Take a look at yourself in the mirror.  Look carefully at your lower eyelids.  Smile at yourself.  Notice the fine lines that form under the outer corner of your eyes, radiating downwards and outwards to your cheeks.  These are the under eye wrinkles, a direct result of smiling.  Although these by right should be viewed favorably as they are an indication of cheerfulness, a lot of people feel that they reflect ageing.  In situations like these, there is just no choice but to do something about it.  So how does one treat under eye wrinkles?

The most obvious choice is Botax, also known officially as Botox, a commercially available purified toxin of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.  Generally speaking, all that is needed is the injection of 1/2 to 1 unit (divided into 2 shots) of Botax rather superficially into the muscles just under the skin below the outer corner of the eye.  The muscles that cause these under eye wrinkles are rather thin and superficial.  Any deeper injection than that described above will be a waste of Botax.  Results show within 4 days and can last 4 to 6 months.

Another way of reducing under eye wrinkles is by superficially injecting a hyaluronic acid preparation (as in mesotherapy) into the skin of the lower eyelid.  Hyaluronic acid absorbs water and plumps up the skin, and this causes the disappearance of superficial fine under eye wrinkles for up to 2 months.

A third way is by the application of some commercially available plant extracts (for example Boswelox) which are claimed to counteract “facial micro-contractions”  that cause fine lines, and thus help reduce under eye wrinkles.