There is an old saying, “don’t look like what you’ve been through.” Hitting a milestone birthday, the loss of my husband of 40 years, and life that keeps life-ing all mean that I have been through a lot. At 60-plus, even with good under-eye concealer—and Photoshop for pictures—I was looking every bit of it.
I’d spent the last few years putting out fires and hadn’t spent much time taking a good, hard look at what my face was telling me. My particular brand of Black didn’t crack, but it did sag and bag—especially under my eyes. I was pretty sure no cream or serum was going to give me a tight, fresh look without some real intervention.
I set up a consultation with Charles Boyd, MD, a Detroit-area, triple board-certified plastic surgeon who treats patients of all ethnicities and has a great track record of working with Black skin. I wanted to know what the non-surgical options were, because I knew I didn’t want to do lower eye blepharoplasty surgery (a.k.a “bleph” surgery—basically a procedure where a surgeon removes or repositions under-eye fat and sometimes trims skin to reduce under-eye bags). I also didn’t want to do too much. I wanted a natural look, and I told him that was the most important thing to me.
Minimally invasive options such as Botox for wrinkles and injectable fillers that specifically address bagging and sagging can be great temporary options for people like me. According to the Cleveland Clinic, between 3 million and 5 million of these procedures are performed each year. But they’re temporary, lasting anywhere from six months to two years. And they can be the gateway to more aggressive procedures such as facelifts and surgical sculpting. The last thing I wanted was to look like an overdone Black Barbie.
Dr. Boyd and I discussed my goals and what he could do to help. I also asked what could be done about the laugh lines (nasolabial folds) that had developed around my mouth. Dr. Boyd recommended Juvederm, an injectable gel—one of several options for people who want to explore fillers. In addition to my eyes, he recommended an injection near my upper cheekbones to lift and improve the appearance of those pesky laugh lines. But the idea of anybody coming close to my face—and my eyes—was a little frightening. Still, my need to see change led me to agree to have the work done.
It was much better than I expected. I had two visits, with the second two weeks after the first. That week in between gave my face time to settle before the next round. Each session took about 15 minutes, including the time for the numbing cream to take effect. There was no downtime. I had no injection pain and no scarring after. I paid $1,000 for each set of injections, and they’ve lasted two years.
