Common side effects include bruising and swelling, and nodules and bumps under the eye can occur. “Blindness is a rare side effect if the filler enters a blood vessel of the eye and occludes it,” she says, hence the importance of seeing a well-trained injector.
“Filler is a great option for people who lack volume under the eyes,” says New York dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD. “With age, as fat compartments in the face drop, the under-eye area separates from the cheek, giving a hollow appearance.
If you're looking to a dermal filler to combat signs of aging, your mid-20s is often a good time to start. Your body starts to lose bone and collagen around age 26, so it's a good time to begin maintenance injections. By starting early, you'll use require less product than if you wait until your mid-50s.
Here's why treating under eye bags with filler could actually make them worse, according to experts. Filler can have the opposite effect on eye bags, making them bigger and err, blue. Eye bags are tricky to treat.
Overfilling in the cheeks and under the eyes obliterates the natural lid-cheek junction. The whole mid-face becomes one continuous bulge, and the eyes become smaller, much like a pillow.
The way the under eye filler is placed
The truth is that all hyaluronic fillers stay in the body for longer than a year, sometimes they last for 5 years (I've seen it). Over time the fillers gradually degrade from as our body creates and enzyme called hyaluronidase that cleaves the bonds of the sugar chains in the gel.
When you use dermal fillers (hyaluronic acid fillers), you can solve issues such as dark circles or plumping facial areas that have lost smoothness. Regardless of that, we recommend you use Botox for under-eye treatments to stop wrinkles and eye puffiness since fillers are better if you want to treat dark circles.
"Botox will smooth and prevent later crow's feet, elevate the brow and open up the eyes, while fillers can replace lost volume in the tear trough and medial cheek that contribute to dark circles, hollowness and a “tired” appearance," Dr. Hartman says.
“Proper placement of mid-face and lower face filler should not significantly affect the smile,” he shares. With that said, “if an overly firm filler is used or if the region is overfilled, an unnatural appearance can result as the lips push against stiff surrounding tissues,” he adds.
Some patients find the sensation of getting under-eye filler strange or mildly uncomfortable, but usually it's not intensely painful. You should be able to resume most of your regular activities right away, although it's recommended you refrain from any exercises for 24 hours.
In most patients, the swelling is much better after 4-5 days, but there can be milder swelling which takes weeks to resolve completely. Under eye fillers can often look lumpy after the procedure. The lumpy appearance usually continues to improve over the 2-3 weeks after the procedure.
When doctors inject facial fillers between eyebrows and into smile lines, this can affect blood supply to the critical retina that interprets light. In a worst-case scenario, an eye could go completely blind.
How Many Times Can You Get Fillers Under Your Eyes? While you only need one treatment every year or so for under-eye restoration, you can repeat injections once your results are no longer pleasing as often as you'd like.
Fillers work by tissue expansion, similar to how a sponge expands when absorbing water. Fillers expand the facial tissue to add volume in the targeted areas. Lines around the eyes and hollows or dark circles under the eye can be plumped up with fillers for a more youthful appearance.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, you can expect some bruising, since the under-eye area has thinner skin with lots of blood vessels. Swelling is common as well. There are other possible side effects: If the fillers aren't injected correctly, the area can end up looking more swollen and discolored.
Using too much dermal filler can distort your face, make it look asymmetric and aesthetically out of balance, and in some cases, it can even make you look older than you actually are.
Where Facial Filler Migration Occurs. In rare cases where there is facial filler migration, it typically occurs in two locations. They are most likely to migrate around the lips or under the eyes. It often is shown on social media as protruding [or receding] slightly, like an artificial trail of lumps.
Botox and fillers are generally considered safe for people of all ages, whether they are 30 years old, 60 years old, or 80 years old. But, in the end, you'll want to discuss a few things with the doctor who will be delivering your injections.
Poor patient selection, poor understanding of facial anatomy, poor placement, and poor product selection can make the under eye area a very challenging area to treat well. Done correctly, it can make a HUGE difference in a patient's overall look.
When too much product is used, swollen pockets under the eyes after fillers is a common complication. The area can appear puffy, with irregular lumps. Too much filler can also cause the Tyndall effect and blue discolouration of the skin.