Do you need an eye cream? We think you do and we’ve got the info to help you choose you choose the right one!
When we’re talking about skin care products that specifically deal with the eye area, you’re likely looking for results in preventing or reversing fine lines and wrinkles or dark circles and puffiness. Essentially, a product that falls into one of three categories: preventative, corrective, or puffiness and dark circles
Preventative
If you haven’t seen major signs of aging yet – except for teeny little lines that you can’t see unless your face is, in some way, super animated – you most likely fall into the Preventive category.
Ingredients you’re going to want to look for are hyaluronic acid (or its derivative, sodium hyaluronate). Hyaluronic acid is truly like the universal, everyone can benefit from it.
HA is readily bio-available (or bio-friendly), and that means as soon as it hits your skin, your body recognizes it and knows exactly what to do with it.
It’s naturally occurring in our bodies, (in fact, it’s what gives our joint fluid viscosity), which means when you apply it to your skin your body knows exactly how to use it. Used topically, it absorbs easily with little to no surface residue which makes it ideal for oily or acne-prone skin.
Hyaluronic acid is a powerful humectant with the ability to draw moisture from the air, through your skin’s barrier and once within, bind it to your skin cells – essentially plumping them up into tiny water balloons that tighten and firm the skin. The more hydrated and elastic your skin is, the less likely it is to form premature lines and wrinkles. Done.
Corrective
Let’s talk about category two – corrective eye creams.
If you feel you fall into this category, you’ve likely gotten to a stage in your life where you see fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes, even when your skin is at rest.
Congrats! Those fine lines and wrinkles are proof positive of a life well lived! You’ve had some fun outdoors, you’ve spent a good amount of time smiling and laughing, truly you have earned your wisdom and along with it, you have some texture around your eyes.
If that texture, however, is not something that you are crazy about and you would like to fix it, look for an eye cream with peptides.
Like hyaluronic acid, peptides are a bio-friendly ingredient. Your body recognizes peptides, knows how to use them, and can put their superpowers to work right away. In an eye cream, that means a product that works to tighten and firm the skin.
If that texture around your eyes is pretty intense – fairly deep wrinkles or deep lines – consider layering eye treatment products in the same way you would layer skincare – a serum followed by a moisturizing cream.
Choose an eye serum geared towards firming and tightening and follow it with an eye cream rich in moisturizing ingredients. Now you have the best of both worlds.
Puffiness and Dark Circles
If you’re fighting puffiness and dar circles it has a few root causes. Sometimes it’s inherited. Sometimes it’s related to stress and sometimes it’s lifestyle-related (the overconsumption of caffeine and alcohol can be the culprit).
However, if you are completely virtuous and do no caffeine and never drink alcohol and you’re getting a sufficient amount of sleep and you’re still fighting dark circles and puffiness, then topical caffeine is the ingredient to look for. No joke.
Topically applied caffeine (in the correct skincare formulation) stimulates blood flow which helps take away puffiness around the eyes and reduce dark circles. Dark circles are pooled blood, caused by sluggish blood flow around the eyes, so an eye cream with caffeine helps to stimulate circulation around the eyes in the same way as it stimulates blood flow and the rest of your body.
How to Use Your Eye Cream
If your night routine is to cleanse, then apply a serum, then moisturize, the last product you’re going to apply is eye cream.
If your AM routine is to apply a serum, then sunscreen or serum, moisturizer, then sunscreen, apply your eye cream, then apply that sunscreen product as your final step. You want that SPF product to cover as much of your skin as possible to give yourself the most possible protection.
If you’re fighting puffiness and dark circles, experiment with skipping your eye cream at night and using it in the morning, only. Sometimes when you’re fighting puffiness, an eye cream can make your eyes even puffier as you sleep depending on what’s in the product.
Have we answered all your eye cream questions? If not, leave us a comment or DM us on Instagram, we’d love to hear from you!