You’ve read it on the back of most of your face products: “Avoid eye area”. So you know you can’t rub your moisturizer on your lids. But why? This skin is 40% thinner than the rest of your face and much more sensitive. It can seem like a drag to add another product to your beauty bag, but I promise there’s a reason. Because our eyes, eyelids, and skin around the eyes are very delicate, most products aren’t safe for these areas unless they are specially formulated for it. Not to worry my beauties, lots of products are created just for your eye area.
Let’s start with some tips you can use now to perk up your peepers:
Hydrate Dehydration can cause puffiness and dryness in your eye area. Make sure you’re consuming plenty of water throughout the day and watching your salt intake
Rest Be sure to get 7-8 hours of shut eye per night so your eyes can rejuvenate
Cleanse Always use warm (never hot) water while rinsing your eye area, and hold the soap
Refrigerate Keep your eye cream cold, especially if you have puffiness, to stimulate circulation
Dab it Using your pinky finger, dab gently under your eyes, at the corners, and on the lids. A pea sized amount is enough for both eyes. Tugging or pulling will cause stress (and wrinkles)
So what should you be using around your precious eyes?
When looking for the best eye creams, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The best way to navigate is to look to the issue you’d like to solve and find a product with the most beneficial ingredients. That way you’re not bombarded with high price tag products and ingredients you aren’t sure about.
We’ve put together a list for you:
Puffiness
- Caffeine - constricts the blood vessels (also helps with dark circles)
- Chamomile - soothes skin
Dark Circles
- Vitamin C (sodium ascorbate) - thickens skin
- Vitamin B3 (niacinamide) - a wonder, also helps improve the appearance of wrinkles, dullness, skin tone and enlarged pores
- Kojic Acid - made from fungi, lightens skin
Lines and wrinkles
Choose a cream that helps to boost collagen production (which naturally declines as we age) with ingredients like:
- Peptides - help rebuild hyaluronic acid (below) and collagen naturally
- Retinol - derived from Vitamin A, stimulates collagen (can be harsh on skin; try a small amount first)
- Antioxidants - such as Vitamin C and A, and berry extracts, help reduce stress from pollutants and sun
- Hyaluronic Acid - naturally made in the body, helps prevent water loss and improve elasticity
I know it’s a lot, so here’s a secret: Aquaphor. You can get it at any drug/grocery store, it’s cheap (I promise you don’t need the $119 cream), and it’s still recommended by dermatologists today for being super hydrating and gentle on the skin (all of your skin).
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