What Causes Crow’s Feet and How Can I Get Rid of Them?

The skin around your eyes is quick to show aging, as it is thinner and more delicate than other parts of the face and body. Crow’s feet (or the wrinkles in the corner of the eyes) can show up earlier than you realize, making you look tired and older than you really are.

What causes crow’s feet?

Aging is the major contributing factor for the appearance of crow’s feet. This slows down the production of collagen and elastin, making the skin sag and appear droopy. Moreover, the area around the eyes lacks oil glands and fatty tissues, causing the crow’s feet to appear sooner. This is exacerbated with prolonged UV exposure.

Crow’s feet are also type of dynamic wrinkles or those that are formed due to repeated facial movements like smiling and squinting. These facial expressions cause creases in the skin and can break down its collagen and elastic fibers over time.

Sleeping on your side and on your stomach can also play a role, as it can sometimes put extra pressure on the skin, with the pillowcase tugging or pulling it. Sleeping on your back can help avoid crow’s feet and wrinkles, as well as switching to silk pillowcases, which reduces friction on face and allows skin to slide easily.

When do crow’s feet start to appear?

This depends on every person, but on average, many people start seeing crow’s feet in their mid-30s. However, for some people, they can begin to appear as early as mid-20s.

Lack of sun protection is one main culprit, as sun damage accounts the majority of visible signs of aging. Moreover, not everyone apply sunscreen around the eyes, which is a very important area for the product to be in.

How can I get rid of them?

While you cannot prevent the appearance of crow’s feet entirely, there are measures you can take to diminish their depth and severity. You can start with applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least 45 and limiting the amount you spent of the sun, particularly during peak hours between 10am and 4pm.

The use of an anti-aging eye cream can help too, especially those that contain ingredients like retinol or peptides, Vitamin C, antioxidants and hyaluronic acid. Just be sure to apply the cream gently, by patting, not rubbing.

For more prominent and pronounced crow’s feet, you can turn to safe injectable treatments like Botulinum toxin and dermal fillers. Botulinum toxin softens muscles around the eyes, while fillers “fill in” lost volume to different areas in the face.

Botulinum toxin to reduce expression lines

Botulinum toxin, also known as the brand Botox in Singapore, is an anti-wrinkle treatment that is commonly used to treat forehead lines, frown lines between the brows, and wrinkles in the corner of the eyes. It works by temporary blocking the signal from a nerve to a muscle to relax the wrinkles formed due to muscle contractions.

This makes Botox an ideal treatment for crow’s feet and other expression lines caused by smiling, squinting, and frowning. It can also correct fine lines around the lips and neck, as well as lift droopy eyebrows or eyelids.

Keep in mind that the results will not show immediately; it may take about two weeks to see the full effects. The results may last about three to six months, but do take note that they tend to last longer with touch-up or repeated treatments, as the muscles become less prominent.

When getting this injectable, be sure to work only with a certified aesthetic doctor. It is important to trust someone with the right experience and knowledge of the facial anatomy to achieve natural-looking and good botulinum toxin results.

Dermal Fillers to “fill” in fine lines and folds

Dermal fillers work by using an injectable gel that can fill in unwanted lines and folds caused by volume loss. They can help decrease the appearance of fine lines and dark circles around the eyes, as well as contour the face, plump the lips, enhance the cheekbones, and define the chin for a rejuvenated and well-rested appearance,

At Cutis Laser Clinics, we use fillers made from hyaluronic acid (HA), which is responsible for maintaining firm, supple skin and calcium-based microspheres, an allergen free-option that is naturally absorbed by the body. Both ingredients are also naturally present in the body.

• HA-based fillers (like Juvederm). These can improve fine lines, eye bags, and nasolabial folds (lines at the corner of the nose and mouth). HA dermal fillers can also fill the lips, add volume in the cheeks, and increase the height of the nose without surgery.
• Calcium based (like Radiesse). These fillers can plump up the skin and replenish volume loss over time. They can be used to improve facial lines, fill both the lips and nasolabial folds, and add volumes to the cheeks.

The results with dermal fillers can be seen almost immediately. They may also last between 9 and 18 months, but this will still depend on the type of fillers used.

Schedule a consultation today

If you have deeper and more pronounced crow’s feet, don’t hesitate to consider any of the treatments mentioned above. Contact Cutis Laser Clinics today and schedule a consultation with our Harvard-trained aesthetic doctor, Dr. Sylvia Ramirez, to find out if you’re a candidate for Botox and fillers.

Tags: Botulinum Toxin, Dermal Fillers, Laser Aesthetic Clinic