Izzy Anaya was tired of looking tired.
The skin on her hooded eyelids had begun to sag and wrinkle. She looked perpetually haggard and much older than her 43 years.
The Manhattan mom of two tried to combat the sagging by getting regular Botox and filler injections on her forehead. She hoped the popular toxins would lift her brow line and tighten her skin. But the treatment just didn’t work.
So late last year, she called a cosmetic surgeon, plunked down more than $10,000, and asked to fix the problem — for good.
“I had blepharoplasty and I feel like I lost 10 years off my face just by removing that little piece of skin from my eyes,” Anaya, a stay-at-home mom and lifestyle creator, told The Post about the tumultuous surgery.
Blepharoplasty, a newly developed anti-aging surgery, is a facial rejuvenation procedure in which specialists remove excess skin and fat that can form both above and below the eyelid as a person ages.
It’s a procedure rumored to have been performed on A-listers such as supermodel Gisele Bundchen, 42, and Golden Globe winners Matt Damon, 52, and Jennifer Goodidge, 61.
About an hour after going under the knife, Anaya’s doctor, Jordan Turner of Manhattan Plastic Surgery on the Upper East Side, sent her home with Tylenol and a 48-hour bed rest, during which she experienced minimal pain.
“It was a 20-minute treatment and it got rid of all my wrinkles. It lifted my face, I didn’t have to do a facelift,” Anaya said, adding that she no longer needs to wear eye makeup. “It’s amazing.”
Blepharoplasty, also known as “bluff” or “eyelid surgery,” was one of the five most popular cosmetic procedures in the United States in 2020, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
The site also listed the surgery as one of the most popular surgical procedures among patients 45 and older in a 2022 report.
A separate April 2022 study by global healthcare business consulting firm Maximize Market Research found that the blepharoplasty market is expected to grow from its current national value of $4.3 million to $7.9 million until 2029.
And on TikTok, the eponymous hashtag has garnered more than 377.1 million views from people in the cut, which has grown in popularity among both women and men since the pandemic.
“Since then, interest in the operation has increased as people wear masks [over their mouths and noses]which brings more attention to the eye area,” said Eleanore Kim, an oculoplastic surgeon at the NYU Langone Eye Center.
“People were also using Zoom and using virtual meeting rooms,” she added, “so they were much more likely to look at themselves and want blepharoplasty.”
But the benefits of surgery aren’t just about vanity.
Kim tells The Post that removing excess flesh around the eyes can prevent hooded people from suffering from peripheral vision loss due to overhang. In cases where a drooping eyelid causes significant visual obstruction, the cost of surgery is usually covered by insurance.
And while there are some risks associated with the surgery, such as chronic dry eye and partial blindness, Kim said it’s a “tried and true” surgery with many benefits.
Clearer vision was a bonus for Paul Connell after his October 2022 blepharoplasty performed by plastic surgeon Mark Karolak in Wall Township, NJ.
“I can see better without the heavy turtle shells on my eyes,” Connell, 48, of Edgewater, New Jersey, said with a laugh. He chose not to disclose how much he paid for the procedure.
As an electrical contractor and recurring guest star on “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” Connell, the boyfriend of 52-year-old Dolores Catania, underwent the procedure to relieve the intense heaviness that had begun weighing down his eyes.
“Whether I was sleeping, driving or watching TV, my eyes always felt heavy and looked really puffy,” he said.
“But when I had the surgery, it felt like a weight was lifted off my face,” Connell continued, adding that the surgery also boosted his confidence both on and off camera. “I have a fresher look, which I appreciate now that I’m over 40.”
And Barack Rotham, 48, who traveled from Texas to Tijuana, Mexico in 2020 for blepharoplasty on both upper and lower eyelids, agreed that the surgeries, which cost him a total of just over $4,000, have helped keep his fresh face appearance. .
“I don’t want to age naturally,” Rotem, a Houston interior designer and fitness trainer, told The Post. “When people see me [now]they think I’m 35. Everyone should.
And to the haters who might argue that eyelid surgery is a superficial waste of time and money, Anaya said, “Don’t be mad just because you can’t afford it.”
“If you had the money, you’d get a blepharoplasty too.”
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