Tear Trough Filler in Reigate, Surrey
Every treatment carried out by Dr Haroon Ashraf, a GMC-registered doctor who injects full time.
Book a ConsultationWho tear trough filler suits, and who it doesn't
Tear trough filler is the treatment people ask about most tentatively, and with good reason. The under-eye is the least forgiving area on the face to treat, and the one most often treated badly. It is also the treatment with the strictest assessment in this clinic: a fair proportion of the people who ask for it are advised to have something else, or nothing.
When it is the right treatment for the right person, the change is disproportionate to the tiny volume used. When it is the wrong treatment, no amount of skill makes it a good one.
Tear trough filler tends to suit you if- There is a hollow or groove between the lower eyelid and the cheek that makes you look tired regardless of how much you have slept
- The skin under your eyes is thin and has lost the support beneath it, or has always been that way because of your bone structure
- The darkness under your eyes is the shadow cast by a hollow, rather than pigment in the skin
- The hollow is there in your twenties or thirties and has nothing to do with age
- You have puffiness or bags under the eyes — filler adds volume, it does not reduce it, and it will make bags look worse
- The darkness is pigment in the skin, or visible vessels, rather than shadow — filler does not treat either
- There is significant loose skin under the eyes
- You are prone to swelling or fluid under the eyes, which filler can make worse
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding, have an active infection in the area, or are under 18
Some people are better served by not having treatment at all, and we would rather tell you that than take the booking. That is true everywhere on the face, and truest here.
How Dr Haroon Ashraf approaches tear trough filler
Assessment
The assessment decides whether you are a candidate before it decides what to do. We look at the under-eye in good light and from several angles, at the thickness and quality of the skin, at whether the hollow is a true trough or the edge of a bag, at how the cheek below supports it, and at what happens to the whole area when you smile.
In a good proportion of people, treating the cheek first, or instead, gives a better and safer result than treating the trough directly. Where the concern is pigment, fine lines or crepey skin rather than a hollow, filler is the wrong tool, and skin boosters may be the more useful conversation.
Product and Placement
A soft hyaluronic acid filler made for the under-eye, chosen because it draws in less water than the products used elsewhere on the face, placed deep and in very small amounts. The skin here is the thinnest on the face, which is why the wrong product, or the right product placed too superficially, shows as a bluish tint or a puffy ridge.
Less is more here in a way that is literally true. A tear trough rarely needs more than half a millilitre a side, and often less. We would rather under-treat and add a little at your review than place more than the area can hide.
Comfort
Topical anaesthetic is applied first, and the filler itself contains lidocaine. The area is delicate, and the technique — where and how the filler is placed — is chosen to give the best result while keeping trauma, and any discomfort, to a minimum. Most people describe pressure and an odd sensation rather than pain.
Bruising is more likely under the eye than elsewhere because the skin is so thin. If you take blood-thinning medication, tell us, and we will plan around it.
What the appointment looks like
Before You Arrive
You will be sent a medical questionnaire and consent form to complete beforehand, so the time in clinic is spent on you rather than on paperwork. Come without eye make-up if you can.
Ideally, avoid alcohol for 24 hours before your appointment. If you take any blood-thinning medication, let Dr Ashraf know — continue taking it as prescribed; it simply means bruising is a little more likely and we plan around it.
On the Day
Plan for around 45 minutes to an hour. Consultation and assessment come first, then topical anaesthetic, then the treatment itself, which takes around ten to fifteen minutes. If the assessment shows you are not a good candidate, we will say so and there is no charge.
We photograph before and after at every appointment. Those photographs are yours, they form part of your clinical record, and they are only ever used elsewhere with your separate written permission.
Afterwards
Expect swelling under the eyes for a few days, which can look uneven from one side to the other at first. Bruising is more common here than elsewhere. Avoid rubbing the area for the first 48 hours. The result settles over two weeks.
You will have written aftercare before you leave, and Dr Ashraf's direct contact details if anything concerns you. We review at two weeks, included rather than charged for.
Tear trough filler before and after
Every photograph below is of a patient treated by Dr Ashraf, shown with their written permission. Unretouched and unfiltered; where a patient has asked for it, their eyes are covered for privacy. Results are individual and yours will differ.
Tear trough filler cost in Reigate
The price is per one-millilitre syringe, which is almost always enough for both sides. Consultation, the treatment itself and your two-week review are all included; there is no separate consultation fee and no charge for the review.
Where we think the cheek should be treated first or alongside, we will say so at the assessment and give you a single price before anything is placed. Full pricing for every treatment is on our pricing page.
Risks, and how we reduce them
Tear trough filler is a medical procedure and it carries medical risk. It carries more of it than most filler treatments, and any clinic that tells you otherwise is not one to be treated at.
Swelling and bruising for a few days to a week. Slight unevenness between the two sides while it settles. A little tenderness.
Persistent swelling or puffiness under the eye. A visible bluish tint through the skin, known as the Tyndall effect — an extremely rare but known side effect, avoided by placing the filler in the right layer. Lumpiness or a visible ridge. Asymmetry. All are correctable, most of them by dissolving.
Vascular occlusion — filler entering or compressing a blood vessel. It is the complication that matters with any filler, and the under-eye is an area where technique and a thorough knowledge of the anatomy matter more than anywhere. Done appropriately, tear trough filler is a safe and predictable treatment. Infection and delayed-onset nodules are also rare but possible.
Which is exactly why who treats you matters. Dr Ashraf is a GMC-registered doctor, trained to recognise a vascular occlusion and to reverse it with hyaluronidase, the agent used to dissolve filler. He also teaches: over 1,000 doctors, dentists and nurses have been trained by him in aesthetic injectable technique and in complication management.
Every treatment here is carried out by Dr Ashraf and not delegated, we use reversible hyaluronic acid filler only, you have direct contact details rather than a reception voicemail for the period after treatment, and we decline treatments we do not think are in your interest. More about Dr Haroon Ashraf.
Tear trough filler FAQs
How long does tear trough filler last?
Typically twelve to eighteen months, and in this area frequently longer, because the product is placed deep in an area with very little movement. It is often still there well after the visible effect has faded, which is why we check what remains before adding more.
Will filler get rid of my dark circles?
It depends what is causing them. If the darkness is the shadow cast by a hollow, filling the hollow removes the shadow and the circles improve. If it is pigment in the skin, or visible vessels through thin skin, filler will not change it and we will tell you so. The assessment tells us which it is; often it is a mix, and we will be honest about how much you can expect.
Will it get rid of bags under my eyes?
No, and it can make them look worse. Bags are volume that is already there; filler adds volume. Where there is a bag with a hollow beneath it, treating the hollow, or the cheek below it, can soften the transition, but it will not remove the bag, and we will not pretend otherwise.
Why do you sometimes recommend cheek filler instead?
Because in many people the tear trough is the top edge of a cheek that has lost support. Restore the cheek and the trough shallows on its own, with a product and a placement that carry far less risk than injecting under the eye. Where the cheek alone is not enough, we treat the trough afterwards, with less product than we would otherwise have needed. More on cheek filler in Reigate.
Does tear trough filler hurt?
Most people describe pressure and an odd sensation rather than pain. Topical anaesthetic goes on first, the filler contains lidocaine, and the treatment itself takes around ten to fifteen minutes.
I have heard it can look blue or puffy. Why?
Both come from product in the wrong place. The bluish tint is the Tyndall effect: an extremely rare but known side effect, caused by filler sitting too close to the surface under skin that is very thin, and avoided by placing the filler in the right layer. Puffiness comes from a product that attracts too much water, or from too much of it. Both are prevented by the right product, correct placement and small volumes, and both can be corrected by dissolving if they do occur.
What if I don't like it?
Hyaluronic acid filler is reversible, so it can be dissolved. We would wait at least two weeks first, so the swelling has gone and the product has settled — the under-eye in particular looks different on day three from day fourteen. We would talk it through at your review before making that decision.
Where are you based?
3 Holmesdale Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 0BA. We see patients for tear trough filler from across Surrey, including Redhill, Leatherhead, Dorking, Banstead and Horley.
Book tear trough filler in Reigate
Consultations are with Dr Haroon Ashraf. There is no fee, and no obligation to book treatment on the day.
Book a Consultation3 Holmesdale Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 0BA
07885 519 416 · info@mindfulaesthetics.co
