Droopy Eyelids Exercise: A Dermatologist's Daily 3-Minute Routine

I'm Dr. Hongseok Kim, a board-certified dermatologist with 21 years of practice and the medical director of VOS Dermatology Clinic in Gangnam, Seoul, right in front of Dosan Park. At VOS I see every patient myself, from the first consultation to the last treatment.

A droopy eyelids exercise is one of the things I do myself, because my own eyelids have started to drop a little too. In this video I show two finger-lift moves that take about three minutes, then explain which treatments help when exercise is not enough and how to look after eyelid skin at home. This page is based on my YouTube video from August 2024; I rewrote it for readers abroad. The video above can be watched with translated captions.

Why do eyelids droop more than the rest of the face?

Short answer: eyelid skin is the thinnest on the body, about 1 mm, so the same loss of elasticity shows there first.

As we age, skin everywhere loses elasticity at roughly the same rate (in the video at 00:27). But losing one unit from thick skin is very different from losing one unit from thin skin; think of losing one out of five versus one out of two. That is why the eye area often looks older and more wrinkled than the rest of the face.

Inside the eyelid, the levator muscle lifts the lid when you blink, and the orbicularis oculi muscle circles the eye. If you touch your upper lid, the area under the skin feels slightly hollow. There is a very thin layer of fat there, and as it shrinks with age, the skin starts to sag. That is the area the exercises target.

Droopy eyelids exercise 1: lift the lid from the bone

Short answer: place your fingers on the bone above the eye, not on the eyeball, and gently draw the skin up toward the brow at four points from inner to outer.

When your eyes are closed, part of the upper lid rests on the eyeball; when they are open, the part above rests on the bone (in the video at 02:03). The skin at the lid edge is very thin and gets slightly thicker as you go up. Put your fingertips on the bone just above the eyeball and draw the skin upward until it feels as if it is lifting to the line just below your brow.

Lift gently, as if stretching the skin upward, without pressing on the lid. Then move slightly outward and repeat. Working from the inner corner to the outer end in about four points helps the whole lid, out to the tail of the brow. Doing it in front of a mirror helps. Lifting against gravity counters the downward pull, and because there is a lot of lymphatic tissue around the eyes, the massage also improves lymph flow, which can help people whose eyes look puffy.

Droopy eyelids exercise 2: lift the brows

Short answer: hold the outer ends of the brows with two fingers and lift them upward from the bone, then move along the brow.

Above the brows is the frontalis, a vertical muscle that helps open the eyes (in the video at 04:15). The brow is where it meets the circular muscle around the eye: one pulls the eye area down, the other pulls it up. Hold the outer end of each brow with two fingers. You can feel the brow sitting on the bone; lift from just above the hollow, below the ridge, then move along and lift again. A mirror helps you find the right spot.

I usually do 15 seconds of massage and 5 seconds of rest, three times (in the video at 05:35). Use light pressure; gentle lifting is enough. Afterwards the eyes feel lighter and open more easily. I often do it in the evening after washing my face. Every day is ideal, but whenever you remember is still worthwhile. If you like this kind of routine, my face yoga video note covers moves for the lower face and neck as well.

What if my eyelids already droop a lot? Treatments that help

Short answer: avoid wrinkle-relaxing injections around drooping lids; collagen-building injections and gentle heat treatments are what I use instead.

Patients often ask whether they can simply have a wrinkle-relaxing injection there (in the video at 06:44). If your lids are drooping, my answer is no: it can make them droop more and feel heavier. Some people rely on the forehead muscle to help open their eyes, so strong injections in the forehead or between the brows can weaken that help too much.

What I recommend instead is collagen injection. Retizen, also known as Laetigen, puts collagen directly into the skin; I apply it evenly across the face including the eyelids, and with repeated sessions the eyelid skin gets stronger and more elastic (in the video at 07:34). In the video I mention pairing it with gentle heat stimulation as well; whether and how to combine is decided at consultation. For the eyes I usually choose the skin-booster type of Juvelook rather than Juvelook Volume, because the lids are thin and a large volume would be a burden. Rejuran, a polynucleotide booster, helps repair and protect the skin; its effect is shorter, so it needs repeating, but it is one of the most dependable options in my view. My guide to Rejuran i for the eye area goes into more detail.

For a stronger effect, heat stimulation is needed (in the video at 09:06). With Ultherapy Prime on the eye area, I treat at a shallow depth, aiming at the eyelid dermis and the thin fat layer beneath it to tighten the skin. Because it is near the eye, strong heat is not used; it is done gently and repeated more often than a full-face session, on an interval set at consultation. People who have had upper eyelid surgery often find the skin starting to sag again after one to two years, and eye-area Ultherapy or Thermage for the eyes is often used to slow that.

Home care for eyelid skin: moisture, petroleum jelly, antioxidants, sunscreen

Short answer: moisturise the lids deliberately with an oilier product, seal a hyaluronic acid serum with a thin layer of petroleum jelly, use antioxidants in moderation and wear sunscreen.

Most people skip their eyelids when applying skincare (in the video at 10:41). Because eyelid skin is thin and dries easily, a moisturiser with more oil is better, which is why eye creams tend to be richer. My video note on what an eye cream can and can't fix covers this further.

Petroleum jelly does not draw moisture into the skin; it forms an oil barrier that stops moisture escaping. On dry skin alone, it has nothing to hold in. Apply a hydrating hyaluronic acid serum first, then a thin layer of petroleum jelly (in the video at 11:40).

Antioxidants protect against oxidative damage, but too much of a good thing can irritate, so use them sparingly. UV light thins eyelid skin further and weakens its elasticity, so sunscreen matters (in the video at 12:37). Eye-area sensitivity varies a lot; physical sunscreens usually irritate less than chemical ones, and I personally prefer and recommend them, but some people find them heavy or white. Try samples to find one you can wear every day.

How to use retinoids around the eyes

Short answer: start with a low-strength retinoid, build up slowly, and stop and restart gradually if your skin stings or peels.

For fine lines, the key ingredient is a retinoid: retinol, retinaldehyde, retinoic acid or retinyl palmitate (in the video at 14:03). There is no need to start high; lower strengths are effective too. Stinging, redness, itching or flaking are common at first. If that happens, stop, then reintroduce it gradually once your skin settles; sensitive areas like the eyes may need longer to adapt. Some prescription retinoid creams first developed for acne also help with skin aging by speeding up turnover, and a doctor can advise on these. My guide on how to use retinol explains the steps.

For drooping eyelids, regular skincare and the massage exercises are the base, and if the problem is marked, it is worth consulting a dermatologist about treatment. You can also read creator experiences at VOS.

Results, timing and recovery vary from person to person, and the right plan for you is decided at an in-person consultation.

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Results, swelling and recovery vary from person to person. This page is general information from VOS Dermatology Clinic based on Dr. Kim's video and does not replace an in-person consultation.