Alice Tries Envision – The Latest Solution For Dry Eyes

Dry, irritated eyes might not be the first thing that comes to mind when we think about tweakments – but if you suffer from them, you’ll know that they can be a daily source of discomfort and frustration. You’re also not alone – Alice struggles with them too!

Alice recently visited The Door W4 in Chiswick to meet optometrist Sharon Flora who has been getting great results treating dry eyes using a new treatment called Envision from Inmode. The clever technology combines radiofrequency and IPL to address the root cause of dry eye (not just the annoying symptoms).

Here’s how Alice got on when she tried it for herself. Spoiler alert, with a little patience, get ready for some lasting relief…

So, what exactly is dry eye?

“Dry eye is a chronic condition with two primary types,” explains Flora. “The first is aqueous-deficient dry eye, where the eyes simply don’t produce enough tears. The second – and far more common, affecting up to 80% of patients – is evaporative dry eye disease. This is when the tears we produce evaporate too quickly due to a lack of the essential oils that help them stay put.”

“This oil is meant to be secreted by the tiny meibomian glands, which sit along the edges of our eyelids, every time we blink, but when the glands become blocked or stop functioning well, your eyes are paradoxically both dry and watery,” Flora continues. “If your eyes water a lot, people rarely think it could be because they’re too dry, but that’s often exactly the case with evaporative dry eye. Plus, your eyes can become tired, red, itchy, and believe it or not, the condition can even affect your vision.”

Alice’s experience with dry eyes

“Like so many people, I struggle with dry eyes that feel gritty and tired, but also water far too much,” reveals Alice. “I was at the stage I had eyedrops on my desk, by the bed, in my handbag: I don’t go anywhere without them. I also looked up on the internet why my eyes were watering so much. I didn’t realise it was because they’re fundamentally dry.”

What makes dry eye worse?

There’s no single cause for dry eye, which is part of what makes it so tricky to treat – plus, it’s a chronic condition so things do just get progressively worse. Lifestyle and environmental factors play a big role – particularly too much spent in front of our devices, which leads to reduced blinking. Without regular, full blinks, those essential oils don’t get distributed across the surface of the eye.

Other common contributors include dehydration, poor diet, and certain medications. Contact lens wearers are also at higher risk, as are women – especially those going through hormonal changes such as menopause.

Then there are some surprising culprits: tight-lining eyeliner directly onto the waterline (right over the meibomian glands), eyelash growth serums (which can contain ingredients that may damage the glands), and even lash lifts and extensions, which involve chemicals or materials that may disrupt the eye’s natural balance. So, do watch out for these!

What is Envision – the non-invasive clinic treatment for dry eye

Nowadays though, you don’t just have to rely on preventive measures: Envision is the new clinic-based treatment specifically designed to clear blocked meibomian glands and reduce inflammation around the eyes. In the best news, it provides a long-lasting solution that could help you say goodbye to irritation and constant use of eye drops for good.

Envision by InMode uses two technologies: Forma-I, which delivers radiofrequency, and Lumecca-I, a form of IPL. Together, they address both the blockage and the inflammation at the root of dry eye.

Forma-I (RF): This gently heats the meibomian glands to around 42–43°C – the ideal temperature to melt the thickened oil that clogs them. “Many people have said it feels more like a warm hot stone massage than anything else,” says Flora. “Most find it very soothing.”

Lumecca-I (IPL):  This targets the tiny, inflamed blood vessels that contribute to ocular rosacea and meibomian gland dysfunction. By reducing vascular inflammation, IPL helps create a clearer path for oil to reach the surface of the eye.

Once the RF and IPL steps are complete, Flora performs manual expression of the glands – gently squeezing them to release the now-loosened oils. “It’s the Dr Pimple Popper moment for eyes,” she laughs. Satisfying, yes, but also key to restoring healthy oil flow.

What is Envision like to experience: does it hurt?

“The radiofrequency part is warm but not uncomfortable and the IPL nips a bit but not badly,” reveals Alice. “The tricky bit was the “expression” where Sharon gently settled her tiny pair of forceps on either side of my lower eyelid and squeezed to encourage the loosened muck of clogged meibum out of the glands. What can I say? It really hurt, but clearly this was the only way to shift that stuff, so I took another deep breath, squeezed the stress balls Sharon had given me, and she got on with it.”

“There’s no way around this because even if you anaesthetise the eyeball, that doesn’t numb the eyelid,” Alice continues. “So, it’s a necessary discomfort to get the result you’re looking for and it gets easier with time. By the third visit, it was fine though I can’t say it’s something I look forward to.”

What were Alice’s results like?

“The first thing I noticed, after a couple of treatments, was that I wasn’t half so reliant on the eyedrops that I had been using very frequently to keep my eyes comfortable,” explains Alice in this video about her experience with Envision.

That said, her eyes are responding slightly differently: “While my left eye responded well and after a couple of treatments was watering much less when I’m outside, my right eye has been a lot slower to respond. Only now after five treatments is the meibum (like sebum but from the meibomian glands that run vertically across the eyelids to the lashes) which gets solidified and stuck in the glands, starting to ease up and move more freely.”

How long until you see results?

“I guess the key thing to know is that Envision is not a quick fix,” reveals Alice. “It will take three or four treatments for most people to see a real difference.” Maintenance sessions every 6 to 12 months can help keep things under control too.

It also very much depends on where you’re starting from: “I’ve had decades of wearing contact lenses and staring at screens for a start,” Alice continues. “Add in the loss of eye hydration that comes with menopause, a couple of blepharoplasties, and 15 years of using (a prescription medication) bimatoprost to grow my eyelashes, oh, and regularly using skincare products containing retinol near my eyes, and you can see this isn’t a problem that sprang up yesterday. So it’s unlikely to be fixed quickly.”

Treating the eye area sounds a little scary – is it safe? 

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about aesthetics in my 25 years of working in the industry, it is that you need to know you are seeing an expert. That’s especially true with eyes, which are such a delicate area,” explains Alice.

Luckily: “Sharon is brilliant and is hugely knowledgeable about dry eye as a condition and very committed to helping people improve the condition – and she is as gentle as she can  be with those blasted forceps!”

The treatment itself is also non-invasive and doesn’t actually involve touching the eyeball, which should help anyone who gets a little squeamish. Protective shields are used throughout too, and the energy is applied only to the skin around the eyes, not inside them.

How else can you prevent dry eye?

Unsurprisingly, lid hygiene is the foundation of eye health, so it’s a fundamental step for preventing dry eye. “Bacteria, mites, and residue from skincare or makeup can all clog the glands, so just as we brush our teeth daily to prevent plaque buildup, we should be cleansing our eyelids and lashes to maintain healthy eyes,” says Flora.

Flora recommends daily use of eyelid wipes or a gentle ocular foam cleanser, especially for those who wear eye makeup or suffer from conditions like blepharitis or rosacea. Drinking more water and taking a really good quality omega-3 supplement for eye health, can help too.

In fact, Alice is proof that these steps work: “To back up the treatments, I’ve made several lifestyle adjustments,” she reveals. “No more retinol around my eyes and I also massage my lower eyelids with a heated eye wand to melt that meibum. There are loads available online, but the one recommended by optometrists like Sharon is the Peep Club Heated Eye Wand as it is thoroughly tested.

“I also make a real effort to remember to blink more when staring at a screen and scoff high-dose EPA omega-3 supplements like there’s no tomorrow: Sharon recommends Life & Soul from Bare Biology. In fact, she has a whole Dry Eye Edit of supplements on the W-Wellness, if you’re curious.  I’ve given up bimatoprost-rich eyelash growth serums too, so my lashes are shorter and sparser, but hey, first-world beauty problems.”

Alice’s final verdict 

“What impressed me most about Envision is that it’s not just masking symptoms – it’s addressing the cause. That means it can give long-lasting relief that improves eye comfort,” reveals Alice.

That means, hopefully, she won’t have to buy eye drops again for a long time…

Interested in trying Envision for yourself? The dry eye treatment is available at The Door W4, from £295  per session as part of the Eye Retreat consultation.

This article is written with the support of Inmode