Undereye Care

The skin around the eyes is the thinnest and the first to display signs of aging. Hence, it is important to keep this area of the face covered and protected, maybe even more than the face. Sadly, most people neglect care in this region which may lead to wrinkles and sagging, puffy, dark circles. Now no one wants that, do they?

Apart from eating clean, exercising regularly, resting adequately, not smoking and limiting alcohol consumption, etc., here are some measures you can take to ensure you maintain a healthy under eye region:

1-  SPF.

Before attempting to invest in anything for your under eyes, make sure you are protecting them against the harsh UVA and UVB rays. No matter what you apply topically, the effects will be reversed on exposure to sunlight. Invest in a good, broad-spectrum sunscreen, glasses and hat.

2-  Moisturizer.

As a general rule, if a moisturizer is suitable for application on the face, it should be suitable for application on the under eyes. Ones that contain sensitizing ingredients and fragrance compounds must be avoided in the area.

If you follow the above two pointers diligently, you shouldn’t need an extra eye cream or such. But, often, we are not doing what’s necessary to protect our under eyes, and with all the extra pollution, depleted ozone, etc. today, some extra TLC would only do us good. Look for the following category of ingredients in your moisturizer/eye cream:

3-      Humectants.

Hyaluronic acid would be considered the gold standard under this category. Other beneficial humectants would include: vegetable glycerin, ceramides, dimethicone, etc. These draw water to the area and help to ‘de-puff’, basically.

Let’s include occlusives such as plant oils and butters under this category, also, because the two usually go hand in hand to protect and reinforce the skin barrier. Those who’ve been closely following our articles will know why.

4-      Antioxidants.

Anything that boosts collagen will help to ‘tighten’ the undereye region. Look for ingredients such as vitamins C and E. If your skin can tolerate vitamin A, don’t shy from it.

5-      Other ‘brightening ingredients’.

Examples include: plant extracts such as licorice, green tea, mulberry, bearberry; niacinamide; caffeine; soy; etc.

Now that we’ve discussed what to look for in your eye cream/moisturizer, let’s look for what not to look in it:

1.       Fragrance or essential oils.

2.       Artificial dyes.

3.       Drying ingredients such as denatured alcohol.

4.       Harsh treatments and medications.

5.       Scrubs and exfoliators.

6.       Whopping results.