Sunken eyes: possible causes and effective solutions

The eyes are certainly one of the most important features of the face as they can communicate even before words. It is not by chance that the expression “speaking with your eyes” is used often to highlight their expressive abilities.

An intense and magnetic gaze can instantly win you over and draw the attention away from everything else.

In fact, to the question “what strikes you most in a person?” many people answer “the eyes”.

Thus, the eyes are much more than a detail but a real distinguishing feature that, regardless of shape and colour, makes us unique and interesting.

For all these reasons, blemishes related to the eyes can become an issue because they are difficult to conceal, being such a fundamental and obvious element in the overall balance of the face.

In addition to wrinkles, puffiness and dark circles, among the main aesthetic issues related to the eyes, there are sunken or hollow eyes that make the eyes appear tired, aged regardless of age and even “depressed”.

This issue affects men and women equally.

But what are the solutions to correct sunken eyes?

In this article, in addition to trying to get a good understanding of what is meant by sunken or hollow eyes and what the possible causes are, we will also review what remedies can help to improve the appearance of one’s eyes.

In particular, we will review the following:

• How do sunken eyes look like?
• Why do I have sunken eyes? Four possible causes
• How to make the eyes less sunken? Three solutions

1. Applying make-up to sunken eyes
2. Correct sunken eyes and dark circles with cosmetic surgery
3. Eliminate sunken eyes with hyaluronic acid fillers

• Sunken eyes: causes and solutions

How do sunken eyes look like?

The distinguishing feature of sunken eyes is that the movable portion of the eyelid is partially or totally overlaid by the fixed portion, the latter being particularly swollen and protruding.

For the sake of clarity, the movable eyelid is the one that opens and closes, while the fixed eyelid is the area from the hollow of the eye to the eyebrow arch.

It is easy to understand how a sunken eye situation where the fixed eyelid “overlaps” the movable eyelid makes the eyes look dull, heavy and old.

As already mentioned, this imperfection is not necessarily age-related but, certainly, ageing can make it worse. With advancing age, in fact, tissues tend to sag.

Among other effects, this leads to the issue of wrinkles on the face and obviously since the eyelids will also tend to relax further this will cause or aggravate any sunken eyes condition.

Why do I have sunken eyes? Four possible causes

When one is struggling with sunken eyes, it means that the upper eyelid does not have the proper support offered by the adipose tissue, meaning that there is a lack of fat in that specific area.

The most common, not disease-related causes of sunken or hollow eyes are:

1. Genetic predisposition: in this case, hollow eyes are a characteristic that the individual carries from birth
2. Dehydration: lack of fluid leads to water retention, and thus swelling, even in the upper eyelid
3. Weight loss: like any other part of the body, the fixed eyelid can also be affected by weight loss, especially if it is significant
4. Ageing: as mentioned, ageing can cause or worsen sunken eyes

In particular, on the topic of ageing it must be said that with age the skin loses its structure, because the body’s natural production of both collagen – a protein fundamental for supporting the skin – and hyaluronic acid – a molecule naturally present in our bodies and that moisturises, provides turgidity and plasticity to the tissues – decreases.

Due to the characteristics and properties of hyaluronic acid that include among others the stimulation of fibroblasts to produce collagen, a decrease in this element contributes to causing or highlighting sunken eyes.

It is no coincidence that hyaluronic acid fillers are one of the most effective remedies against sunken eyes.

How to make the eyes less sunken: Three solutions

We have described above the possible causes of sunken eyes.

Now, let’s review the main remedies, which differ in terms of treatment, visibility and duration of results.

1. Applying make-up to sunken eyes

A first, non-invasive method to counter the issue of sunken eyes is make-up.

To create an optical effect that masks the problem, it is essential to focus particularly on the crease of the eye.

In fact, by applying an opaque medium shade eyeshadow (thus neither too light nor too dark), the colour will tend to visually “hollow out” the crease and fixed eyelid area, which is very pronounced in sunken eyes.

Satin and pearly eye shadows on the fixed eyelid should be avoided as they would further emphasise it and accentuate the problem.

The choice of eye shadow to apply to the inner corner of the eye is also important. This area should be brightened up using light colours, preferably satin or pearly: this will give the eyes an broader effect by softening the sunken eyes one.

Finally, don’t forget a line of black pencil on the eyelid rim.

It is important to keep in mind that make-up is not a real remedy since the effect will go away when the make-up is removed.

Moreover, applying make-up for sunken eyes is not so easy if you are not experienced; it takes time and you have to do it on a daily basis only to correct minor imperfections.

2. Correcting sunken eyes and dark circles with cosmetic surgery

One of the ways to correct sunken eyes is through cosmetic surgery.

In particular, blepharoplasty is the procedure used to correct blemishes of the eyes in general.

Through this procedure that focuses on making a series of incisions excess skin on the eyelids can be removed, fatty bags above and below the eyes can be removed, and a heavy, tired look such as that caused by sunken eyes can be corrected.

The advantage of using cosmetic surgery is that it offers immediately visible and long lasting results. Thus, it can be a solution for sunken eyes for both men and women.

However, it is still a surgical procedure, and thus a very invasive type of treatment with the risks that this entails and a post-surgery recovery period.

It is also important to remember that while cosmetic surgery allows one to go back several years in time compared to one’s age (which, in itself is not necessarily a good thing since there is the risk of making one look ‘ridiculous), it is equally true that it does not stop time.

This means that, after the surgery, the ageing process will resume and, over time, the problem will reoccur.

3. Eliminating sunken eyes with hyaluronic acid fillers

We mentioned hyaluronic acid (HA) earlier and its fundamental role in moisturising and supporting tissues.

Being naturally present in the body and for its effects, applying hyaluronic acid to the face is now increasingly used in aesthetic medicine to correct a wide variety of imperfections, including:

• Smoothing out wrinkles
• Plump up thin lips
• Restoring volume to the face
• Straighten a hump nose
• Removing sunken eyes and dark circles

Hyaluronic acid in the form of a transparent gelatin is applied using very thin needles by physicians specialised in aesthetic medicine.

These are the so-called “fillers”, whose task, as the term suggests is to “fill in” those areas of the face that are hollowed out, either for genetic reasons or due to age.

Hyaluronic acid-based injectables are available in varying densities from very soft and fluid to heavier and volumising.

There are many advantages of hyaluronic acid for sunken eyes compared to other solutions, such as:

1. It is a non-invasive treatment performed on an outpatient basis
2. It is biocompatible and completely resorbable, with reduced risk of allergic reactions
3. It guarantees immediately visible and long lasting results (varying from patient to patient)
4. The result is natural, according to the latest trends in aesthetic medicine that are increasingly abandoning the idea of artificial beauty incompatible with one’s age
5. The risks of side effects are greatly reduced when choosing a quality filler

The most important consideration for the use of hyaluronic acid fillers is to turn exclusively to qualified physicians.

Sunken eyes: causes and solutions

We have seen what sunken eyes are, what are their possible causes and some of the solutions available to eliminate that tired, depressed and aged look due to sunken eyes.

Certainly, hyaluronic acid fillers are the most effective remedy because they achieve immediately visible, natural, long lasting results through a non-invasive procedure with no risk of unwanted effects.

It is very important to choose the best hyaluronic acid filler For this reason, it is essential to ask the practitioner who will perform the treatment about the type and characteristics of the hyaluronic acid he or she is planning to use.