At 50, some questions about the eye area and home devices like the Tria, Palovia and Jenu?

Dear Dr. I am very happy to have found your cite, it's full of information and very helpful. I would like to ask you a few questions. I turned 50 this summer , have relatively few wrinkles, but sagging and loss of volume is there, particularly eye area (some bags in the morning, they do get better as day goes on, but never really go away) I believe I have a good skin care regimen (Paula Begun products) and recently have been experimenting with some home devices fro my face and neck ( micro current, PMD, Jenu) It definitely gives me at least some temporary results, but exhausting since it requires too much time spend maintaining , plus I have a feeling, it's not going to be enough very soon. I was wondering what do you think of at home laser devices such as PaloVia or Tria. Can lasers even do anything for sagging under eyes? Or should I just go ahead and schedule appointment for Thermage or Ultherapy? Or surgery? Thank you. Lena.

First of all, I completely agree with you  about the home devices.  Let’s not waste our time ladies and gents!  We are all busy and these devices,  while the marketing makes them sound like miracles,  offer very little if anything for a lot of work and some money.   The home laser devices in particular don’t have enough power to do much.

The Jenu I like, but I agree that it’s a temporary effect (about 4-5 hours for most).  But…….that can be a life saver when you’re tired,  have an event, have to go out in the evening or just didn’t sleep well!

At 50, in general, the eye area needs volume support as well as rejuvenation of the skin, but it’s easier to find good dermatologists with lasers like the fractionated CO2 (like the DEKA DOT, the Affirm or the Lumenis Active/Deep Fx) to give tightening and a reduction in crepiness.  The Thermage or Exilis (Ultherapy gives the same result but much more painful), will tighten modestly.  There are good to start if your problem is  mild to moderate.  If you have lot  of loose skin, you may want to look into surgery (blepharoplasty). 

Hope this helps,  Dr. I

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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