How to Get Rid of Under Eye Wrinkles

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The skin under the eye is the thinnest on the face — about 0.5mm thick, compared to around 2mm on the cheek. It sits over one of the most active muscles in the body (the orbicularis oculi), has minimal subcutaneous fat to cushion it, and is exposed to constant UV from above. The combination means under-eye wrinkles often appear earlier than wrinkles elsewhere, and they’re trickier to treat well.

This guide covers the three different types of under-eye wrinkles, why they need different treatments, and the realistic options at each stage — from skincare through to surgical blepharoplasty.

The three types of under-eye wrinkles

Treatment depends on which type you have. Most patients have a combination.

The crinkles that appear when you smile, squint, or laugh — and disappear when your face is at rest. These are caused by the lateral fibres of the orbicularis oculi muscle contracting and folding the overlying skin. They’re the earliest stage of under-eye line formation, often in patients in their late 20s or early 30s.

work very well on dynamic wrinkles they directly address the cause — muscle activity. The lines visible during smiling extend beyond the strict tear trough area into what’s typically called ; the two conditions are anatomically continuous.

The lines that remain visible at rest, even when the muscle isn’t contracting. These develop from years of skin folding in the same pattern, plus UV damage, smoking, and the natural decline of dermal collagen and elastin from the mid-thirties onward. They look like fine etched lines in the skin and don’t smooth out when you stop expressing.

Anti-wrinkle injections alone don’t fully address static wrinkles — by this stage, the skin itself needs treatment. Energy-based options like laser or stimulate new collagen formation and improve the skin’s structural quality. Combination of AWI plus energy-based treatment usually produces the best result.

The most advanced stage — visible skin redundancy, a “crepey” texture, or excess upper or lower lid skin that hangs into the eye area. At this point the underlying issue is structural rather than just surface-level, and non-surgical treatment can only do so much.

This is the stage at which surgical becomes the appropriate intervention. Continuing to chase the appearance with injectables and lasers when the underlying problem is excess skin produces increasingly unnatural results and rarely satisfies patients.

For a fuller picture of how skin ageing progresses across stages, see our guide on .

What makes under-eye wrinkles worse

UV exposure is the largest modifiable factor by a wide margin. The under-eye area takes significant UV without much natural protection — no eyelash overhang, no hair, no shadow from prominent bone structure for most people.

Smoking directly degrades collagen and produces compensatory squinting from smoke irritation, doubling the contribution.

Dehydration makes existing lines look deeper because plumped, well-hydrated skin reflects light evenly and minor surface texture.

Chronic eye strain from uncorrected vision, screen use, or dry eye causes squinting that mechanically etches lines.

Sleep position — patients who consistently sleep on one side often develop asymmetric under-eye wrinkles on the side that presses into the pillow.

Repetitive expressive movement. Genuine emotion-driven facial movement doesn’t create permanent wrinkles in isolation, but consistent expressivity contributes over time.

Genetics set the baseline — skin thickness, fat compartment volume, and how rapidly collagen declines with age are partly inherited.

The distinction between wrinkles and the tear trough

Patients often blur two separate concerns: under-eye wrinkles (lines on the skin) and the tear trough (the hollow that develops below the eye as the underlying fat pad descends or the cheek loses volume).

These need different treatments. benefit from muscle relaxation and skin-quality work. The tear trough needs volume — typically with a soft hyaluronic acid filler placed carefully onto the bony orbital rim. Getting these confused leads to mistreatment.

For full coverage of the tear trough specifically, see our guides on and .

Treatment options — by stage

Skincare doesn’t reverse under-eye wrinkles but slows their formation. Three categories have the most evidence:

Daily broad-spectrum SPF applied around the eye area each morning is the single highest-impact intervention. Wraparound sunglasses for outdoor time reduce both UV and the compensatory .

Topical retinoids in low concentration build dermal collagen over time. Use a formulation specifically for the eye area, start with the lowest concentration, and build tolerance over months.

Vitamin C serum provides antioxidant protection and supports collagen synthesis.

A good moisturiser improves the immediate appearance of fine lines by hydrating the surface. Treatment of any underlying dry eye condition reduces compensatory squinting.

We don’t recommend home remedies (almond oil masks, egg white masks, coconut oil applications) as primary treatment. The evidence for them is weak, and the under-eye area is sensitive enough that experimentation with ingredients carries small but real risk.

For dynamic lines — the wrinkles that appear when you smile or squint — small doses of botulinum toxin into the lateral orbicularis oculi produce reliable improvement. The dose used is small (typically 4 to 6 units per side) and the injection points are carefully chosen to avoid affecting the lower lid muscle or producing a bunched appearance below the eye.

Results appear at days 3 to 5 and reach full effect at 14 days. every 3 to 4 months keeps the effect.

For more detail, see our .

For static lines and skin quality concerns, two treatments are particularly useful for the under-eye area:

SmoothEye uses the Fotona Er:YAG laser in its non-ablative SMOOTH mode. Long-pulse energy heats the dermis and stimulates collagen with no . The treatment is designed for the area. Most patients need 3 to 4 sessions spaced 4 weeks apart.

Morpheus8 combines microneedling with radiofrequency energy. It reaches deeper into the dermis and produces stronger tightening, but requires 4 to 7 days of recovery (pinkness, tiny scabs). Particularly useful for crepey under-eye skin.

Combining the two in a layered protocol can produce more comprehensive results than either alone, with treatments typically spaced 2 to 3 weeks apart.

isn’t a first-line treatment for under-eye wrinkles themselves — the skin is too thin for filler to hide well, and the lines are caused by muscle activity and skin quality rather than volume loss.

However, filler placed in the or can improve the visual prominence of under-eye wrinkles indirectly by restoring volume and reducing shadowing. For patients whose complaint is “tired-looking eyes” rather than visible lines per se, this approach often produces what they actually wanted.

Once excess skin or significant laxity is present, no amount of injection or laser will close the gap. The structural problem at that point is too much skin or tissue, and the surgical options become decisively more effective.

removes excess lower lid skin and addresses herniated orbital fat (eye bags). The procedure takes 1.5 to 2 hours and most patients need about a week off social activities. It dramatically refreshes the eye area when the underlying issue is true laxity.

is the equivalent for the upper lid — often combined with lower lid surgery in patients with concerns across both.

tightens and reshapes the outer corner of the eye when lid laxity is significant.

repositions a descended brow. When the brow has dropped, lateral wrinkles deepen geometrically. Lifting the brow back to a youthful position improves the upper part of the orbital area significantly.

restores volume to the cheek, temple, and lid-cheek junction. Often combined with blepharoplasty for the most complete result.

How to decide which treatment fits

Dynamic lines only: anti-wrinkle injections, daily SPF, and good . Start light.

Faint static lines visible at rest: AWI plus energy-based (SmoothEye and/or Morpheus8). Add tear trough filler if there’s also volume loss producing shadowing.

static lines with skin texture changes: energy-based treatment is more important than injections at this stage. Layered SmoothEye + Morpheus8, with AWI as an adjunct.

Visible skin laxity or excess skin: surgical assessment. Continuing non-surgical work at this stage produces diminishing returns and increasingly results. The honest answer is that will deliver what injectables can’t.

A consultation with our specialist team — including — establishes which category you fit and what the right next step is.

Cost

Anti-wrinkle injection for the under-eye/crow’s feet area alone typically starts from around £200, with multi-area combinations more cost-effective. Energy-based treatments are priced per session, with most patients booking a course of 3 to 4. Surgical options vary . , including 0% APR, are available.

Common questions

Hydration, sleep, allergies, salt intake, and crying or screen-use the previous day all affect how prominent the lines look on any given day. The structural lines are stable — but how they read in different lighting and skin states varies.

No — some degree of line formation is inevitable as the orbicularis oculi muscle does its normal work over decades. What you can do is slow the process substantially with daily SPF, sunglasses, not smoking, treating dry eye, and interventions when dynamic lines first start staying visible at rest.

The new collagen formed in response to energy-based treatment is permanent, but the same factors that produced the original wrinkles continue to operate. Most patients return for maintenance sessions every 12 to 24 months, depending on their lifestyle and how active the underlying muscle is.

They’re different problems. If your main concern is visible skin lines, focus on wrinkle treatment (AWI + skin work). If your main is shadowing, hollowness, or a tired look that’s not about lines per se, tear trough filler is probably the right point. Patients with both often benefit from combined treatment, sequenced carefully.

Daily SPF, sunglasses, sleep, hydration, and stopping smoking matter more than any of the kitchen-ingredient that appear in beauty content. Time and money spent on the basic preventative measures produce better outcomes than time and money spent on experimental DIY masks.

Centre for Surgery · CQC-regulated · GMC specialist-registered surgeons · · · ·

Medically reviewed by , GMC .

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