The Benefits of Eye Creams

In the spectrum of 21st century skincare, eye creams are a necessity, not a luxury. Stay tuned and I’ll tell you why.

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I just said “eye creams are a necessity”… That’s a pretty bold statement. Think of the other necessary skincare products: cleanser, toner, sunscreen, exfoliant and antioxidant. That’s a pretty exclusive group to be part of.

There are two reasons why I think eye creams are necessary.

First is because your eyes and eye area, which are the first things people look at when they see your face, are also the first part of your face to show signs of aging. This is because both the epidermis and dermis are thinner, so signs of aging like wrinkles and dull skin, become more apparent, sooner. So you clearly want help here.

The second reason eye creams are a necessity is because of the unique properties of the eye area skin which are so different from the rest of the face.

Your eye area skin in addition to being much thinner is also more sensitive and it has fewer oil and water glands. As a result, it has both special needs but also special advantages. In terms of needs... you need richer and more emollient, humectant powered moisturizers to compensate for fewer water and oil glands. Because it’s more sensitive, the area needs better protection in terms of sunscreen and moisturizer but also less acidic and therefore less potentially irritating skincare products with a higher pH. Especially with actives like glycolics, antioxidants and bleaches which while on regular facial skin are well tolerated, on this eye area skin, they need to be adjusted to insure they’re not irritating. And as a note, since chem-free sunscreens are less apt to be irritating, they’re great for the eye area.

To take that a step further… all eye area skincare products undergo special extra testing to both insure a lack of irritation on this more sensitive skin and also… less chance of harm if the product ac-ci-dent-tally gets into your eye.

But with the epidermis and dermis being thinner, here’s the good news… the flip side of a thinner epidermis, which is the natural protective barrier of your skin, is better absorption and greater efficacy of ingredients in eye area products to make that early aging skin look better… like peptides, tensors, exfoliants, moisturizers and antioxidants. And that’s whether the ingredients work by penetrating into the skin or are simply applied on the skin like sunscreens and tensors.

One last tip: if you’re using concealer, prepping the skin with a moisturizing eye cream will help your concealer go on more smoothly and stay on longer.