Following the Covid-19 pandemic, and the subsequent ‘Zoom Boom,’ Hagen Schumacher, a leading Consultant Plastic Surgeon operating on Harley Street and Adore Lifein Cambridge has seen a sharp increase in men seeking surgical procedures, more specifically eyelid surgeries.
Speaking exclusively to the Harley Street Journal, Hagen explains that the sharp rise in blepharoplasty procedures, and other cosmetic work is not only due to people being more focused on their appearance thanks to the lockdown, but also because plastic surgery is now so widely accepted.
“I have been in the industry for over 20 years now, and the attitude shift towards cosmetic procedures is phenomenal, particularly with men. In the past, it was not as widely accepted for men to go under the knife. In fact, being a male was usually considered a red flag. They were often seen as difficult patients because there was a degree of uncertainty around their motivations.
In recent years, there has been a real shift, and it is now a lot more socially accepted for men to seek cosmetic improvements, not just women. As a result, I have personally seen a large spike in men seeking cosmetic treatments, particularly following the pandemic. Interestingly, the surgery I am seeing more enquiries for among males is the blepharoplasty.
In recent years, the blepharoplasty has become one of the most popular procedures for men, second only to the Rhinoplasty.
Blepharoplasty is an eyelid procedure that removes excess skin, muscle, and fat from the upper and lower eyelids. Typically, this procedure is used to lift, and tighten the delicate eye area, but it can be used to address several concerns including hooded eyelids and even puffiness which are often linked to the natural ageing process.
As we age, natural collagen production within the skin decreases, and the skin and deeper tissues in theeyelids stretch. As a result, excess fat may gather above and beneath your eyelids causing droopy upper lids, and bags under the eyes.”
Besides making you appear older, severely sagging skin around your eyes can severely impact and reduce your peripheral vision, particularly within the upper and outer regions. It can also cause irritation to the eyes, including watering, tiredness, and achiness.
“As the skin around the eyes begins to droop, it can cause you to experience some unpleasant side effects, including headaches. The droopy skin around the eyelid may cause you to hold your eyelids open as much as possible to carry out simple daily tasks, like driving.
That extra effort engages your forehead muscles to lift the brows, and eventually that extra muscle contraction causes a headache. You may also find that your eyes become somewhat drier as you get older, causing you to rub them more which causes irritation. Eventually, the discomfort will increase the desire to simply close the eyes. The brows drop as well causing the hooded skin to interfere with the visual axis.
Another common cause of irritation with severely hooded eyes is the shedding of skin cells. If the folding skin touches the eyelash, the skin cells shed throughout the day can rest on the root of the eyelash and sometimes fall into the eye, causing the eyes to itch, become irritated, red, and watery.
All of this can be extremely uncomfortable, and unfortunately really impact daily life. Even simple things such as watching television, exercising, driving, and looking at computer screens can be incredibly uncomfortable.
Like many surgeries, there is no one size fits all, and everybody’s individual circumstances are different. When patients come to me enquiring about eyelid surgery, I will assess the individuals face to identify where the problems stem from so I can recommend a solution that would work for them.
The Blepharoplasty is usually performed under anaesthetic. The scars are usually hidden either within the upper lid crease, or inside the lower eyelid so they are almost completely invisible once healed.” Says Hagen.
“Almost immediately after the surgery patients can expect some level of bruising and swelling around the area. This usually starts to go down after about two weeks, though subtle swelling may be present for several weeks.”
Now, as popular as the Blepharoplasty procedure may be, there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the surgery.
Hagen says: “One of the common misconceptions about the Blepharoplasty is that you must be of a certain age to have it. This is not the case at all. Excess fat, particularly on the lower eyelid can affect anybody at any age, and providing the patient is physically well enough to undergo the procedure, it can be performed at any stage of life.
As far as the upper lid is concerned, many patients with excess skin and fat in this area usually have a degree of drooping on the eyebrow as well. Therefore, sometimes we would combine a blepharoplasty of the upper eyelid and a brow lift.
Sometimes, patients have ptosis of one of the lids, which is when the muscle opens, and the upper lids become weak. If this is the case, a blepharoplasty and ptosis surgery can be performed simultaneously.
It is important to add that whilst the Blepharoplasty is a common procedure, it is one of the more detailed procedures, and one of the most complex anatomies of the face and like all surgeries it does come with a risk of complication.
When seeking any cosmetic procedures, you should always look for a reputable, trained, and qualified professional that you can trust.”
Unfortunately, as we age like many things on the body, the eyes change and may start to present problems. The pandemic has brought a lot of things into razor sharp focus for many of us, and so now, more than ever we are invested in ourselves, and wellbeing meaning cosmetic surgery is only increasing in popularity.