Application of tape or glue to create double eyelid fold in Asians causes swelling and thickness of the eyelid skin

In our last post, we discussed why applying tape or glue on your eyelid causes not only skin stretching but also swelling of your eyelid skin.  In this blog, we will discuss why this happens.

Tape or glue simply holds the skin edges together to create a double eyelid crease, not a double eyelid fold.  A double eyelid crease is a line that is slightly depressed or indented,   whereas a double eyelid fold invaginates as the eyelid moves upward.  In a case where one is artificially putting the upper eyelid skin together, the layer of the eyelid skin below the crease is not dynamically moving. The excess skin and the soft tissue continue to hang and is not subjected to upward traction.  Therefore, the lymphatic fluid, which is the fluid that surrounds our tissue, stays pooled and makes the eyelid skin and surrounding soft tissue swollen.  Chronically over time, this has a cumulative effect and leads to eyelid swelling and thickening.  And as mentioned on the last blog, swollen or thick eyelid skin does not look as good as thinner eyelid skin.

A similar mechanism applies to Asian eyelids as they age.  The excess skin causes pooling of the lymphatic fluid and thus leads to chronic swelling.  The analogy is a person who sits in an airplane for a long time without moving.  The leg swells because the leg muscles are not moving.  Therefore, the lymphatic fluid pools in the leg and causes the legs and feet to swell.  A person riding an airplane will move his or her legs after landing, but the patient with excess eyelid skin is continuously subjected to this pooling force.  Therefore, it is always best to prevent excess skin hooding by having double eyelid surgery at an early age before the aging process sets in.

In our next blog, we will discuss why thinner eyelid skin looks better than thicker eyelid skin in creation of double eyelid folds in Asians.