Did you know that the thinnest skin on your whole body is found on your eyelids?
In fact, it is not just your eyelids that are thin, either. The skin all around your eyes is thin and prone to dehydration, puffiness, and sun damage, precisely because it is so delicate. That means that you need to take proper care of it, using the correct products formulated for the purpose. Here are some eye care facts, tips, and need-to-know information to help you avoid dark circles and keep a youthful, well-rested look.
Facts About the Skin Around Your Eyes
- The skin is easy to damage. As we already mentioned, the skin around the eyes is very thin – up to ten times thinner than the rest of the skin on our face. This is due in part to personal factors, like age, skin type, or genetics, but it is also due to the lack of fatty underlying tissues and glands, like in other areas. Because of this, the skin here does not have as much elastin, collagen and hyaluronic acid, which you will recognize from our prior blogs as some of the main compounds that contribute to healthy, supple skin. As a result, this area is often the first to show signs of aging, a process which is aggravated by sun exposure, smoking, sleep patterns, nutrition, and other lifestyle factors.
- You do not have to have dark circles. When the dark circles under your eyes are prominent, it is because the blood vessels there are enlarged and swollen. With such thin skin, this buildup quickly creates the puffy, tired look that we all wish would never come back. To combat these dark circles, good circulation under the eyes is vitally important. One of the main factors in the prominence of these undereye circles is a lack of sleep, which puts stress on the body and engorges the blood vessels under the eyes. Other environmental contributors – like too much screen time, smoking, allergies, dehydration, or sun exposure – can also cause these circles to flare up.
It is very helpful to have a product that helps contract the vessels and stimulate blood circulation under the eyes, such as GM Collin Vasco Tonic Concentrate (which contains butcher’s broom and ginkgo biloba). A good eye cream will also help to hydrate the skin, which lessens the appearance of the dark circles.
- Reduce puffiness with the right cream. Swollen, puffy skin under the eyes might not just be due to a lack of circulation. It can also be caused by accumulation of fluid, like extracellular water or lymph. In order to correct this, many eye creams have ingredients that constrict the cells, pushing the fluid away from the tender skin under the eyes. The fluid can then be flushed away through the lymphatic system or reabsorbed back into surrounding tissues.
Note that proper hydration is very important in maintaining a good complexion around the eyes and face. You have nothing to lose by drinking plenty of water, and your body will thank you for it – especially as it tries to get rid of excess waste materials that might be present in some of your cells after sun exposure or other damage.
- Not all creams are equal. Proper eye care requires specialized creams to keep the skin supple and firm. This means that rich face or hand creams – though they may be quite good for those areas – are not a good option for the skin around the eyes. For best results, you should get an eye cream that is formulated for this thin fragile skin. In particular, you want to make sure the eye cream has peptides, antioxidants, and hyaluronic acid to best nourish the skin. We also recommend a mineral sunscreen, which is a good way to protect this sensitive area from UV rays and oxidative stress.
We also advise against using creams such as retinol and certain vitamin C serums around the eyes, because they are too harsh for the skin there. And of course, always be careful when applying any product on your face, as the wrong chemical getting into your eyes can sting and burn.
- This skin needs help to look its best. The eye area lacks oil glands, which help to keep skin looking young all across the rest of the body. This is another reason to use an eye cream. A good eye cream will hydrate the drier parts of the eye skin while also stimulating the skin to retain and produce collagen. It is not as simple as just pulling any bottle off a shelf – in fact, it will be quite helpful if you know what ingredients are responsible for what effects in a moisturizer, so you can make an informed decision about the best one to get.
Making Your Eyes Look Their Best
It can be tricky to know what to do and what to look for when it comes to the sensitive skin beneath your eyes. But even if it seems like every cream out there does not help, we have many services that do – and we would be happy to explain them to you. Reach out today to book an appointment at Spa Escape, and we can get your eyes, skin, nails, hair, and everything else looking its best!
