Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

FFS my eyelids are starting to go crepey. Help!

53 replies

spicemonster · 13/12/2009 18:34

My 45 year old eyelids are looking decidedly crepey and I am not happy about it. Is there anything I can put on them that will ping the skin back a bit/smooth it out or is the knife the only solution?

OP posts:
purplepeony · 14/12/2009 11:34

aitch we will have to agree to disagree. Crepy eyelids do not become worse by using a moisturiser on them which plumps up the surface layers of the skin.

The worst that can happen is that your eye make up will slide off.

AitchTwoToTangOh · 14/12/2009 11:36

ho-kay, if you do get that surgery, you should make a point of asking the surgeon what he finds under there.

purplepeony · 14/12/2009 12:02

aitch- if you know anything about skin and science you should know that the skin cannot absorb anything beyond the very top layers- that is why creams that contain collagen do do not work as the adverts say they do, because the skin cannot absorb it.

My eye lids are not especially crepy anyway- I have some fine lines and sagging due to having to use a steroid cream for eczema, which unfortunately made my skin lined.

spicemonster · 14/12/2009 13:33

Ooh I would never have my eyes cut open - too wimpy. I have used that Retinox stuff before so I may give that another go. And dim the lights later

OP posts:
Chandon · 14/12/2009 14:44

retinox smells vile though, and cannot be used on sensitive skin (it makes my skin itchy, blotchy and red and smelly...not a winner)

pleasechange · 14/12/2009 14:47

do what my MIL did - pretended to told the GP that the saggy eyelids were causing problems with her eyesight and she got a free eyelift on the nhs

AitchTwoToTangOh · 14/12/2009 16:32

i don't need to know anything about skin and science, pp, i've seen the photos of when they cut people's eye bags open.

purplepeony · 14/12/2009 16:36

which photos aitch? Are theatre nurse?

Lower eye bags are caused by fat pockets under the skin - but they are not caused by fat/oils getting into the skin from using creams.

AitchTwoToTangOh · 14/12/2009 16:39

'are theatre nurse?' do you mean am i a theatre nurse? no. are you a plastic surgeon?

i've sat with eve lom and she's shown me photos and spoken of her discussions with plastic surgeons where they've talked about identifying creams under the eye. i'm inclined to believe her rather than you, some person i don't know off the internet.

purplepeony · 14/12/2009 16:50

Please yourself- it's up to you.
I did mean a theatre nurse, yes.
No I am not a plastic surgeon but as I am looking into the op I have read lots of plastic surgeons websites about eyes and eye bags.
And I'd rather be more inclined to believe them, and the science that I do know, than a woman who is flogging face creams.

Sorry but if you think that the skin can absorb fat from creams, and then it remains in the deeper layers of the skin, you really do need to educate yourself.

hohoholepew · 14/12/2009 16:56

Avon do a good tightening cream, but I agree with Aitch, I think long term use makes it worse. Avon also do a tightening eyeshadow.

I don't think that's how you spell tightening

AitchTwoToTangOh · 14/12/2009 20:30

lol, she's a deeply lovely woman who knows a great deal about how skin works and was reporting on actual conversations she'd had with plastic surgeons, unlike you she hadn't cribbed her information off their sales websites. but like you say, please yourself, baggy eyes.

purplepeony · 14/12/2009 22:58

she also knows how to charge £40 for a pot of cleanser and get people to buy it if they are mad enough!

I hardly think that reading scientific articles and and unbiased articles on what causes eye bags etc is "cribbing" - it's about informing yourself of the facts.

You might like to ponder why many eye ops are on men who have never used any creams on their eye lids or eye bags at all.

I really think you are confused. Are you honestly saying that creams used on the surface of the skin are penetrating deep into the layers of skin and causing the fat pockets that form eye bags?

Creams might make skin softer and add to a baggy look in certain people, but if we took your logic further, our faces would become one big fat blob as a result of all the creams that weused! Not to mention our bodies with all those gallons of body lotion!

AitchTwoToTangOh · 14/12/2009 23:32

hahahaahah at unbiased articles written by and about plastic surgery. how much did you say they were going to take you for, three grand?

all i've said is that by using creams right at that delicate area of the skin you're making the problem worse, not better. you might also ask yourself, seeing as you're being so snippity, why those steroid creams you use are at a lower dose nearer your eye if your magnificent eyelids are so impermeable.

mmmwine · 15/12/2009 02:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mmmwine · 15/12/2009 02:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

purplepeony · 15/12/2009 07:26

aitch- do some readng up- can't be bothered with trying to educate any more.

But just to save you some time- there is a big difference between the effect of a steroid cream on the surface of the skin and a cream penetrating and remaining in the deep layers of the skin.

spicemonster · 15/12/2009 08:01

Thanks mmmwine. I have some Nick Lowe cleanser which I like a lot so I might give that a whirl. I have loads and loads of Boots points to use up so I shall treat myself

OP posts:
purplepeony · 15/12/2009 08:06

This is not written by any cosmetic surgeon or cosmetic company.
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/dec/18/healthandwellbeing.health1

AitchTwoToTangOh · 15/12/2009 10:24

once again, purple, i am pmsl. it's a ringaround written by undistinguished freelance hackette lucy atkins... and you accuse me of needing educating.

AitchTwoToTangOh · 15/12/2009 11:09

actually, just in case no-one clicks on that link and mistakenly thinks you linked to something substantial, i've c&p'd it below...

btw, remember, i've not said anything about reducing eye bags, just making them worse.

and eye steroids are at a lower dose because quite apart from the thinness of the skin, when you blink etc the steroid transfers across onto the eye and can damage it. if you're asking me how i think that creams etc get under the skin, that's how. whenever i put anything too near my eyelids i start blinking and tears form immediately, and i can pull long ropes of gunge out from under my eyelid. it's no leap that some of that is being absorbed elsewhere via the same permeable membrane.

anyway, here's your the fruits of your eye bag research, i particularly enjoyed the potato therapy idea.

"Five ways to ... reduce under-eye bags

  • Buzz up!

  • Digg it

  • Lucy Atkins

  • The Guardian, Tuesday 18 December 2007

  • Article history

Eye bags are partly down to genes and worsen with age. They may also signal an allergy. Sadly, though, according to the British Association of Dermatologists, nothing has been scientifically proven to reduce them. We do know that they are often caused by fluid retention, and that dehydration might exacerbate this, so increasing your water intake could help. Other than that, you could try these popular but scientifically unproven treatments. If nothing else, they might cheer you up.

1 Yo-Tox. The hottest non-surgical "facelift" trend from Manhattan: "Sit cross-legged and place the first two fingers of each hand on either side of your nose about an inch down from the center of your eyes," instructs facial yoga expert Katrina Repka. "This is an ayurvedic energy point. Keep a light pressure, close your eyes, and turn your eyes upwards in your head to gaze at the third-eye point - between your eyebrows. Stay for 5-10 seconds and repeat as needed to help reduce puffiness and stimulate the drainage of fluid from the eye area."

2 Take a nap. Though no research backs up the sleep-eyebag link, psychological studies show that we feel worse about our appearance when sleep deprived. Loughborough University's Sleep Research Centre has established that a 15-minute nap is enough to fool the brain into thinking it has had a proper night's sleep.

3 Cool off. Jane Griffin, a facial mapping specialist at Neal's Yard Remedies, in London, says a cooling eye gel may help to shrink the blood vessels, reducing some of the puff.

4 Acupressure. The acupressure point for eyes is on the mound on your palm just below the index finger. Press it. Repeatedly.

5 Potato therapy. "Potatoes contain catecholase, used in some cosmetics as a skin lightener," says Charlotte Vohtz, founder of the natural cosmetics company Green People. "Rest half moons of potato on the eye bags for 20 minutes." At the very least, you'll get some rest before the next festive boozathon."

WilfSell · 15/12/2009 11:21

I thought all the moggles use haemorrhoid cream to reduce theirs. Though clean your finger after applying to said haemorrhoids before adding to eyes, obv.

TheFoosa · 15/12/2009 16:25

sorry but lol at spat about eye bags

hohoholepew · 15/12/2009 19:06

Can't you ladies just see eye to eye?
ba boom dish

[leaves]

TheFoosa · 15/12/2009 19:09

oh very good