Eye Creams – Do they really work?
I have tried every eye cream on the market, spending $15 to $250, and guess what? They only work if the bags under your eyes are retaining water, not fat.
A few months ago I went to a plastic surgeon, wanting to get his opinion on my under eye bags and what I could do about them. He said that as we age, the skin under the eye loosens, and the natural fat that protects the eye starts to protrude, creating the bags. The only thing that gets rid of these bags is removing the fat through surgery. Some creams will tighten the skin under the eye and diminish the appearance of bags, but not treat the problem. Some good tightening eye creams are Derma e’s new Pycnogenol Eye gel, Kinerase Extreme Eye Lift, and Kinerase Under Eye Rescue. The sad reality is if you are +40 and have under eye bags that won’t go away even after using these products, the only thing that will fix the problem is surgery. The plastic surgeon I spoke to told me it cost about $3,000 for the procedure.
If your under eye bags are from retained water, you have plenty of options. First of all, drink lots of water, and sleep with your head slightly elevated. Exuviance Brightening Bionic Eye Cream, Kinerase Extreme Lift Eye, and Neostrata Bionic Eye Cream are good eye creams for treating the type of under eye bags.
The bad news about under eye bags of either kind is as we get older and our skin loosens, retained water or fat will make us look tired and worn. While the water bags are treatable, they will still creep up on us every now and then. I asked the plastic surgeon about non surgical treatments and he named the above creams, but he also talked about lasers. Lasers are the newest treatment options for aging, saggy skin. He said there are powerful lasers for the entire face that tighten everything, including the under eyes. I saw the pictures…they were amazing. The laser tightens the skin, but also promotes collagen growth to improve skin elasticity and fill wrinkles. Sadly these new laser treatments are as expensive as surgery, about $3000.
The bottom line, certain creams work to cover up, or temporarily solve the problem. Permanent solutions require the big bucks.
Resources:
http://women.webmd.com/features/banish-the-bags-under-your-eyes
http://www.eyecarebasics.com/eye-care-articles/dark-circles-under-eyes.htm