What You Need To Know About Thermage For Skin Tightening Around the Eyes

The skin around the eyes is 10 times thinner than the skin on the rest of the face. As a result, it’s one of the first areas to show signs of ageing. The eyelids become loose and textured as you age, causing wrinkles, crow’s feet, and fine lines. Tightening the skin tissues on the eyelid and around the eye can provide a subtle eyelift. Fortunately, skin tightening around the eyes is possible through a non-invasive treatment — Thermage. 

This blog lists essential facts about the procedure to give you a baseline for choosing the proper treatment. We also compared Thermage with another non-invasive skin tightening procedure.

Book a consultation with Dr Tyng Tan today.

Why does the skin around the eyes age quickly?

The skin is the largest organ in the body, covering you from head to toe. But, the skin is not the same throughout the body. For example, the outermost layer of the skin, called the epidermis, is the thinnest on the eyelids. 

When the skin is thinner, it breaks down faster than thicker skin because it does not contain much collagen, a protein that gives the skin its firm and supple appearance. Collagen naturally declines with age and causes wrinkles and fine lines. Since the eye’s surrounding skin is the thinnest, it becomes more susceptible to breaking down. 

The eyes are expressive, too. When you smile, frown, or squint in the sun, micro-contractions occur in the eye area. These cause the appearance of crow’s feet over time. Further, the skin is thin, which makes the veins appear more noticeable. Hence, dark circles appear.

The eye area also suffers from dry and dehydrated skin. This is because the eye skin lacks sebaceous glands, which produce sebum. When an area of the skin lacks sebum, it can become dry. Hence, wrinkles and fine lines appear and look more noticeable. 

Skin tightening around the eyes

Many skin tightening products are available today. However, creams and concealers can only go so far. Surgery is also an option, but it’s invasive and may require a longer recovery time.  

If surgery is not for you, a popular skin tightening treatment called Thermage can provide younger-looking skin without going under the knife. 

With these procedures having significant differences, one can have certain benefits over the other. So let’s go through them to help determine which is preferable for you.

The solution that is Thermage

Thermage is a breakthrough in non-invasive skin tightening that helps you attain a more natural look. It is a non-surgical procedure that uses radiofrequency (RF) to tighten and smoothen the skin through new collagen growth. 

The radio frequency that passes through the cooled epidermis promotes thermal damage to the dermis and deep dermal collagen. The body produces new collagen when this happens, improving saggy skin and skin quality. 

The most common areas where Thermage is used are the face, eye, thighs, and abdominal area. Thermage uses a handpiece to heat the target area, stimulating the skin to produce more collagen. 

Today, dermatologists use two Thermage types- the Thermage CPT and the Thermage FLX. Thermage FLX is designed to provide more heat in a shorter time. Meanwhile, Thermage CPT is less painful on the face since its 3.0 cm tip is ideal for smaller areas and produces less heat. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Thermage to treat skin sagging and wrinkles in the eye area. 

Advantages of Thermage

Thermage has a multitude of advantages. 

• Targets larger areas. A single Thermage treatment will take between 30 and 90 minutes, depending on the site to be treated. It can also target more extensive areas. 
• Requires less time. Thermage can be performed by a licensed and trained doctor or dermatologist, which will take about 30 minutes or less in smaller areas like the skin surrounding the eyes. Further, there is little or no downtime. 
• Has natural-looking results. Thermage provides a more natural-looking effect. You’ll achieve brighter-looking eyes that appear less tired, more lifted, tighter skin around the eyes, and reduced eye sagging. Also, wrinkles and fine lines may soften, revealing more radiant skin. 
• It’s non-invasive. The procedure does not require any cuts on the skin. Instead, it uses radiofrequency that penetrates the skin layers. 

Read: How Thermage Can Help You Overcome Your Post Baby Body

Thermage FLX

From the previous Thermage CPT generation, the Thermage FLX promises more effective skin tightening, particularly for the skin around the eyes. Further, it helps combat saggy skin, wrinkles, and fine lines on the face and neck.

To give an overview of the benefits of Thermage FLX, let’s tackle some of its improved technology. First, it has a 4.0 cm2 total tip that provides excellent surface area coverage to deliver heat, stimulating collagen production. Further, its AccuREP technology has an autotuning feature before each energy pulse is given to the skin. Hence, it optimises the heat and energy for more precise heating and treatment.

Lastly, the procedure provides immediate skin improvements, which continue to improve as the body goes through its natural collagen-rebuilding process.

Comparing Thermage and Ultherapy

Ultherapy is a non-invasive procedure that uses ultrasound imaging to bypass the skin surface, triggering collagen production. It is famous for targeting smaller and deeper skin layers, which helps treat the skin from the inside out.

However, Ultherapy only targets the outer eye orbital area, compared to Thermage, which can lessen wrinkles under the eyes.

Though the two procedures both possess their advantages, they also have differences.

Comfort level

One major factor you consider when deciding between these two procedures is discomfort or pain. Though newer versions of Thermage provide minimal discomfort due to the amount of heat involved, you may still feel vibrations emitting from the treatment device. You will also feel the heat when the device touches the skin.

Meanwhile, in Ultherapy, there is a slight tingling or burning sensation.

Whether it is painful or not depends on a person’s tolerance for discomfort. If it’s something you can’t handle, the doctor can administer topical numbing cream about 45 minutes before treatment.

Penetration

Thermage and Ultherapy target the deep layers of the skin and provide long-lasting effects. In Thermage, the Mono-polar Capacitive Radiofrequency (RF) technology delivers heat to stimulate collagen production. As a result, immediate visible skin tightening occurs.

Results

In Thermage, the expected results include improvement of saggy skin and wrinkles as it triggers the regeneration of damaged collagen. The client may also expect to have healthier and firmer skin. Meanwhile, Ultherapy improves saggy skin and fine lines.

In general, you can expect full results in about two to three months and will continue to improve until six months. For both procedures, a single treatment lasts 1 to 2 years.

Read: Ultherapy vs. Thermage [Pros and Cons]

The Takeaway

Although both are promising, you can undoubtedly have a credible and trained doctor assess the the extent of your skin ageing around the eyes to see which would suit you better. So, it ultimately boils down to the patient’s specific need, which is why a consultation is essential.

At our clinic, we want our patients to make informed decisions. So now that you know more about Thermage, how it works, and its benefits, you’ll know which procedure best suits your needs. If you wish to learn more about skin tightening treatments and our individualised treatment plans, get in touch with our team today to book a consultation with Dr Tyng Tan.