I banished my crepey under eye wrinkles with treatment that lasts YEARS

AFTER forking out on cutting-edge, age-reversing treatment, Sarah Lindsay could only hope it had all been worth it.

But as the former speed skater looked at her reflection 24 hours later, her features were unrecognisable, like something from a horror film.

Skin around her swollen, blood-pricked eyes appeared almost raw.

The previous day Sarah, 45, had CO2 laser, a beauty treatment that removes the outer layers of damaged skin to diminish wrinkles and boost collagen. It costs more than £1,000 a go.

The procedure is fast becoming a popular alternative to Botox, with thousands opting for laser treatment over injections in a bid to turn back the clock.

Dr Rich Devine, who treated Sarah at his London clinic, says that demand for laser at his clinic has doubled, while bookings for Botox have halved.

“At first it didn’t look that bad,” says Sarah, who competed in three Winter Olympics for Team GB, in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

“I had some redness after the treatment, but by the next morning, I looked like I’d been in an awful car accident.”

And it only got worse, as Sarah’s eyes grew increasingly red, swollen and bruised — although remarkably they were not painful, just “tight” to the touch.

“It took a bit longer than I thought to recover — seven to ten days,” she says.

“Luckily, it was Christmas, so I could stay at home. But at the supermarket, a few people stared at me, and I’m sure they were wondering what I had done to my face. I did look like I had been beaten up.

“By day ten, the swelling had disappeared, and I was left with this incredible result.”

Sarah, who splits her time between London and Dubai, decided to take action after noticing signs of ageing around her eyes.

She says: “I had quite a lot of crepiness, which is an age giveaway.

“I didn’t want Botox around my eyes because it’s such an expressive area. I once tried it in my jaw, but after three days, one side dropped.

“For ten months, if I smiled, it looked worse. It put me off injectables for six years.”

‘I dreaded what I saw’

Even after the Botox “tweakment” went wrong, a laser at eye level did not faze Sarah.

She told the Sun: “The idea of it is way worse than the reality.

“With the laser, the risk is minimal. You put it on the skin before activating it, so it’s not like you’re going to slip and zap your eye.”

The risk may have been minimal, but the swollen, bruised aftermath was a shock to Sarah and brought back insecurities she thought she had left behind.

“I had really bad acne in my teens and twenties.

“You get up in the morning and dread what you’ll see. For a few days, I went back to that trauma.

“I thought, ‘Oh gosh, I’ve actually done this to myself’.”

Unlike Botox, which involves quick, relatively low-pain injections, CO2 laser resurfacing is a more intensive procedure requiring numbing cream on the sensitive under-eye area.

As a former elite athlete, Sarah’s high pain threshold meant the treatment was painless.

“I literally didn’t feel it,” she says. “Laser hair removal is far worse and this didn’t take more than 45 minutes.”

Sarah’s puffy eyes might have spooked shoppers in the supermarket afterwards, but she insists that her swollen, bruised appearance was worth every look of horror.

‘£1,200 a session’

“I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner,” she says.

“The lines around my eyes are completely different now. When I smile, there’s a tiny bit of crinkling, but it’s natural, not overwhelming. The difference is incredible.”

At £1,200 a session, the treatment, at Devine Clinic in Cavendish Sq, central London, is not cheap.

But as the results are said to last for 10 – 15 years, rather than a few weeks or months as is the case with Botox, it could end up being far less costly.

“My eye wrinkles have been completely removed,” she says. “It’s given me brand new skin, so I imagine I would have to wait years for wrinkles to come back.”

Sarah runs a personal training business, Roar Fitness, with her husband of seven years, Richard Phillips. She also has a 16-year-old stepson.

She says her husband has been “supportive” of her bid to erase wrinkles.

It’s given me brand new skin, so I imagine I would have to wait years for wrinkles to come back.

Sarah Lindsay

“In the past, he’s been concerned for me, especially when I had my drooping mouth, but he’s fine with whatever I do, as long as I’m happy,” she says.

“Lots of people have said how noticeable the results are, that I look younger.

“But that’s not why I had it done. I wanted smoother skin and didn’t want to have to keep re-applying make-up.”

Wrinkles erased

Dr Rich Devine says there is now a move towards procedures that focus on long-term skin quality.

“We’re seeing a real shift in mindset,” he says.

“Patients are less focused on freezing lines and more interested in improving overall skin quality, how their skin looks in natural light, without filters or make-up.

“Patients want better skin, rather than a frozen look, and CO2 laser is ideal for those who are concerned about fine lines, uneven texture, acne scarring, sun damage or early skin laxity.

“Most people having CO2 laser are in their thirties, forties and fifties, when skin quality and collagen loss start to become more noticeable.”

Sarah’s quest for a youthful appearance might seem extreme to some, but she is careful not to overdo it. She says: “I had a boob job the moment I retired from sport 15 years ago, going from an A-cup to a C/D-cup, and I haven’t had them changed or replaced since.

“I don’t want 20- year-old boobs with a 50-year-old body.

“That’s my worry with going too far. In Dubai, everyone looks very ‘done’, and it’s hard not to get caught up in that.

“You do reach a point where you have to choose between looking weird or looking old, and I’d rather look naturally aged than artificially perfect.”

Despite experimenting with surgery and tweakments, Sarah’s day-to-day beauty routine is surprisingly low-maintenance.

“I’m one of those girls who shampoos their hair and then their face,” she says with a laugh.

“I just use a moisturiser — DermaFactor by Ink Illusions — that keeps me hydrated and I’ve recently started using a Correxiko LED mask.”

Sarah wants to tell her story as she believes people should not hide behind treatments.

She says: “I don’t want to pretend I haven’t had anything done, but I also don’t want to encourage anyone to feel like they have to do something just because I’ve done it.

“It’s always a balance but it’s up to other people whether they want to do it or not.

“What really matters is how you feel.”