First, the skin loses a fair amount of its elasticity. This means that your skin is less able to bounce back after it is stretched.

Second, fat fills in the space left by the loosened skin. Third, your muscles may be weakened. They, too, sag once they have been weakened enough.

In the face, these three factors create laugh lines, jowls, sagging skin beneath the chin, worry lines and droopy, puffy eye. A combination of facial surgeries can correct these signs of aging fairly effectively. You can also elect to have these surgeries separately.

If your only concern is droopy, sagging eyelids, then eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, is your best option.

The eyelid surgery procedure involves adjusting the upper or lower lid, or sometimes both. For the upper lid, there is generally one technique surgeons use.

An incision is made on the upper skin of the eye orbit. Excess skin, weakened muscle and overly fatty deposits are trimmed away. Once healed, the remaining scar is often concealed by normal folds of skin when the eye is open.

With the bottom lid, surgeons use one of two approaches. In the first, the incisions are just below your lashes. The scar from this procedure is generally discreet.

The second process requires an incision on the inside of the lid. It is called transconjunctival blepharoplasty. Because it is an interior incision, patients experience fewer problems with distorting the shape of the eye or alterations in the lid position.

The cosmetic goal of blepharoplasty is to reduce the puffiness and drooping of the eyes - a visible sign of aging. Ironically, after your surgery, you will experience swelling and bruising.

The swelling in some patients can get so bad that their vision is obscured. If this happens to you, do not worry. It is a normal part of the healing process. The swelling generally decreases in two to three days, allowing you to see again.

There are a few temporary complications that you may suffer with after surgery. You may be unable to fully close your eyes, or the lower lid may change position. If you are truly concerned, speak to your surgeon. Loss of visual sharpness is also a risk but an extremely rare one.

Your recovery period is as important as the procedure itself and can determine the success or failure of your surgery. Three to five days after your completed blepharoplasty, the surgeon will remove your sutures. Once the sutures are gone, you may return to showering.

After you have had a week to heal, the doctor is likely to allow you to return to light exercise and activity. Despite the fact that it seems like exercise does not involve your eyes over much, it does. Most activities involve dozens of accompanying facial expressions. Some of these may damage your delicate, recovering skin.

At last, two weeks after the surgery, you can return to a more or less normal routine.

Reversing some obvious signs of aging offers a variety of methods to accomplish your cosmetic goals. Before you make that final decision, you should know the facts - both the benefits and the risks.