tiny incision just below the patient’s eyelash line. This allows the surgeon to remove excess skin, but also to manipulate existing fatty tissue in order to ‘fill’ the hollow so that it no longer appears shallow or sunken.

A Lower Blepharoplasty typically takes around 90 minutes to perform and the expected recovery time is about 14 days, although the doctor may recommend no heavy lifting for a duration beyond this. The results from this procedure are permanent and the costs typically range between $4000 and $6000 

We should note that there is another surgical option, known as ‘tear trough implants’, although this has become much less popular over the years with the introduction of non-invasive dermal fillers. We’ll talk more about those fillers in the next section so that you can see what we mean! 

Non-surgical options for a tear trough lift

While the Lower Blepharoplasty is a permanent solution, it’s not a perfect fit for everyone. Some may find the costs prohibitive, while others simply don’t like the idea of surgery on their eyelids. Thankfully, we live in somewhat of a renaissance for cosmetic enhancements and you’ve got a few non-surgical options to choose from. Let’s look now at 3 of the most popular:

• Dermal fillers
• Mesotherapy
• PDO Thread treatment

As the PDO Thread treatment is the most popular option from this bunch, we’ll give you a little extra information on this procedure, including a video of the procedure, and a recommendation on the PDO threads that you’ll want to insist on for your procedure – it makes an enormous difference.

With that said, let’s look at your non-surgical options for a tear trough lift procedure.    

Dermal fillers

With dermal fillers, a filler material (typically hyaluronic acid or Juvederm for a tear trough lift) is injected to create volume so that the eyes no longer appear shadowed or ‘hollowed’. It’s a fast and effective procedure – usually done within 15 minutes – and while results may be seen immediately, the full effect of the procedure will not be apparent until around 2 weeks have passed.

The effects of this procedure last 9 to 12 months, with a recovery time of around 48 to 72 hours for any swelling or redness that may occur from the injections. Costs will vary based on the filler material used, with hyaluronic acid typically running around $684 per syringe of material.

Mesotherapy

Mesotherapy is another popular option for tear trough treatment which is focused on revitalizing the skin with a ‘cocktail’ of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, hormones, amino acids, and more so that the overall health of the skin in that area may be markedly improved with successive treatments.

Some filler material, such as Hyaluronic acid are usually part of the treatment, and it’s also used for conditions such as:

• Smoker’s skin
• Loose skin
• Hair loss
• Cellulite
• Pigmentation changes

Typically, a patient may expect to go through four to six 30–45-minute treatments. These are usually spaced one to two weeks apart, and collagen and elastin growth is more and more pronounced with each treatment until it’s completed. The results from this can last 12 to 18 months and while recovery is usually instantaneous, in some cases swelling may be visible from 24-48 following a treatment session. 

As far as costs, mesotherapy is usually billed between $250-$450 per body part for each session. 

PDO Thread treatment

The PDO thread treatment is the most popular non-invasive option available for tear troughs, as it’s a fast procedure that can provide results immediately which last 1 to 2 years (depending on the threads that you choose – more on this shortly).

The way that this is done is that your doctor inserts dissolvable PDO threads by means of a cannula underneath the skin so that they form a supportive matrix, lifting and tightening the skin to produce a more youthful appearance and to make those ‘hollows’ disappear.

While those threads are in place, they will stimulate collagen and elastin production, so that while you get results right away, within 3 to 6 months your skin will have a more healthful glow about it from the nurturing qualities of the threads.

The process takes around half an hour to perform – it’s been referred to as a ‘lunchtime lift’ for this reason – and usually the recovery takes 24 – 48 hours for any swelling or bruising to go away and your doctor might advise you against heavy lifting for 2 – 4 weeks.

The costs for the lift itself will vary, based on the number of threads required and other patient-specific factors, but a ‘ballpark figure’ would be between $700 – $4500.  

Now, we mentioned that the longevity of the results from a PDO tear trough treatment depends quite a bit on the PDO threads which you use, so before we go, let’s take a look at VSoft Lift threads so that you can see what we mean!

The right threads make all of the difference- Insist on VSoft Lift for your Tear Trough treatment!

While all PDO threads may be used to create a support matrix to lift and tighten, while also stimulating collagen production, there are definitely some threads that are better than others and that brings us to the subject of VSoft Lift PDO threads – the best threads on the market today!. 

For a Tear trough treatment, a doctor may use up to 16 VSoft Lift Smooth PDO Threads (Size 31G x 30MM), and you can see the actual procedure being performed here. As you can see, it only takes minutes but the benefits from insisting on VSoft lift for your procedure may be enjoyed for up to 2 years!

Here’s a quick overview of the most popular perks from using VSoft lift for your PDO Tear trough treatment:

• Strength – VSoft lift threads have 10 to 20 times the tensile strength of standard PDO threads. This means that your procedure will require LESS threads, which means a faster procedure and recovery time for your Tear trough treatment.
• Enhanced Collagen stimulation –While in place, neocollagenesis begins so that your skin will produce more collagen and elastin, at the same time that blood flow is improved and a more youthful flush will appear on the skin naturally over time. VSoft PDO threads provide the HIGHEST level of collagen and elastin stimulation available on the market today so your benefits will be maximized.
• Extended duration – Using a proprietary coating, VSoft lift threads will dissolve more slowly than lesser threads, so that you’ll be enjoying the results of your procedure for much longer than you would using a generic market thread.

You can learn more about VSoft lift threads by visiting their webpage and taking a look at their Injector’s brochure for doctors. That way, if you decide to have your own PDO Tear trough treatment, you’ve got all you need to insist on the very best- VSoft Lift!

Some final words on Tear Trough treatment options

Now that you’ve got all of the facts and know your options, it’s easy to see why a PDO Tear Tough lift with VSoft Lift threads is the go-to solution for so many people today. While you could certainly go the surgical route for a permanent solution, not everyone is keen on the prohibitive costs or with the idea of a surgical procedure and it’s understandable – why go ‘under the knife’ when you don’t have to?

With a nonsurgical option like a PDO Tear trough treatment, you can remediate Tear troughs right away and with quality threads like VSoft lift, natural collagen and elastin stimulation means that your skin will keep improving for as long as those threads take to dissolve.

You could certainly opt to pay more to go with dermal fillers or expensive mesotherapy sessions for a gradual fix but who wants to wait? The ‘lunchtime lift’ is the most popular option today for good reason – you can get your results now, at a much lower cost, recovery is almost immediate, and the results will last well into the foreseeable future.

It’s all about the threads that you choose, so be sure to insist on VSoft Lift!

References/FYI

Milan Eye Center; “What to Expect with Upper and Lower Eyelid Surgery”

Dermtox Skin Clinic; “MESOTHERAPY”

All About Vision; “Tear Trough Filler”

Dr. Pierone; “Under the Eye Treatment – Filler and PDO Threads – Q&A”

Look Younger; “Best Tear Trough Treatments: Surgical & Non-Surgical”

Rhinoplasty and Facelift Specialists; “Tear Trough Management: Filler vs Blepharoplasty”