Tear Trough Depression refers to the sunken area under one’s eyes. It starts from the inner corners and extends downwards in a curve away from the nose. In contrast, the neighbouring area is thus raised and hence casts a shadow onto the depressed area. This makes the tear trough depression more easily visible. It also gives the impression of dark eye circles. In the case of existing dark eye circles, tear trough depression could therefore make it appear even more pronounced.
As lack of adequate sleep is a major cause of dark eye circles, people with tear trough depression can feel self-conscious as it makes them look fatigued and much older than they are. Other than dark eye circles, this condition is also typically associated with the thinning and lax infraorbital skin, orbital fat prolapse and volume deficiency in the anteromedial cheek as well as bone resorption. This therefore makes tear trough depression a challenging condition to treat non-surgically. While makeup can be used to colour correct the tear trough depression area for a visual illusion of uniform skin tone and smoothness of skin, it can often be a tedious process and could result in a cakey made-up look.
The most effective method of treating this condition is by using dermal fillers.
As tear trough depression can be of varying severities, it is essential to seek consultation with an experienced doctor to find out which treatment works the best for you. Dr. Chew is well-known for his experience with fillers and uses the multi-layer technique (MLT) to treat this condition. He does it by using a soft dermal hyaluronic acid filler to fill the depression and create a uniformly smooth surface in the area.