Article Overview
- The skin around the eyes is delicate and prone to signs of aging, such as fine lines, wrinkles, and dark circles.
- Factors like sun exposure, genetics, and lifestyle choices can contribute to the appearance of aging in the eye area.
- Eye treatments specifically formulated for the delicate eye area can help address these concerns and improve the overall appearance of the eyes.
- Retinol-based eye creams can help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, improve skin texture, and promote a more youthful look.
- Eye creams containing ingredients like peptides and hyaluronic acid can hydrate the skin, reduce puffiness, and diminish the appearance of dark circles, resulting in a refreshed and rejuvenated eye area.
The eye area can be home to a variety of skin concerns, which are highly influenced by the unique anatomy of the skin on this particular area of the face. Skin around the eye area can be up to 10 times thinner than other facial skin, and also has less oil glands and collagen1—which makes this area especially prone to wrinkles and dryness. Eye area muscles are also very active since they play a pivotal role in expressing our emotions, and these repetitive movements cause visible lines that can ultimately become etched into the skin and apparent when the muscles are at rest.
Facial serums and moisturizers often contain high concentrations of active ingredients that may be irritating to skin around eyes and sensitive eyelids. Specialized eye treatment products are designed to enhance the health and appearance of the thinner, more delicate skin surrounding the eyes. Products such as corrective eye creams can help improve existing signs of visible aging, including eye wrinkles or dry eye skin, while an antioxidant serum can help prevent skin damage that contributes to age-related changes.
The Most Common Eye-Area Skin Concerns
The unique anatomy of skin around the eyes, the natural aging process, environmental factors, and genetics can all contribute to common eye-area skin concerns.
Visible signs of aging
The natural aging process is a primary cause of eye wrinkles and other signs of aging in the delicate eye area. With age, our bodies produce less collagen, a key structural protein responsible for the skin’s smooth, plump, and youthful appearance. Collagen decline in the skin is further accelerated by glycation, a natural biological process that occurs when excess sugars bind to collagen and form damaging advanced glycation end-products (A.G.E.s) that make collagen weak and brittle.
A lifetime of squinting, smiling, and making other facial expressions plays a role in the development of crow’s feet and other visible signs of aging, as does damage caused by years of accumulated exposure to the sun and other environmental aggressors. The delicate skin around the eyes is often left unprotected from UV rays, making this area especially susceptible to the visible effects of sun damage. Other environmental factors such as wind, cold weather and pollution are detrimental to the skin as well, making them another source of wrinkles around the eyes.
Dry skin around eyes
Fewer oil glands, the delicate nature of eye-area skin, and the cumulative effects of environmental exposure can all contribute to dry skin around eyes. This dryness can accentuate the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, lead to skin that looks dull or fatigued, and cause makeup to settle into creases.
Dark circles
Dark circles can be the result of genetics, allergies, fatigue, and skin dehydration, and may be visible early on or later on in life. Aging can also cause dark circles to become more pronounced as the skin becomes thinner and allows underlying blood vessels to become more visible, leading to a blue or purple hue beneath the eyes. Dark circles that are brown in color are usually due to excess pigment that develops after unprotected sun exposure.
Puffiness
Several factors can lead to the appearance of puffiness and under-eye bags, even as early as the 20s. In addition to genetics, allergies, and fatigue, the natural aging process can cause the pockets of fat that surround the eyes to descend and become more prominent.
Lifestyle Factors That Contribute to Eye Concerns
Lifestyle habits can contribute to several eye-area concerns. Excess sun exposure, poor diet, and alcohol consumption all cause premature aging that negatively affects our skin’s appearance. However, smoking is one of the most damaging habits for the skin (and the body as a whole). The nicotine in cigarettes causes the blood vessels closest to the skin to narrow, in turn reducing blood flow to skin. With less oxygen and nutrients available, the skin becomes more likely to develop wrinkles.
SkinCeuticals Advanced Eye Treatment Solutions
Proper eye care is an integral part of any skincare regimen. These effective eye treatment products are formulated to maintain hydration levels, provide protection against damaging environmental aggressors, and visibly improve the appearance of key signs of aging including crow’s feet, loss of firmness, under-eye bags, dark circles, and puffiness.
A.G.E. Advanced Eye
This silky eye cream helps improve the appearance of crow’s feet, under-eye wrinkles, dark circles, and puffiness associated with the glycation process. The potent ingredients in this eye wrinkle treatment include concentrated Proxylane™, a wild fruit flavonoid blend of blueberry and pomegranate extracts, Matrixyl® 3000 peptides, glycyrrhetinic acid, caffeine, and optical diffusers that instantly enhance eye-area radiance and revive the look of dull, tired-looking eyes.
Eye Balm
This eye treatment provides rich, soothing moisture to help smooth the appearance of lines and wrinkles around the eyes, while also helping reduce dark circles and puffiness. Formulated with soy isoflavones, vitamin E, and silymarin, Eye Balm is designed to help improve three signs of aging - moisture loss, skin laxity, and free radical damage.
AOX+ Eye Gel
Formulated specifically for the delicate and vulnerable eye area, this groundbreaking serum-in-a-gel features a potent antioxidant blend of 5% L-ascorbic acid (pure vitamin C), 1% phloretin, and 0.5% ferulic acid to shield the skin from environmental damage. In addition to offering skin protection, this eye treatment also includes the ruscus aculeatus (a botanical extract derived from a small evergreen shrub native to Western Europe) to decrease the appearance of puffiness, along with caffeine to improve the look of dark circles and revive the eye area’s overall appearance.
Eye Treatment Application Tips
The ideal eye treatment approach includes daily environmental protection with AOX+ Eye Gel and the corrective cream that best suits your unique eye-area concerns. When applying any eye treatment, you want to be exceedingly gentle to avoid tugging or pulling on the skin. Our skincare professionals recommend using your ring finger or pinkie to gently pat your eye treatment products under the eyes, on the eyelids, and along the browbone.
To discover the ideal eye treatments for under-eye wrinkles, dry skin around eyes, and sensitive eyelids, use our online Regimen Finder, visit one of our SkinCeuticals SkinLab locations, or schedule an appointment with a SkinCeuticals Skincare Professional for a one-on-one consultation.
Shop Featured Products
A.G.E. Advanced Eye for Dark Circles
Eye cream for dark circles and wrinkles
Eye Balm
Hydrating eye cream for puffy eyes, under eye bags, and visible signs of aging
AOX+ Eye Gel
Vitamin C eye serum for dark circles under eyes
About Gretchen Wobensmith
Gretchen Wobensmith is a licensed aesthetician with 27 years of experience. She has been training professionally for large global brands for the last 20 years. Gretchen brings her skill set of having a deep understanding of skin histology and ingredient technology to the SkinCeuticals Global Education Team as their Product Lead. Gretchen shares her passion for mentoring skin care professionals, to elevate their knowledge and skill set in the medical skin care industry.
