The truth about dark circle elimination
Known as the ‘tear trough filler’, it’s the hot procedure that Gwyneth Paltrow, Blake Lively and Kim Kardashian are rumoured to have had – but does it really work?
The depth, size and colour of the hollows under our eyes are often genetic but, for most of us, they tend to become more pronounced with age, as the skin thins and the blood under it becomes more visible.
This treatment involves injecting a small amount of filler where the undereye hollow meets the cheekbone. By plumping this skin, volume is restored, eradicating the depth of the dark circle and reducing the appearance of the ‘bag’.
As cosmetic surgeon Mr Kambiz Golchin explains, ‘The treatment is similar to contouring with make-up – it’s about deflecting the light to prevent it creating shadows under the eye. While you can never eliminate the dark circles altogether, by adding more volume around the bone, the hollow doesn’t look so sunken and there is not so much dark shadow.’
It’s a procedure that has only become popular in the past few years, as Harley Street aesthetic surgeon Dr David Jack explains, ‘Under-eye fillers have become popular for a number of reasons. Social media is a huge factor, from both clinics
and influencers posting about this treatment. The recent high exercise/ low body fat trend, combined with poor sleep due to increasingly stressful lifestyles, means that younger and younger people are losing volume from their faces, so areas like the tear troughs become more sunken.’
However, while the procedure is simple and relatively painless, it is not without risk and surgeons will tell you that it needs a high level of expertise and qualification to be executed safely and with effect. ‘It takes a detailed anatomical knowledge of this region to understand the individual problem and how to treat it properly,’ explains Mr Golchin.
THE TESTER: I’ve been plagued with dark eye bags forever. While it’s undoubtedly hereditary, since hitting 35, I have noticed that no matter if I’ve had 10 hours’ sleep, stayed off booze and used
lashings of Touche Eclat, they are always lurking. So, when a make-up artist friend told me he’d had the treatment, and another girlfriend confessed to it too, I was intrigued. I chose to visit esteemed surgeon Mr Kambiz Golchin at Dr Rita Rakus’s clinic in Knightsbridge. Although Mr Golchin’s treatment is expensive – £1,200 – I trusted his impeccable surgical credentials. Still, I was nervous. I have had Botox a number of times, but this felt different. More invasive. Mr Golchin has a delightfully reassuring bedside manner, and while being medically obliged to notify me there was a rare chance of blindness (!), he was quick to tell me that he would only inject around 70% of the filler in this session, asking me to come back for another assessment in two weeks.
‘I always underdo rather than overdo it, he advised. ‘So I won’t go for 100% correction today – because it will improve over the next couple of weeks. You will look better immediately when you leave today.’ He then explained how he always uses dissolvable filler. ‘It is an important safety measure. If you want to get rid of it, we can simply dissolve it.’ I was told that the filler would last between nine and 12 months. ‘After that, it will just gradually disintegrate,’ he explained. ‘Filler is made of hyaluronic acid, which is also produced and broken down by the body every day, so the body will eventually break it down.’
After taking a 3D photograph of my face, Mr Golchin’s nurse applied anaesthetic cream to the area (the filler itself also has anaesthetic in it). He then took me through exactly what was being injected and marked up the injection points on the bone under my eye. Some patients need a cannula to insert the filler, but my bone structure meant I didn’t. The injections – three under each eye – were mildly uncomfortable, though not painful, thanks to the anaesthetic cream. I was just hyper- aware that it was so close to my eye – to go blind for vanity is not something I would be proud of. The only slightly perturbing element was the numbing sensation, but again, that was the anaesthetic. ‘That’s normal,’ explained Mr Golchin. ‘It should subside within a couple of hours. You will be able to feel the filler, so don’t poke around your skin where it has been injected for the next few hours to let it settle. No make-up for four hours, no heavy exercise or alcohol today.’ The whole procedure took under 10 minutes.
THE VERDICT: Mr Golchin assured me that the difference was already noticeable and – would you bloody believe it? – it really was. Over the course of the next few hours, then days, it did seem to get better and better. While the darkness in the crevice of the bag is still visible, I was struck by how the depth and breadth of the bag had been signifificantly reduced. I kept seeing myself in the mirror and doing a double-take – it really boosted my confidence. Friends kept telling me how fresh-faced I looked. Upon returning two weeks later, Mr Golchin was pleased with the results and added two more very small injections. No bruising, no redness, and I was able to go straight to work make-up free for the first time in my life. Incredible.