You see it on skincare websites and blogs, and you hear it from your dermatologist: you should be using eye cream. For many, eye cream may be an afterthought; if you’ve got your cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen, you’re done right? The eye area needs some extra TLC, and here’s why I always recommend that my patients and our customers use an eye cream:
- The skin around your eyes is the most sensitive, delicate skin on your entire face.
- The eye area ages quicker than the rest of your face.
- This area can lose hydration quicker and can lead to more wrinkles.
What ingredients should I be looking for in an eye cream?
Retinol: Retinol is a derivative of Vitamin A and is known to increase the rate of skin cell turnover and helps to stimulate collagen production. Retinol is able to prevent wrinkles and smooth fine lines by thickening the skin where wrinkles form. It has the ability to brighten dull skin by getting into the deeper layers of the skin to exfoliate out dead skin cells. It can help treat and prevent acne by regulating excess oil in your skin and helps pores from getting clogged with dirt and dead skin. Lastly, it helps to fade dark spots by increasing the rate of cell turnover, leading to the growth of new skin cells faster. When it comes to your eyes, this area can show signs of aging before any other part of the skin, so utilizing retinol can be really helpful at preventing signs of aging. The Clinicians Complex Retinol Eye Cream restores the delicate tissue of the eye area to a smoother, brighter, more youthful appearance.
Hyaluronic Acid: Hyaluronic acid draws in moisture and helps to hold it in the skin. It is a sugar found naturally within our bodies that works to keep our skin hydrated, smooth and plump. Hyaluronic acid is a humectant, meaning that it draws in moisture, and it can hold up to 1,000 times its weight in moisture. Although it’s naturally-occurring in our bodies, like many other things, the amount our bodies make decreases as we get older, so using products with hyaluronic acid helps to restore that moisture in your skin. When the area around our eyes becomes dry or dehydrated, it can lead to flaking, and even wrinkles and fine lines, so keeping this area hydrated is important to keep your skin healthy and young-looking. SkinMedica’s Instant Bright Eye Cream contains hyaluronic acid to improve dark circles, sagging, fine lines and wrinkles. It also contains Vitamin E and caffeine to work with the hyaluronic acid to keep the skin around your eyes smooth and plump.
Peptides: Peptides are chains of amino acids that act as building blocks for certain proteins in our bodies. When applied to our skin, products with peptides help to stimulate collagen production and elastin production, which helps to keep the skin plump and smooth. Just like hyaluronic acid, as we age, our bodies create less collagen and elastin, so adding in these little messengers help to keep your skin looking young, smooth and wrinkle-free. Peptides are an important ingredient for the skin around your eyes to keep them from getting dark circles or fine lines. Revision Skincare’s D.E.J Eye Cream contains peptides that target the entire eye area to help improve the appearance of your eyes by lifting, firming and smoothing the skin.
Vitamins C & E: Vitamin C helps with collagen production and elasticity, while Vitamin E is known to soothe the skin and protect it from irritants. Vitamin C is an ingredient commonly used for your skin to brighten it and improve skin tone and dark spots, and it can have the same effect for the area around your eyes. Vitamin C can help brighten dark circles that you may have after a sleepless night or simply from genetics, as well as protect your skin from free radicals. Vitamin E is known to seal in moisture in the skin and helps to heal it from irritation. The area around your eyes is delicate and needs ingredients that will be gentle, and both of these vitamins are great for preventing aging while preventing irritation. Glytone’s Age-Defying Antioxidant Eye Cream contains both Vitamins C & E to fight free radical damage and help decrease dark circles and signs of aging around the eyes.
No matter your age or place in life, it’s important to include an eye cream in your skincare routine. It can be easy to forget about this area when we’re taking care of the rest of our skin, but the eye area is one of the most delicate and sensitive areas of your face, and deserves gentle and targeted treatment.
