Eight weeks ago, I looked in the mirror, horrified at the eye bags looking back at me.
Am I being dramatic? Perhaps, but I have before and afters for you – so you can decide for yourself!
I panicked.
What will I do? How will I address this?
I’m a problem solver and I can’t leave things be. Usually I’d frantically call my esthetician for a microneedling appointment (Stat!) – in fact, we’d never let it get this bad. But…pandemic.
So I dug through my tech gadget graveyard and pulled out my Tria SmoothBeauty™ Eye Wrinkle Laser [affiliate link]. I’ve owned this product for a few years but not made much use of it.
Why not, you ask? Oh…I’ll tell you! Read on…
The recommended course of treatment per their website is an 8 week cycle with a 4 week break.
What do I have if not an abundance of time on my hands?!
The area I struggle with the most is under my eyes and my saggy hooded eyelids. No doubt I should have worn more sunscreen, I should have worn sunglasses to reduce the squint, I shouldn’t rub my allergy stricken eyes and I should be far more gentle. If only I could talk to my younger self.
But here we are.
My head knows that lots of rest, depuffing, hydration, sun protection, collagen building, etc all play a part in keeping this part of our face looking as youth-filled as we feel. The very best treatment I’ve found for these parts is regular microneedling. But that, along with my healthy skincare routine, have fallen off during the pandemic.
Yup – today I blame everything on the pandemic!
Usage Journal
Day 1
I remember why I hate this thing. (read: why I don’t use it frequently!)
It hurts!
It’s such a delicate area and it’s so messed up right now, it’s hard to “glide”. But I did it. I was red and puffy after – an hour later the redness is gone and the puffiness is decreasing – but I think it will help. Time to google how to make it hurt less…
Day 2
I don’t know if it was because I knew what to expect but it wasn’t as bad day two. Not great – but I definitely saw an immediate improvement in how it looked because it was a bit swollen
Day 3
Okay – it hurts. But the change is undeniable. So I’ll keep with it.
Day 4
When I woke up I could see that the skin was starting to change…
Day 5
Today the skin was peeling on my entire face – not bad but a single layer of skin everywhere. I considered NOT doing a treatment but remembered my friend who had laser treatment and was hidden away for a week. Lasers work in part because they cause controlled damage to stimulate healing and collagen production. It makes sense in my mind that the dead layer of top skin needs to slough off. I’m hesitantly staying the course.
Day 6
When I woke up I could see the fresh pink skin peeking through so I think I did the right thing. Definitely give your skin the full 24 hours to repair before you treat again. The new skin looks better. I’m guessing that the eight week regime does this cycle several times to get to the visible improvement for sagginess.
Day 7 – 13
Same old, same old. Still hurts, still gets red. Peeling has calmed down.
Day 14
I started peeling badly during the day and though sheets of my skin was sloughing off, it wasn’t quite done. I almost skipped a treatment but decided to stay the course. I did skip the tretnoin (retinol) until tomorrow night.
Day 15
Skipped the treatment. My under eyes were sore so I decided a skip day wouldn’t be bad.
Day 16 – 31
It’s rinse and repeat at this point. I found that a thin layer of light eye cream prior to the laser helps the glide. I try to find one that’s not thick so it doesn’t impact the laser penetration. It feels like it makes it a little less effective, but it’s far more comfortable so I’ll take the trade off.
Day 32
I feel like the area under my eye (and my eyes in general) look better so I did an impromptu before and after compare.
The pictures don’t support my feeling of improvement. They look largely the same. Fingers crossed that another 14 days will make a difference.
Day 33 – 56
I’ve been feeling a bit demoralized by my day 32 quick comparison but now I’ve gone the entire eight weeks. I am braced for me before and after comparison.
The Comparison
These unscientific before and after were taken in my bathroom with artificial lighting. No makeup, only moisturizers. Same moisturizer and same phone. No modifications to the photos at all. The difference in brightness is just what my iPhone decided to adjust. I’ve attempted to repeat my expression as well.
Before 
After
The part that bothered me the most was under my eye on the left side of the photo (right side of my face). Looking at these here, I can see a visible reduction in the wrinkly, puffy, crepiness of the under eye area. The biggest part I notice is how open my eyes look. My guess is that working on my crow’s feet (which have never been bad) has plumped up the skin around the eye. I can also see a little softening in the nasolabial folds around my nose. I think as the cheek puffs a little, it’s pulling it a little tighter. It’s never been a part of my face that bothered me but I’ll take improvement wherever I can get it.
So bottom line do I think it made a difference?
I’ll go with a qualified – Yes!
With a price tag around $250, it’s less expensive than in-office treatments. I don’t think it’s nearly as effective but with time, effort and consistency I think you can get noticeable results. If you’re intrigued by the Tria SmoothBeauty™ Eye Wrinkle Laser [affiliate link] take the time to read the reviews – they bounce between glowing and angry so it’s safe to say that it’s a polarizing product. (Tria also has a full face SmoothBeauty™ Laser that I have NOT tried but depending on what you need treated, it could be worth a try for you.)
Will I Keep Using It?
Until I’m comfortable returning to in-person treatments, I think there is enough value to the Tria SmoothBeauty™ Eye Wrinkle Laser that I’ll pick it back up in four weeks if I need it. For me, this is a decent maintenance option until I go back to my monthly microneedling appointments. I still firmly believe that in-office microneedling provides faster and better results – but it is a different cost structure, different maintenance, AND it requires being onsite with someone.
What do you think? Are you intrigued enough to try? Do you want me to test out the larger face laser?
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. Some of these links are affiliate links. If you click a link and buy something, I may receive a commission for the sale. It does not cost you anything extra and you are free to use the link or not. Product purchases for review are made with my own money and my opinions are my own. If product is ever provided or the article is sponsored, it will be clearly noted at the top of the page.
