In a 1954 episode of I Love Lucy Desi Arnaz delivers a hilarious performance as Ricky Ricardo reading a children’s book aloud. His musical Cuban accent tumbles over the proper pronunciation of similar-looking words, all ending in ough. He pronounces the word bough like the word rough then confuses cough with through. I’m going to add to the mix with the word trough (pronounced ”traaf”), as in tear troughs.

What is a tear trough? This term refers to the area under the lower eyelid that is often prone to darker pigmentation, a sunken appearance and sometimes creases. Commonly referred to as “bags” under the eyes, the phenomenon results in a shadowy, aged appearance. We often associate under-eye circles, hollows and eye bags with fatigue and, while they often are caused by stress, lack of sleep, even allergies, there are three key factors that influence how tear troughs develop over time.

First, our skin changes as we age, becoming thinner, weaker, and pigmented. This causes the delicate areas on your face to naturally grow more sensitive over time. There are soft tissue changes, as well. As we grow older, we lose fat just under the skin, leaving the under-eye area with less support. Bags under the eyes develop as tissue structures supporting your eyelids gradually weaken. Finally, we also lose bone density as we age, in this case on the anterior cheek and eye socket, making them more visible. These changes in skin, soft tissue and bone cause tear troughs to naturally lose their structure year after year.

We have clients come to me – often as they are getting ready for a round of job interviews or want to feel more photo-ready for an important event – with the intention of bringing more freshness and more brightness to the face. Addressing the tear troughs can be a great way to go and I’m pleased to report that we offer several effective therapies.

We recommend platelet rich plasma, or PRP therapy, a type of regenerative medicine that uses your own platelets to heal tissue and stimulate growth. PRP is fantastic for dark circles! The way it stimulates collagen to thicken the skin, improve wrinkles and lighten the eye area is quite impressive.

Another simple and effective tear trough treatment is to inject filler into this area to restore lost volume. We also offer eye thread lifts that are placed under the skin near the eyes. The threads lift the sagging skin for a look that is firm and smooth.

All of these options are non-surgical and require little downtime. As always, contact me for a consultation and we can discuss what therapies might be best for you. Whatever you decide, we can help make your tear troughs less pronounced.

Need an additional boost? Check out our online “eye” shop.

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) for Tear Troughs