You're not tired. Your eyelids might be.
If people keep asking whether you slept, and you did, the answer is probably above or below your eyes.
There's a particular Delhi greeting reserved for people over forty: "Arre, you look tired." You slept eight hours. You had coconut water. You're still being asked.
Often, the culprit is anatomy, not fatigue.
The three usual suspects
- Heavy upper lids. Extra skin folds over the lid crease, so the eye looks smaller and droopy. Sometimes it even sits on the lashes.
- Under-eye bags. Fat that used to be held back starts to bulge forward. Concealer can't flatten a shadow.
- Low brows. A brow that has dropped pushes skin down onto the lid. Fixing only the lid then misses the real cause.
Why diagnosis matters more than the procedure
People often ask for eyelid surgery when the brow is the issue, or for fillers when it's the lid. The procedure is the easy part. Working out which structure moved is the job.
Droopy eyes always mean eyelid surgery.
Sometimes it's the brow, sometimes the lid, sometimes both, sometimes a medical condition that needs checking first. The examination decides, not the mirror.
structures can make you look tired: lid, bag, brow. Treat the wrong one and you'll still be asked if you slept.
Eyelid surgery is precise, small-scale work, and the result should be quiet. People should notice you look fresher. They shouldn't be able to name why.
The best compliment is a confused one: 'Did you change your hair?'
A gentle note. This is general information, written to make you a better-informed patient, not a diagnosis. Every face and every airway is different. If something here sounds like you, see a qualified facial plastic surgeon in person before deciding anything.
You did sleep. Let's prove it.
Dr Shreya
Bring the question downstairs.
An unhurried first consultation, or a seat at the Wednesday Face Study. Answers first. Decisions later, or never.