Many people think of eye creams as a luxury item and assume that their ordinary moisturizer will do the trick. While it would be ideal to have a single product for multiple areas of the face, the reality is that your facial moisturizer isn’t designed for use around the eyes. Here’s why:
- Sensitivity. Because the skin around the eyes tends to be more delicate and sensitive than the rest of the face, the active ingredients in a facial moisturizer are typically too strong for use around the eyes (and can irritate the eye area).
- Dehydration. Not only is the skin around the eyes thinner and more sensitive, but this area also lacks oil glands. Without this natural moisture, the eye area requires deeply hydrating creams. A typical facial moisturizer may be designed to hydrate the skin, but it isn’t as emollient as a specialized eye cream.
- Fine lines and wrinkles. The dry, thin skin around the eyes ages at an accelerated rate in comparison to the rest of the face. Crow’s feet and expression lines around the eyes will likely become noticeable long before you see fine lines and wrinkles anywhere else.
- Specific benefits. In addition to combating fine lines and wrinkles, eye creams also offer a variety of special benefits that facial moisturizers don’t. Specifically, eye creams reduce puffiness and swelling, brighten dark shadows and soothe redness and irritation — all key benefits for maintaining a healthy, radiant appearance.
Eye creams have a variety of specialized benefits for the eye area — from decreasing darkness and puffiness to smoothing wrinkles and hydrating the skin. So, whether you’re 25 or 65, you’ll find countless eye creams to combat your particular concerns.
If you're not sure where to start, look first for a basic, affordable eye cream that can be used daily. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Eye Cream is a lightweight formula which contains vitamins A, C, E and B5 to hydrate, and alpha hydroxy acids to erase fine lines. L'Occitane Immortelle Eye Balm is a soothing and moisturizing cream which is formulated with Immortelle floral water. Or, if you're looking to drastically reduce fine lines and wrinkles, try a cream with Retinol like RoC Eye Cream.