LOOKING GOOD, FEELING GOOD: What Do Your Eyes Say About You?

What do your eyes say about you?  Do those puffy upper eyelids say you’re tired, ready to hang it up and sit in your rocker?  Do those bags under your eyes belie the young-at-heart feeling you have inside?

More than any other facial feature, the eyes mirror how you feel.  According to the experts who study the psychology of appearance, how you look can affect not only how people perceive and judge you, but also how they choose to interact with you. “People who are more attractive are seen as more intelligent, happier, or more competent overall,” says Gordon Patzer, dean of the college of Business and Public Administration at California State University in San Bernardino.  Patzer has been studying physical appearance and its repercussions for 30 years.

For many women and men who want to change the way their eyes look, erase the effects of gravity, or simply brighten up their overall appearance to achieve a more vibrant, youthful look, plastic surgery is an option. In fact, blepharoplasty (cosmetic eyelid surgery) was the most common surgical procedure last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. 

Blepharoplasty is a procedure to remove or reposition fat, usually along with excess skin and muscle from the upper and lower eyelids. The result is a more alert and rested appearance. “We see many men and women in our Center who want to remain competitive in the job market and who want to maintain that look of health and vitality,” says Dr. George Toledo, an award-winning, board-certified plastic surgeon and director of the Highland Park Plastic Surgery Center.

Dr. Toledo often recommends one or a combination of two common plastic surgery procedures that can restore a more youthful, refreshed look to the eyes. A brow lift may be performed in conjunction with blepharoplasty when a patient has droopy eyebrows causing the skin to overhang in the upper eyelids. 

“Sometimes, all that is needed,” says Dr. Toledo, “is a brow lift to correct sagging brows and remove the furrows that can make a person appear angry, sad or tired.” When doing a brow lift, Dr. Toledo makes an incision which is hidden just behind the hairline.  The muscles and tissues that cause the brows to droop and furrow are removed or altered to smooth the forehead, raise the eyebrows and minimize frown lines.

Performed under a general or twilight anesthesia, surgery may take from one to two hours, depending on the extent of the procedure.  In most cases, patients may resume many of their normal activities within 5 days or less. Dr. Toledo performs the vast majority of plastic surgery procedures at the Highland Park Plastic Surgery Center. The ambulatory surgery center is licensed by the Texas Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  

Dr. Toledo recommends that those interested in having cosmetic plastic surgery seek a surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and who is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “An ASPS member is a physician who has graduated from an accredited medical school and completed at least five years of additional surgical residency training, which includes at least two years of plastic surgery.  Not all surgeons performing brow lifts and blepharoplasties have these credentials,” Dr. Toledo explains.