How to look more energetic – it is all in the eyes

As a Consultant Ophthalmologist and specialist in treating the delicate area around the eyes, people often ask me how to look more energetic.  

Figuring out the answer to how to look more energetic comes down to realising how others make an assessment of us.

We often interpret people’s personality, and their inner being when we meet them, by the appearance of their eyes. If someone has big, kind, smiley eyes we are often attracted to them because they are welcoming and have an energy about them. When someone looks alive, their inner sparkle projects outwards.

Bright, sparkly, wide-awake looking eyes can:

• make you look more energetic,
• radiate a message of spark, life, and interest,
• give off a feeling of rest and readiness for the challenges ahead, and
• send a message of dynamism to those around us.

In contrast, when you have sagging or droopy eyelids, you can wind up looking:

• tired,
• bored,
• disinterested,
• unengaged,
• sluggish, or
• lacking in energy.

A lot of people come to me wanting to look more energetic in order to match how they feel inside. Perhaps you are feeling the same way. If you were in front of me, I would ask you to take a look at your eyes now in the mirror and then compare them to multiple photographs of yourself (over a period of several years) to see how your eyes may have changed.

As we get older many of us have subtle changes to our eyes and eyelids. It is only by looking back at photos from when we were a teenager, or in our 20s and 30s, that we can notice our eyes looking a little duller by comparison in our 50s and 60s. This change can have the unintended effect of projecting a subtle change in personality and possibly a lack of inner energy.

When comparing their current eyelids to their younger eyelids, these are some common things people notice :

• eyelashes are drooping downwards and the upper eyelid skin is a little lax. The skin between the lashes and the eyelid-skin-crease is a little higher and there is a small dip just above the skin crease. This can make us look lacklustre and lacking in energy.
• the contour of the upper eyelid can look a little flat, as well as having a little bit of a droopy lash (lash ptosis) and a higher or greater amount of upper lid skin showing. This can also make us look sleepy, disinterested and lacking in energy.
• they start raising their eyebrows as a very subtle compensatory mechanism for slight drooping eyelids. This will often give us a more tired, more aged look.

Many patients seek almond-shaped, wider, open eyes with a shorter skin crease and repositioning of their eyebrows back down to a normal position. The eyebrows do not have to be operated on surgically. Eyebrows will just naturally shift down to a more normal position when the eyelids are opened up, because there is no longer any need for this compensatory mechanism of raising the eyebrows constantly.

After treatment, you look more energetic. The overall appearance of the periorbital region (the area around the eyes) is of somebody with welcoming, bright, sparkly eyes. This is due to the following changes that treatment provides:  

• You can now see much more of the eye including the iris and pupil.
• The shape of the upper eyelid is more almond.
• The lashes are turning outwards or upwards to display their full length and glory.
• The upper eyelid skin is discreet, but sufficient to be able to put on makeup if you are a woman.
• The reduction of excess eyelid skin allows both men and women to not appear to have hooded or covered eyes, which gives an immediate feeling of more presence.

There’s a reason why cosmetic eyelid surgery is one of the UK’s most popular cosmetic procedures. Studies have shown that patients look more energetic, and are also rated as being more attractive and youthful after the procedure. Our eyes truly are one of our most powerful forms of communication, and by investigating treatments to help with drooping eyelids, you can make a subtle yet impactful change in how you are perceived both physically and energetically.