Why You Need To Use Eye Cream For Eye Skin

Eye Skin Care Tips

You can often tell a lot about a person simply by looking into their eyes, which is perhaps why the eyes are often referred to as “the windows to the soul”.

However it is not only your eyes that speak volumes about you, but also the skin around your eyes.

People who have bags under their eyes for example, tend to be perceived as being tired. Whilst those who have lots of wrinkles in the corners of their eyes, are often perceived as having lived a hard life.

Ideally the skin around the eyes should appear smooth, soft and wrinkle free, although to obtain or maintain such an appearance it takes a special skin care ritual.

Understanding The Skin Around Your Eyes

All the skin that sits in the hollow of your eye socket is considered as your eye area skin.

This includes all the skin underneath the eyebrows, the skin on the sides of the eyes, the skin underneath your eye and the skin that extends across the bridge of your nose.

An important point to remember about skin care for the eye area, is that your eye skin is a lot thinner than the skin on the rest of your face.

The only exception to this is the skin on the outsides of your eyes, near your temples, as this skin is more similar to the skin on your face.

However it is still prone to early wrinkles and expression lines which are sometimes referred to as crow’s feet.

Unfortunately wrinkles around the corners of your eyes can never be fully prevented, because due to the location of the skin it will eventually develop some fine expression lines.

You can however prevent these fine lines from turning into deep wrinkles, providing you have a good skin care routine and look after your eye skin.

Why You Need To Use Eye Cream On Your Eyes

The trouble with using the same moisturiser for your eye area as you do for your face, is that face moisturisers are too thick for the delicate skin that surrounds your eyes.

A common side effect of using face cream around the eyes is milia, which are small whiteheads that surround the skin around the eyes.

Also face cream can get into your eyes and cause irritation. This occurs because once the cream has been absorbed into the skin, it tends to move throughout the skin to other areas.

You will know when this happens to you because your eyes will feel watery, and your vision will get worse or become blurry.

Treating Milia

If you have developed milia after using face cream around your eye area, one of the best ways to get rid of the small whiteheads are with a salicylic acid exfoliant.

Unfortunately however this only works for soft milia that haven’t fully hardened, and unless you are deliberately looking for them, you will probably only notice them when they are already hard.

At this point your best option is to have them removed by a skin care professional.

How Choose An Eye Cream

Skin care for the eye area should involve the use of a product which has been specifically formulated as an eye cream.

Eye creams are much lighter than regular face moisturisers so they won’t irritate your eyes, yet are still designed to be highly moisturising to the skin.

An ideal eye cream is one that firms, energises, moisturises and is absorbed quickly into the skin.

Although most eye creams tend to come in small bottles, it should last you a long time because you won’t need to use much of it and there is not much skin to cover around the eyes.

How To Apply Eye Cream

To apply eye cream start by placing a small amount above and beneath the eye in a gentle tapping motion.

Start at the outer edge and tap the eye cream towards the inner eye, being careful not to get the cream in your lashes.

Eye cream will migrate somewhat once it has been applied on the skin, so apply the cream a good distance away from the skin that sits at the very top and bottom of eye.

This is important because if cream gets into the tear ducts along your lash line, it can block important eye excretions leading to dry eyes and eventually boils.

You should apply eye cream as part of your regular skin care routine in the morning and at night.

Retin A Eye Cream

Whilst Retin A can be very effective at removing fine lines and wrinkles, you should avoid using it on the skin in the hollow of your eye socket because it is much too sensitive to be treated with Retin A. If you do, it could irritate your eyes and even damage them.

It is ok however to use Retin A eye cream on the outside corners of your eyes, on the crows feet.

Caring For Eye Skin

The skin that surrounds your eyes is very often a reflection of your current lifestyle.

Below are some of the most common symptoms of an unhealthy lifestyle to look out for and a description of what they mean.

Dark Circles Under The Eyes

The area under your eye accumulates bodily waste products. To clear this out you need to get your lymph moving.

This can be done by regular aerobic exercise, yoga, dry brushing your body or performing a lymph drainage facial.

Expect to see results in about two to three months.

Bags Underneath The Eyes (Eyebags)

Baggy eyes are a common symptom of a lack of sleep and/or sleeping with your head in a position that is level with your body.

As a preventative measure, sleep with your head in an elevated position (such as on two pillows) to prevent water and waste from pooling in the eye area.

Bags underneath the eyes can also signal health problems, such as allergies. Most of the time these are allergies to yeast, dairy, alcohol and wheat.

So if you can never seem to get rid of the bags under your eyes no matter what you do, then it might be a good idea to get yourself tested for such allergies.

For temporary relief from bags underneath the eyes, place used tea bags or a slice of potato under the eyes and lie down for 10-15 minutes.

Fine Lines Around The Eyes

Fine lines around the eyes are characteristic of a person who doesn’t drink much water and doesn’t moisturise their face.

If this applies to you, then increasing your intake of fresh water and moisturising your face should be the first thing you should do.

If drinking water and moisturising your face doesn’t do anything for you, then you may need to use a firming lotion to help minimise their appearance.

You may also consider doing eye facial exercises to strengthen the muscles underneath the eye area skin, as this will also help to firm the skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.