Polynucleotides, and what they do for tired eyes

The skin under the eyes is the thinnest on the face and it is the first place a hard year shows. It is also the hardest area to treat well, because most of what works elsewhere is too much for it. Polynucleotides are the exception, and they have become the thing I reach for most often around the eyes.

What they actually are

Purified DNA fragments, usually from salmon, which sounds alarming and isn't. They don't fill anything and they don't freeze anything. What they do is talk to your own cells and prompt them to behave better: more collagen, better hydration, less of the low grade inflammation that makes thin skin look grey and crepey.

So it isn't a filler and it isn't a muscle relaxant. If your concern is a hollow, that's a different conversation and I'll tell you so.

Who they suit

Crepey, papery skin under the eye. Dark circles where the darkness is really the blood vessels showing through skin that has got too thin. That permanently tired look people describe as "I look like I haven't slept" when they have slept perfectly well.

They also work beautifully on the rest of the face, the neck and the backs of the hands, but the eyes are where clients notice the difference most.

What happens on the day

Small injections in the treatment area, done slowly. It's a fine needle and the area is sensitive, so I take my time and I check in with you as I go. You'll have small bumps for an hour or two and you may bruise, which is worth knowing if you have something on that week.

Most people need a course of three, spaced two to four weeks apart. After that it's usually a top up every six months or so.

When you'll see it

Slowly, and that's the point. Nothing changes overnight because nothing is being added, your own skin is being asked to do the work. Most clients tell me around week three that their concealer is sitting better, and by the end of the course the texture has changed.

Come and ask

A skin consultation with me is thirty pounds and it comes off your treatment. We'll look at your skin properly, and if polynucleotides aren't the right answer for what's bothering you, I'll say so.