When your eyes feel dry, gritty, irritated, or tired, reaching for eye drops may seem like the obvious solution. After all, if your eyes feel like they need more moisture, adding moisture makes sense.
But dry eye is not always simply a matter of needing more tears.
Every time you blink, your eyelids perform an important job. A complete blink helps spread the tear film across the eye’s surface, supports the function of the oil-producing meibomian glands, and helps maintain a smooth, protected ocular surface. When blinking becomes incomplete or less effective, that natural process may not work as efficiently.
This is one reason we take a broader approach to dry eye at Airis Eye & Wellness. Rather than focusing solely on replacing moisture, we consider the various factors that may be contributing to a patient’s symptoms.
For certain patients, that may include how well they blink.
EMFACE® Eye introduces an especially interesting approach. Instead of simply lubricating the eye, the technology stimulates the muscles around the eyes involved in blinking, creating an opportunity to address dry eye from a functional perspective.
Blinking happens so automatically that most of us rarely think about it. Yet each blink is part of a surprisingly sophisticated system that maintains the ocular surface.
A healthy tear film contains multiple components, including water, oil, and mucin. Together, these layers help keep the surface of the eye lubricated and protected.
Blinking helps distribute this tear film.
When your eyelids close completely, they spread tears across the ocular surface while also helping support the release of oils from the meibomian glands located along the eyelids. These oils are particularly important because they help slow tear evaporation.
If your blink is incomplete, the tear film may not spread evenly across the eye. Certain areas can remain more exposed, potentially contributing to tear evaporation, instability, and discomfort.
Research examining digital eye strain has identified incomplete blinking as a potential contributor to dry eye symptoms. In fact, some evidence suggests that whether a blink is complete may be particularly important for maintaining tear film stability.
That changes the dry eye conversation.
Instead of only asking, “How can we add more moisture?” we can also ask, “How effectively is the eye distributing and maintaining the moisture it already has?”
An incomplete blink occurs when the upper and lower eyelids do not fully meet during blinking.
You may not even realize you are doing it.
Blinking is largely automatic, and most people do not consciously monitor whether their eyelids close completely each time. Incomplete blinking can become particularly relevant during activities requiring sustained visual concentration.
Think about how much of your day is spent looking at:
Research has associated digital display use with changes in blinking behavior, including incomplete eyelid closure.
This does not mean screen time is the only cause of dry eye or incomplete blinking. Dry eye disease is complex and can involve meibomian gland dysfunction, inflammation, environmental conditions, medications, age-related changes, eyelid anatomy, hormonal factors, systemic health conditions, and other contributors.
It does mean that blink quality warrants consideration, especially when someone continues to experience symptoms despite repeated use of lubricating drops.
In a sense, yes, although it is more accurate to talk about improving blink mechanics and the function of the muscles involved in blinking.
The primary muscle responsible for closing the eyelids is the orbicularis oculi. Like other muscles in the body, its function matters.
Traditional blinking exercises have been studied as a method to encourage more complete blinking. A 2025 study published in The Ocular Surface found that blinking exercises improved several tear-film parameters, with researchers hypothesizing that strengthening the orbicularis oculi may contribute to improved tear flow.
But consciously reminding yourself to blink is different from directly stimulating the muscles involved in the process.
That is where EMFACE Eye becomes particularly interesting.
At Airis Eye & Wellness, we use EMFACE Eye as part of our advanced approach to dry eye care.
EMFACE Eye combines HIFES™ muscle stimulation with synchronized radiofrequency energy around the eye area. The goal is to stimulate and strengthen the orbicularis oculi while simultaneously delivering radiofrequency energy to the surrounding tissues.
For dry eye patients, the muscle stimulation component is particularly important.
By targeting the muscles responsible for eyelid closure, EMFACE Eye is designed to support stronger, more complete blinking. A more effective blink can then help distribute the tear film across the ocular surface.
In other words, we are not simply adding moisture from the outside. We are looking at one of the mechanisms the eyes naturally use to maintain moisture.
That is a fundamentally different way of thinking about dry eye treatment.
Artificial tears can be extremely useful. Depending on the patient, lubricating drops may be an essential part of a dry eye treatment plan.
But adding moisture does not necessarily explain why your eyes are becoming dry.
Imagine repeatedly watering a plant without considering why the soil cannot retain water. Adding more water may temporarily help, but understanding the underlying problem allows you to approach it more strategically.
Dry eye can work similarly.
If incomplete blinking, poor meibomian gland function, inflammation, or another underlying issue is contributing to tear-film instability, repeatedly adding artificial tears may provide temporary comfort without addressing every part of the problem.
At our Dry Eye Specialty Center, our goal is to identify the factors contributing to each patient’s symptoms and to create a treatment plan based on what we find.
EMFACE Eye may be one piece of that plan when blink mechanics are part of the picture.
Blinking does more than move tears around.
It also plays an important role in the function of your meibomian glands.
These tiny glands sit along the eyelid margins and produce meibum, an oily substance that forms the outermost layer of the tear film. This oil helps keep the watery portion of your tears from evaporating too quickly.
When the meibomian glands are not functioning properly, a condition known as meibomian gland dysfunction, or MGD, the tear film may become unstable. The result can be burning, irritation, fluctuating vision, redness, watering, or that frustrating gritty sensation that makes you feel as though something is constantly in your eye.
Complete blinking helps support the normal expression and distribution of these oils.
That makes blink mechanics especially relevant when evaluating patients with evaporative dry eye and MGD.
Research into periocular muscle stimulation for dry eye is emerging, and early findings are encouraging.
A 2025 study evaluated dynamic muscle stimulation around the eyes in 30 patients with dry eye disease associated with meibomian gland dysfunction and lower eyelid laxity. Participants received four treatments at one-week intervals.
At follow-up, researchers reported improvements in several measures, including blink quality, tear breakup time, dry eye symptoms, meibomian gland scores, and lower eyelid laxity. No adverse events were reported in the study.
These results are promising, but they should also be viewed in context. This was a small study, and larger, longer-term research will help us better understand which patients benefit most and how muscle stimulation fits into comprehensive dry eye management.
For us, the important takeaway is not that one technology solves every form of dry eye. It is that muscle and eyelid function can be meaningful pieces of the dry eye puzzle.
EMFACE Eye occupies a unique space by bridging functional eye care and aesthetics.
While HIFES technology stimulates the muscles around the eyes, synchronized radiofrequency energy works within the surrounding tissue. This can support collagen and elastin production and improve the appearance of the periorbital area.
Depending on the patient, treatment may help improve concerns such as:
This combination reflects something we believe strongly at Airis: how your eyes function and how the eye area looks do not have to be treated as completely separate concerns.
The muscles, eyelids, skin, tear film, and ocular surface all exist within the same interconnected area.
For the right patient, EMFACE Eye allows us to address both function and appearance simultaneously.
Not exactly.
Modern dry eye treatment includes several technologies because dry eye itself can have multiple causes.
For example, OptiLIGHT by Lumenis uses intense pulsed light technology and may be incorporated into treatment for patients with dry eye associated with meibomian gland dysfunction.
Envision by InMode offers another approach using technologies designed for the delicate periorbital region.
EMFACE Eye stands apart because of its emphasis on muscle stimulation and blink function.
These treatments are not necessarily competitors. Depending on what we identify during your dry eye evaluation, different technologies may address different contributing factors.
That is why diagnosis comes before treatment.
EMFACE Eye may be worth discussing if you experience persistent symptoms such as dryness, burning, irritation, eye fatigue, or fluctuating comfort, and your evaluation indicates that eyelid or blink function could be contributing.
It may be especially interesting for people who spend significant time on computers and digital devices, as sustained visual tasks can affect blinking behavior.
However, not every case of dry eye is caused by incomplete blinking, and EMFACE Eye is not the right treatment for every patient.
Dry eye symptoms can result from many different underlying factors. Before recommending treatment, we want to understand what is happening with your eyes.
So, can you train your eyes to blink better?
Emerging research suggests that improving blink mechanics and strengthening the muscles involved in eyelid closure may play a meaningful role for certain patients with dry eye.
More importantly, it reminds us that dry eye is about much more than whether your eyes have enough moisture at any given moment.
Healthy eyes depend on an entire system working together. Your eyelids need to close effectively. Your meibomian glands need to produce healthy oils. Your tear film needs to spread evenly. Your ocular surface needs protection. When one part of that system is not functioning optimally, simply adding more drops may not address the whole picture.
At Airis Eye & Wellness in Bellevue, Washington, our approach to dry eye begins by looking for those connections. EMFACE Eye gives us another way to address an often-overlooked component of ocular comfort: the quality and function of your blink.
If you have been managing dry eye with drops but still find yourself dealing with burning, irritation, tired eyes, or persistent discomfort, it may be time to look beyond moisture alone.
Schedule an appointment with Airis Eye & Wellness to learn more about your dry eye and whether EMFACE Eye may have a place in your personalized treatment plan.
I'm Dr. Joshlene Sandhu, born and raised in Vancouver. I earned my Bachelor's in Applied Science from Simon Fraser University before completing my Doctor of Optometry degree in Chicago in 2002. I spent 14 transformative years practicing medical eye care in the New York City area before returning west in 2014 to be closer to family. My experience spans family eye care, pediatric examinations, contact lens fitting, eye surgery co-management, and adult eye care. I genuinely care about my patients and am committed to guiding each one toward the best possible outcome. I'm thrilled to bring Airis Eye & Wellness to Bellevue.
