PUFFY BAGS UNDER EYES AFTER BOTOX - MY EXPERIENCE

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That's certainly not my most flattering picture, but since the malar bags (puffy under eyes) I got after my last Botox injection have mostly gone away, I needed to tilt my head to let you see them. This is NOTHING like how they looked a few weeks ago, but I couldn't bear to take a picture at that point, being too worried that I'd forever disfigured my face after getting Botox injections in a site on my face I never had before. (read more)

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MALAR BAGS FROM BOTOX
A VIDEO

Botox under eyes gone wrong:

​I'm going to tell you my story, then I'm going to talk about the multitude of things I read on the internet while searching to see if anyone else had experienced the same issue. Of course they had, this is a super common problem, but a lot of what I read on places like Real Self was doctor's denying that it could happen, or, if they said it could happen, a lot of denying that it could last more than a few months. 

I firmly believe that not only was Botox the cause of my malar bags, but that on some people it can stick around a lot longer than a few months. So if you're having this issue and it's been awhile since your last injection, I highly recommend going to talk to different doctors until you have one that will listen to you.

If you'd like to hear me go over this on a video, here you go.

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PUFFY UNDER EYES AFTER BOTOX
WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?

I'm going to get a little scientific here, but please remember that I am not a doctor. This is only based on my experience and the things I read while trying to figure out what in the heck was happening to my face.

Basically, you have lymph glands under your eyes (I've included a picture below), and when you get Botox or other paralyzing injectables under your eyes (or in places where the Botox might drain under your eyes) you can and will paralyze the muscles that work to push the lymph away. 

When these muscles get paralyzed, they stop moving, and the lymph that was otherwise being squished on to other places is now just sitting, pooling behind the thinnest skin on your body. Once enough lymph builds up, you get an unsightly bulge, and that's called a malar bag. This happens fast, just a few hours in my case, worse in the mornings, and even worse as the day progressed.

Now, this is just one reason you might get puffy under eyes from Botox injections. The other thing that might be happening is that your now lax under eye muscles have allowed any fat padding behind the muscle to pop through, meaning the bag you're seeing isn't lymph, but fat.

I'm not sure how you'd tell the difference between the two, but I would think a general idea might be whether or not your bags get better (or worse) during the day or in the morning, or if the bulge tends to stay the same throughout the day.

Here's that picture, so you can see how your body drains the lymph, and why it might not be happening once you paralyze the muscles.

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PUFFY UNDER EYES AFTER BOTOX
​HOW TO FIX IT

Can Botox cause malar bags? Can Botox cause eye bags? Can Botox cause malar festoons? Can Botox cause bags under eyes?

Whatever you searched for to get here, whatever you want to call them, the answer is sadly, yes. Also sadly, I haven't been able to find anything that promises to fix puffy under eyes after Botox, though a few replies on Real Self seem to think that it can be helped. 

For those of you who have bags under eyes after Botox for crows feet (or whatever), I feel your pain, and I get that you want it to go away, but I'm going to issue a word of caution. For me, I chose not to correct it with more injectables, feeling that any correction would have unknown consequences once my muscles started working again and that lymph began to flush as intended.

If you choose to chase this problem with further correction, my concern would be that anything you did would not have the end result you want long term. For example, if you choose to add filler to diminish the malar bag, what will that filler look like once your Botox has worn off, but your filler is still going strong? 

I didn't feel like the risk was worth the reward, so I let it be as far as seeking out any treatment. However, I did read a few things that might help diminish the appearance while you wait for your Botox to wear off.

1. Drink lots of water. If you're retaining water because of a high salt or high alcohol diet, staying hydrated can help. I noticed this on myself one day after eating most of a bag of Doritos. It was a lot of salt and the next day my bags were terrible. I made sure to drink a lot of water and that really helped.

2. Cut down on the salt. 

3. Cut down on the alcohol.

Anything that can make you feel puffy and bloated is not something you need in your life right now.

4. Try sleeping in an elevated position. I noticed that my bags were always worse on the side I sleep on. Being a left side sleeper it meant the left side of my face had a much larger bag than the right side. An elevated pillow can help, if you're able to sleep on your back at night.  I already had one on hand from when I had surgery on my arm, so that was an easy fix.

5. Ice packs. Anything you'd use to help un-puff (I made that up) your face in the morning will be a good thing right now. If you have a gel pack to cool your eyes, a bag of peas, etc. that might take some of the swelling down.

6. Antihistamines. This is something I read on the boards I was looking at. Some of the women thought perhaps their under eye bags were worse because it was allergy season, so they kept up with their antihistamines and noticed diminished swelling. I'm not advocating taking an antihistamine if you don't already take them for allergies, just don't forget them if they're a part of your normal routine.

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BOTOX CAUSED UNDER EYE BAGS
HOW LONG WILL THEY LAST?

Everything I read said that under eye bags after Botox will typically resolve themselves as the Botox wears off. So, if what you're seeing is lymph and not fat, that should start to gradually diminish as your muscles are able to start contracting again. 

If the reason for your bags is that the fat pad has poked through the lax muscle wall, I would think that would resolve as well when your muscles get their ability to move again. 

However, some women have reported their under eye bags worse after Botox and that this didn't go away. Some of the posts go back years with the women stating that the bags are still there, where they either had not been before, or had not been as bad before. 

I would think, in most cases, the bags will go away once the Botox loses its ability to work. Once that happens, the lymph will begin to flush again, and (hopefully) if you're dealing with protruding fat, the muscles will once again close over it.

That said, I think that the women who have long lasting issues with this are the women who have the fat protrude and it doesn't go back, for whatever reason. But, that is my totally non medical opinion.

I go for Botox about twice a year, so I was ready to wait six months to see things get back to normal. Thankfully they got back to normal (mostly) after about two months, and I hope they continue on that path. 

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PUFFINESS UNDER EYES AFTER BOTOX
​FINAL THOUGHTS

The main thing I'm taking away from this event is that I will no longer be getting Botox under my eyes. I'll continue to get it on my forehead, crow's feet above my lower lid, between my brows, etc, but anything under the eyes, from here on out, is a no go. 

For me it's just too much of a risk. That skin is very thin, it's very likely to show any imperfections, and even though we're told Botox will wear off at a certain pace, you can't quite be sure what the side effects will be while it's at its strongest. 

Since this is not the first issue I've had under my eyes (I did get filler once, and it's still there, though it's been almost 4 years and everyone says it can't possibly last that long), I know that I'm susceptible, so I'd rather stay away from it altogether. 

If you are a person who wants to continue getting Botox under your eyes, but you have had a problem with the bags, speak to your injector. Let him or her know what the issue is, see if there's something they can do like possibly injecting less, or injecting further away from the lymph nodes, etc.

I hope this has helped, and by all means, if you have any questions, let me know. I'm always happy to help if I can.

Ty

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