Doctors warn of dangerous side effect

Doctors are dragging this anti-bagging beauty trend.

Experts say a dangerous treatment against unsightly eye bags can cause complications ranging from necrosis to permanent sight damage.

“The risks of under-eye mesotherapy [the therapy] go beyond minor side effects, especially when people go to inexperienced technicians or do this at home,” New York-based dermatologist Dr. Viktoryia Kazlouskaya told the Daily Mail.

Also known as biorejuvenation, mesotherapy involves injecting a cocktail of vitamins, enzymes, hormones, and plant extracts to tighten skin and remove excess fat from various problem areas including the undereyes, according to Healthline.

This bag-busting procedure was originally developed by French doctor Michel Pistor in 1952 as an antidote to blood vessel and immune system issues.

However, this so-called injectable fountain of youth has become a popular cosmetic trend in the US and elsewhere with TikTok beauty buffs posting viral videos of their undereye mesotherapy results.

There has also been speculation that celebs like Jennifer Aniston — who notably went viral in 2023 for getting a salmon sperm facial — have also received these injections on some parts of her body.

As many of these videos show, mesotherapy initially causes bubble-like welts around their eyes before the skin settles. Trolls have compared these dermal bumps to reptile skin or a “bad chicharon.”

Unfortunately, some of the other side effects are apparently not so temporary, contrasting with its reputation online as a painless cure-all with a short recovery time.

“Patients may experience long-lasting bruising, severe allergic reactions, skin necrosis due to product placement in blood vessels, or even permanent eye damage,” warned Dr. Kazlouskaya.

There’s also the risk of infection and granulomas, small masses of blood cells and tissues that sprout up when the immune system reacts to a foreign substance.

Mesotherapy is not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), although some of the ingredients ostensibly are, meaning patients might not know what’s in each dose — much like with the black market filler industry, the Daily Mail reported.

Companies often hawk their unique brands of mesotherapy fluid online, with costs ranging from $45 to $349.

Some have even been making their own mesotherapy mixtures and injecting themselves, as evidenced by the plethora of TikTok tutorials.

Fortunately, there is no panacea for ditching ocular baggage, which is caused by various factors ranging from natural aging to hormonal changes and smoking, according to the Mayo Clinic.

However, Harvard-trained, board-certified dermatologist Dr. Neera Nathan claims that people can reduce the fluid accumulation variety by applying eye cream that contains topical caffeine.

This constricts blood vessels, thereby decreasing puffiness “within minutes,” she declared.

She also recommends an Arnica gel to help drain excess fluid from around the eyes and an antihistamine to mitigate fluid retention.

In the event that other methods fail, patients can also undergo a lower eyelid blepharoplasty, a cosmetic procedure in which a surgeon removes and/or repositions the fat under the eye.