Whether you call them Tear Troughs, the infraorbital region or the under eyes, non-surgical aesthetic practitioners tend to have a love-hate relationship with this part of the face. Many of us have this notion that the area is dangerous or particularly prone to poor results–both can be negated with proper infraorbital injectable training–and thus avoid treating it. But as the non-surgical aesthetics matures, we are fast approaching an industry where every new aesthetic practitioner will wisely offer tear trough treatment, not just in one-off situations, but as a staple of their practice. Here are six reasons why you should be upping your skills and focusing on this area.
1. It’s in demand:
In the last half-decade, we’ve seen different facial features become the love affair of the non-surgical cosmetic industry; lips, cheeks and jaw lines have all had their moment. Yet it’s the infra-orbital region that is now quickly rising as the place to butter your bread. In one study of women over 30, 50% of them were concerned with the appearance of their under eyes. A second study of 603 women found that the under eyes were the second-highest concern for those ages 30-35 and the third-highest concern for those ages 60-65. But here’s the surprising bit: this area is only the 7th most-corrected area when accounting for all aesthetic treatments on the face. While it is fair to say that the surgical vs non-surgical decision line is relatively thin for this region, there are also other factors leading to this disparity, including misconceptions held by both patients and practitioners that can be easily overcome with expert infraorbital dermal fillers training.
Image from: Teoxane Redensity II brochure, July 2016: * Results based on opinion from n=603 patients aged from 30-65 years old
Article by Dr Uche Aniagwu
Specialist Aesthetic Practitioner, Educator and Author
2. It’s the mask era:
Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, pretty much all of society now wears face masks in the public domain, which has suddenly placed new focus upon the eye area when it comes to “looking your best.” Beauty and cosmetic companies have seen sales in mascara rise by up to 480% since the implementation of mask mandates (Business Insider, 2020). With no clarity as to whether this eye emphasis will become the new norm, now is a great time to establish yourself as a leading undereye injector.
3. Different social connotations:
Something I’ve come to realise: many aesthetic injectable treatments cater to beauty enthusiasts and exclude others, most of whom have negative associations with injectables or facial plastic surgery. Yet, somehow, the eyes seem to be unique, oftentimes with people referring to under-eye treatments as “restorative.” This connotation suggests a person restoring their best self–or less tired-looking self if you like–and tends to not come off as an individual as changing themself. This subtle, but important distinction, opens up your treatment pool to many who believe that lifestyle has impacted their look. As a result, you’ll also find that under eye treatments break the gender barrier typically seen in aesthetics: many men will feel more comfortable about making themselves look less tired than, say, augmenting their lips, nose or jawline.
4. It’s safer than you think:
We touched on this point earlier, but it’s important to revisit the misconceptions around the safety of injectables in this region. With vascular occlusion and blindness as the ultimate injectables complications, then it’s logical to assume that treating the eye area must be extremely hazardous given ocular proximity, right? Wrong! Studies have shown that all of the following areas are significantly riskier to inject than the infra-orbital region: Glabella, Nose, Temples, Nasolabial Folds. In order for these misconceptions to change, we need to have better-trained aesthetic practitioners who understand the safest techniques and can confidently reassure patients about under-eye injections. Furthermore, confidence in managing any vascular occlusion in the infra-orbital region will massively increase the confidence of practitioners.
Image from: Vascular Complications after Facial FillerInjection: A Literature Review and Meta-analysis, Giuseppe Sito, MD, PhD; Veronica Manzoni, MD; and Raffaella Sommariva, MD, J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2019;12(6):E65–E72
5. You can charge more due to perceived difficulty:
The final reason you should be considering infraorbital injectable treatment as a centrepiece of your practice is the massive business benefit. As already analysed in this article, this treatment offers aesthetic practitioners great upside potential, of which Teoxane recently said: “under eye circle correction is an undervalued demand”. Due to the relatively small number of injectors offering this treatment at an expert level, there is an opportunity to establish yourself with this procedure and charge more than for other treatments, so long as demand outstrips supply.
Conclusion:
If you don’t already have an under eye injectables treatment in your arsenal, consider doing the following: complete a comprehensive training course so that you are up to date with the latest injection techniques. Traditional education around safely injecting and managing under-eye complaints is severely outdated, but by exploring cutting-edge instruction in this area, you will be able to confidently treat more patients, more safely and provide greater patient satisfaction. Once you feel comfortable with your skills, start letting your audience know that you provide this treatment and establish yourself as an authority in the space.
