It is often said that the eyes are the windows to the soul and, at the very least, they are typically the first thing we notice about a person. Unfortunately, they are the facial feature that first betrays those telltale signs of ageing. It is no surprise, then, that it’s one of the most common skin concerns that prompt a visit to Dr Sebagh in his clinic—no one wants their first impression to be one of weariness or fatigue.

Crow's feet, wrinkles, dark circles and puffy eyes are all concerns that can occur throughout our lifetime, due to a multitude of causes. The skin around our eyes is 40% finer than the skin on the rest of our face, and the thinnest on our whole body, so we need to be extra vigilant, yet gentle when looking after it.

Dr Sebagh Top Tip: 'Our eyes are the first to show signs of ageing, as the skin around them is fragile. It is important to remember that there are no sebum glands in the eye socket area, so there is no oily protection barrier, which is why fine lines appear in this area first. It is essential to use a good eye cream from an early age.'   

Fine Lines and Wrinkles

This blog post will cover the one eye concern we will all face in our lives: fine lines and wrinkles. While they are sadly inevitable, there is a lot you can do to delay their arrival, and minimise their appearance.

A lack of sebaceous glands in the eye area, means the thin skin is more prone to dehydration, fine lines and wrinkles. Hydration is essential to keep skin around the eye area plump and smooth. Applying eye products enriched with hyaluronic acid is a vital step in beating crepiness and it should be applied regularly (at least twice per day). Acting like a biological sponge, attracting and retaining moisture within the epidermis, hyaluronic acid effectively minimises the appearance of fine lines and gives the eye area a more revitalised appearance.

Ceramides comprise approximately 50% of the structural lipids in the skin barrier. Applied topically, these natural lipids replenish the skin, smoothing the rough, dry surface cells and sealing the skin’s barrier to trap moisture. This is another highly effective ingredient to apply daily to the eye area.

Firming Eye Cream is a twice-a-day eye treatment, delivering a powerful dose of ingredients that work to plump, protect and refresh the delicate skin around the eyes to look and feel more awake. This is a great cream to start at any age and is 100% fragrance-free.

For an immediate fix, Instant Fix Eye Lift Gel expertly targets fine lines, crepiness and tired-looking skin in the eye area using biotech ingredients and hyaluronic acid. Instantly absorbed, it’s perfect for a quick morning routine, applying under make-up, or a speedy pre-party refresh after a long day in the office. The exceptionally lightweight gel provides an immediate and noticeable lifting effect whilst also stimulating collagen production and protecting cellular regeneration.

Genetics and your unique expressions and mannerisms can also lead to premature signs of ageing and the early formation of wrinkles around the eyes. Those more naturally expressive with their facial muscles will notice fine lines appear quicker than those who aren’t.  For example, if you smile heavily with your eyes, the skin in this sensitive area will crinkle deeper and more frequently, which can lead to crow's feet.

Botox is an effective treatment, administered via a series of painless, super-fine injections into the muscles of the face where wrinkles most commonly form. It works to help relax the muscles, thereby reducing the repetitive crinkling, which long-term leads to wrinkles and fine lines. Effects last for 3-6 months. It is best to use Botox as a preventative treatment; to stop or reduce the wrinkles forming in the first place. Once they have formed, they are more difficult to treat.

Dr Sebagh Top Tip: 'I don’t inject filler or hyaluronic acid in the eye socket area to erase fine lines and wrinkles. We have seen a lot of hyaluronic acid bulging out after the Tear Trough Filler Treatment, called the Tyndall effect. I would never recommend this treatment'  

The Tyndall effect occurs after a patient has been injected too superficially with dermal fillers and the result is a bluish discolouration and bruising of the skin or raised areas and palpable lumpiness where the filler is administered.

A safer option is regular PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) facials and RadioFrequency with Microneedling. These two treatments can be done individually or combined together to activate and boost growth factors for miraculous results.

Platelet Rich Plasma, also called plasma rich in growth factors, is blood plasma with concentrated platelets and other growth factors. The concentrated platelets found in PRP contain huge reservoirs of bioactive proteins, including growth factors and signalling proteins that are vital to initiate and accelerate tissue repair and regeneration and stimulate the rejuvenating process. The PRP signals the body to send in stem cells to repair the designated area.

To prepare PRP, a small amount of blood is taken from the patient's arm. The blood is then placed in a centrifuge. The centrifuge spins and separates the platelets from the rest of the blood components. The entire process takes less than 15 minutes and increases the concentration of platelets and growth factors up to 600%. Using the patient's own blood, specially prepared platelets are taken and re-injected into the chosen area. These platelets release special growth factors that lead to tissue healing. By using the concentrated platelets, the growth factors are increased by up to eight times. PRP injections actually rejuvenate the area over a period of time, ranging from one to three months.

RF with Microneedling combines the proven results of Fractional Radio Frequency and skin needling with minimal downtime. It works by delivering precise columns of micro-fractional bi-polar RF energy to stimulate a range of results: skin tightening, improved skin texture, pore minimisation, wrinkle reduction, acne scar reduction, improved skin tone, improved skin brightness and skin rejuvenation.

The results vary between individuals, but most patients report improvement in the skin texture within several days. As it takes some time for your body to produce collagen, the tightening effect and final results are going to appear gradually over six months.

Usually 3–4 sessions are required, every one to three months, depending on the treated skin condition, to provide significant results.