Today I will discuss all things eyes. There are lot of
confusions around eye cream, what it is meant to do, how to apply it etc etc so
I will attempt to clear them up.
The difference between the skin around the eye and the
rest of the face is that the skin is much thinner because technically it is not
designed to take the same amount of wear and tear as the rest of the face. It has
far fewer oil glands which are required to give a protective barrier to the
skin and keep it supple under the tension of movement, and it has significantly
less collagen and elastin fibres. This area also moves a lot more than other
areas of the face.
We blink around 10,000 times a day and every facial
expression will affect the eye area in some way.
Combine that with the fact that due to the thin skin,
the eye area is more sensitive to product, more prone to inflammation and
allows the underlying blood vessels to show through more than on the rest of
the face, and you feel like you’re fighting a losing battle with anti-ageing.
For this reason, cosmetic and skin companies brought
out a million and one different eye creams all promising to improve the look of
lines and dark circles (note the marketing speak, “improve the look”,
completely unquantifiable)
The only way you will see a genuine reduction in lines
and wrinkles around the eye area is Botox. If you stop the muscles moving, you
decrease the tension on the skin and you reduce the amount of times the skin
creases due to expression. This is great for those who want to do Botox, but many
do not, or cannot. Similarly, Botox can only be applied in certain areas around
the eye (no one wants a paralysed eyeball) and the skin will still crease due
to movement of the cheeks and other muscles, which cannot be prevented.
Dark
Circles
There are 4 reasons for dark circles, and they all look
slightly different.
1 is simply due to the skin being thinner and the area
being highly vascularised (lots of blood vessels). This gives a blue ish
appearance to the under eye area. Lack of sleep or illness will increase the appearance
of this due to a change in the skin texture, just as lack of sleep makes your
skin generally lack lustre.
The extent of the dark circle also depends on the
shape of the eye socket and the level of fat deposit around the eye. If you
have deep socketed eyes, there is more chance for shadowing and this can also
present as a dark circle.
Similarly, if you have a smooth and even layer of fat
around the eye, you will have less of a dark circle. However if this fat moves or
lessons in some areas more than others – which it does with age, the a
puffy/bag appearance is created. The contrast between the raised area and flat
area of skin beyond it will create a shadow.
You can tell if this is the case by gentle pulling the under eye skin down.
If the colour moves with it i.e. onto the top of the cheek bone, then you know that the skin is pigmented.
If the colour does not move, i.e. the skin which appeared dark when in the under-eye area, is now a normal colour when over the cheek bone, you know that the darkness is caused by the visible blood vessels rather than pigmentation.
Pigmentation can be improved with carious products including vitamin C (my favourite is the Ordinary Vitamin C powder which can simply be mixed into your eye cream or serum), and the brilliant iS Clinical White Lightening Complex and NeoStrata Enlighten Pigment Lightening Gel, Pricey, but they work. Cheaper alternative: Alpha H Absolute Eye Complex
Of course, you MUST take your SPF up to the lashline. If it causes sensitivity then look out for my post on SPF's for picky skin, coming soon
Of course, you MUST take your SPF up to the lashline. If it causes sensitivity then look out for my post on SPF's for picky skin, coming soon
My top tips:
1) Take MOST of your serums up to the lash line AND
over the lid. Droopy, wrinkled lids will counteract any good work you have done
on the under-eye area. The proviso with this statement is that certain
active ingredients may cause problems if applied too close to the eye area.
Retinol, for example, which can cause
dryness initially at least, if applied to the under-eye area can actually make
them look worse before they look better. However, retinol travels so even if
you avoid the eye area, it will work its way up anyway. Personally, I apply my
retinol serums all around the eye area. With the stronger ones I put a layer of
moisturiser underneath to protect. This is especially important if you are
using retinol (vs retinoids) or prescription strength retinoic acid.
Similarly, vitamin c can tingle so go carefully
Similarly, vitamin c can tingle so go carefully
Hyaluronic acid, niacinamide etc
are fantastic around the eyes
2) You need to have different
products for de-puffing and hydrating. These 2 problems require complete
opposite tactics to deal with them.
Puffiness is a build-up
of fluid around the eye area. It can be caused by:
· occlusive skin care e.g. creams that are too rich a reaction
to something – either topical, or things like hay feverfood – salty food, rich
food, alcohol will all cause puffiness
· having a cold/being ill and run down
· for some people even lying too flat in bed can cause it
In order to solve puffiness, you need to remove the fluid from the area.
I would do this in 2 ways
- Use a caffeine based eye product – there are loads of great ones but I love The Ordinary version (bear in mind, this draws moisture out of the eye, so use this, brush your teeth/do your hair then apply something moisturising over the top
- move fluid away from the area via lymphatic drainage massage. This involves gentle tapping under the eye moving from the inner corner of the eye towards the temples. You can also apply gentle pressure under the brow bone at the beginning of the eyebrow and press along the brow bone out towards the temples
- I also use my foreo luna mini device to help drain as the vibration will stimulate flow better than any finger tapping. I hold it gently on the inner part of the under-eye area and move out towards the temple, then use it to lift up the arch of the brow and hold it there. This also gives you a little brow/eye lift.
3) Eye creams – choose these
carefully. Do not expect them to do anything miraculous. I purely use one
because my eye area is much drier than the rest of my face, so I want an extra
layer there before I apply an oil free moisturiser. They will not anti-age better
than the serums or moisturisers you use on the rest of your face however they
can decrease dehydration and allow make up to sit far nicer than on dry crepey
skin.
Here are some I like:
Eucerin
Anti-Ageing Hyaluron FillerEye Treatment – I have re-purchased this
many many times. It doesn’t sting, it moisturises, it plumps, make up applies
over it. Nuff said.
nspa
Smoothing Eye Cream – I bought this because I had run out of eye cream
and was in Asda, so this was the first thing I grabbed. It does nothing special
however it hydrates for the full day, concealer goes over it incredibly well,
and after having my eye lashes tinted whilst on roaccutane where the skin under
my eyes was red raw, this was the only thing that calmed it and didn’t sting…AT
ALL.
Olay
Pro-Retinol Eye treatment. Use this if you are scared of using retinol too
close to the eyes, or are on a stronger retinol product and can’t deal with the
dry flaking under eye area for the 3-6 months it takes to settle
No7 Laboratories LINE CORRECTING Booster Serum - My new favourite. This is not designed as an eye cream but it IS designed to target areas with more lines/dehydration/signs of ageing. I can honestly say that this does work. If you have deep wrinkles it will soften them slightly, if you have signs of dehydration under the eye (think cakey concealer) it will definitely improve the plumpness and any fine lines will definitely be reduced. It is very liquidy, it can be mixed in with other eye creams, serums or moisturisers but I use it neat and it works amazingly. I do not feel the need to apply anything on top and I am usually a richer-the-better under the eye kinda gal.
Do not waste your money on expensive eye creams. There is nothing extra
they can add to make it worth it. The honest truth is that no cream will ever
get rid of the dark circle, all you can hope to do is strengthen, plump and
fortify the skin over the top so 1) the veins underneath are less visible
because the skin is slightly less sunken when plumped and hydrated and 2) the
skin is smooth so bounces light by itself (like an inbuilt Touche Eclat).
Concealer is your best friend.
My dark circles are bad enough to require 2 concealers.
I stay away from heavy formulas under the eye like Laura Mercier secret
camouflage/Tarte shape tape as these are absolutely no good unless you do not
have a single line or wrinkle under your eye and if they cake or crease this will
just make the area look heavily made up, which defeats the object of what you
are doing.
Instead I apply a high coverage liquid concealer – Estee
Lauder Double Wear concealer is
my favourite. This just goes in the dark areas – the blueish bit from the inner
corner of the eye to the nose, and the little dark area in the outer corner.
I then apply a light reflective concealer – I prefer a combination of
light reflection and coverage vs the straight up highlighting pens like YSL
Touche Eclat or Dior flash.
If all else fails, camouflage with mascara or eye make up
On days where I’m going more natural or can’t be bothered, I love Max
Factor Mastertouch Concealer
Hope this helps!
Picture credits.
https://www.charlottaeve.com/2017/11/09/howtodeepseteyesmakeup/
No comments:
Post a Comment