I’m one of those women at a pandemic-induced gray hair crossroads. By 2020, my stray gray hair wasn’t something I couldn’t handle with the occasional dye. But quite suddenly and drastically, I find myself pandemic housebound and going super-grey, at least partly against my will. Everyone’s stress made those silver threads spread like wildfire. Three years later, I find myself full of salt and pepper and I accept it. But while I’m okay with my gray hair, I’m not okay with the way my face is aging. Last summer, on the eve of my milestone birthday, I found myself staring at a face in the mirror that I didn’t quite recognize. I’ve always had crow’s feet, which, sure, bother me a bit, but it’s as much a result of the way I smile as it is of age. Instead, I was particularly drawn to the excessive bags that had settled under my eyes and wondered if I should do something about it.
I’ve always had dark circles, but the puffiness, no matter what I ate or drank, was a relatively new phenomenon that seemed to age me well past my 40s. And I’ve had enough — enough of looking older, of searching for the “perfect” concealer (seriously, I’ve tried them all) that would hide the circles, of feeling extremely self-conscious. Since having my kids, I’ve adapted to wearing a one-piece instead of a bikini and high-waisted jeans to cover my c-section rack. This was more and more something I would not compromise on.
So after a summer of partying and traveling, I went to a reputable spa to get fillers to help my eyes, in hopes of camouflaging the mess underneath. Instead, I was told in no uncertain terms that adding filler under my eyes would make me look much worse since my problem wasn’t just excess skin, but fat. My only solution was likely a lower blepharoplasty, also known as lower eyelid surgery, in which a doctor “physically removes the fat and skin away from the eyes,” said Dr. Steven Williams, MD, of Tri Valley Plastic Surgery in Dublin, California, he told me over the phone when I started researching.
It took me a while to come to terms with it. The surgery involved a lot more than I expected. I figured I could throw a quick buck at the problem through fillers or intense Botox and move on (cosmetic surgery is, needless to say, something I don’t know much about). I’m all for a woman doing whatever she wants with her body — reproductively, cosmetically, you name it. But was I really ready to go the plastic surgery route? It took me a few months to look at my face and see if this was really what I wanted.
Turns out the incessant puffiness and the way it seemed to age me in ways that gray hair wasn’t something I wanted to live with. Give me my grays. keep facial aging away please. So I asked my friend, Dr. Dara Liotta, MD, a New York-based plastic surgeon who specializes in rhinoplasty, for a recommendation for lower mucus. He strongly suggested it Dr. Flora Levin, MDophthalmofacial plastic surgeon based in Westport, Connecticut.
What is blepharoplasty?
Blepharoplasty is among them top five procedures performed by plastic surgeons, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. And there’s a good reason for that: When I went in for my consultation this winter, Levin described the surgery to me as “scarless,” since the incision is made inside the eyelid. The purpose of a lower eyelid is to “improve the contour of the lower eyelids, [including] bags and dark circles, and create a smooth transition between lid and cheek,” Levin told me.
Unlike, say, laser skin removal, “blepharoplasty really needs to be a permanent improvement. What I tell our patients is that it does not stop the aging process. Time keeps moving on, but it’s something you make a permanent difference to,” adds Williams. Both Levin and Williams agreed that blepharoplasty, in general, is done on people over 40, like me, and it’s mostly women. After all, Williams told me, “Things like having kids and getting less sleep can affect your lower eyelids.” Ding, ding, ding, jackpot.
When I asked why fillers wouldn’t work for people like me, Levin told me that “the best candidates for fillers are those that have no bags, just hollows and great skin tone. Once there are bags, fillers don’t work as they add bulk instead of addressing the problem of excess. Surgery can do both: remove excess and correct cavities. I use the ‘speed bump and pothole’ analogy.”
Getting lower blepharoplasty surgery
Convinced that this was something I really wanted to do for myself, I closed the surgery and started asking more questions. By the day of my surgery, I was armed with information: no contact lenses for at least a week, go for 20 minutes every hour for the first 48 hours, sleep upright as much as possible, and that I would be in “mild pain” and she would have to take the rest of the week off work.I was taking arnica and bromelain for swelling and bruising in the days leading up to surgery and would be on a cocktail of meds for about a week afterwards.
The surgery took about an hour and a half, which I was told is typical. When I came to, I was upset, but not in the slightest bit of pain. My eyes were very puffy and felt like I had just taken a not very useful nap.
My recovery from lower blepharoplasty surgery
When I got home, my eyes were definitely swollen, but I didn’t feel any pain. I was, however, very sensitive to light and my eyes felt dry. That night, my eyes were itching. If you wear contact lenses, you’ll know the feeling: like you’ve misplaced your contact. I took a pain reliever to help me sleep as my eyes were so scratchy and woke up scratch free in the morning.
I was told pre-op that the swelling gets worse 48 to 72 hours after surgery, which was definitely true for me. By the second day, my eyes were so swollen, even seeing proved to be a challenge. I thought I would defy the odds and be able to work, but that proved impossible.
As someone who has had two c-sections in three years, I’m not used to recovery from surgery being this painless. Sure, it’s tiring because you’re cooped up in the house, you look a little scary to the kids (although I did play the funny-sunglasses-that-can-detect-my-eyes game with my son’s friends in the pickup), and you can’t do much ( which, like many of us, I’m not particularly good at), but the lack of pain was very strange to me.
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By day three, the swelling was much better, probably helped by my obedient icing. During the next few days, my eyes were still dry and tired easily. The bandages covering my eyes became the most embarrassing part. it was hard to smile or laugh that first week with them. I kept a short journal of my recovery and wrote that the most annoying thing by far was not being able to wear contacts – the glasses make my eyes feel much more tired than they are – and to wash my face properly, I needed a dose of micellar water. do the trick for a week. Not bad, all things considered.
Things got better from there. I took the bandages off a week after surgery. The swelling steadily improved over the days, although I wasn’t able to wear contacts until 12 days after surgery. And now, almost four weeks after surgery, my eyes look much better. I barely have to wear concealer, the puffiness is gone, but I do have intermittent puffiness, usually in the mornings, which Levin says is completely normal and expected.
Overall, Levin told me that my results will be almost ready by early September, which is about four (or) months after surgery. He mentioned that younger patients, those in their 20s and 30s for example, tend to see results sooner, while those of us who are older (yay age!) tend to take a little longer.
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How I feel about two months after surgery
When all is said and done, I am very happy with the results and my decision to have the surgery. My morning routine is much simpler – a quick swipe (really, I promise!) of under eye concealer, mostly in the inner corners, is all it takes to make my eyes look presentable now, which is far from what it was. Sure, my wrinkles are still there, and I still look my age. While I know plastic surgery isn’t the answer for everyone, nor is it necessarily a good thing to put on that much weight, I feel infinitely more confident about my appearance.
Everyone, if they’re lucky, gets old. And I plan to grow old gracefully. But this surgery gave me that extra push I needed as I approach my 42nd year. And for that, I am grateful.
