Our eyes may tell a story, but they cannot lie. Our eyes reveal a lot about us - those secrets we try to keep, such as staying up too late, eating poorly, or sun worshiping (
or trips to the tanning bed ... come on people!). Our bad habits find themselves deep inside the lines around our eyes, bags under our eyes (
the size of your Hartmann luggage) and dark circles underneath our eyes.
The
skin around our eyes is thin. It shows signs of aging and poor lifestyle long before other areas on our face. The fact of the matter is, the skin is far thicker and more resilient elsewhere on our face. The skin around our eyes is prone to irritation and tends to be sensitive. It's no wonder women reach for eye treatments (creams, gels, lotions) more than any other
anti-aging product. There are products that promise to firm, brighten, sooth, moisturize, prevent fine lines and wrinkles, diminish dark circles, and rid of puffiness.
We are not educated on proper
skin care early enough in life. In fact, dermatologists agree that to get the most benefit from eye treatments, the optimum age to start using them is in our mid-twenties (earlier if you are a smoker or have been exposed to too much sun).
I know what you are thinking - great, I never knew this and now I am so behind. I get it. I didn't use eye treatment products until my early 30s. And yes, I feel like I am behind. After age 30, the repair process slows and our skin starts to lose elasticity, so the skin loses firmness. It is less able to hold hydration, no matter how much water we drink. However, there is hope and there are a lot of great products out there. You may even be surprised as to my true feelings about eye treatment products.
First, let's explore some of the more touted products out there and their claims. (
Please also see: Product Reviews for various eye care products). Elizabeth Arden's
Prevage Eye Anti-Aging Moisturizing Treatment is said to use antioxidants to boost collagen levels and is famed for its repairing qualities. Givenchy
No Surgetics Plasti Sculpt Lifting Gel and skyn Iceland
Relief Eye Cream protect and prevent puffiness. Christian Dior
HydraAction Visible Defense and Murad
Essential-C-Eye Cream have a light-reflective sheen to enhance the skin's brightness, while delivering antioxidants. Omorovicza Reviving Eye Cream and DDF
Protective Eye Cream have added coffee to act as an anti-inflammatory and provide good sources of vitamin K. Then there are all the Vitamin C infused eye treatment products. Can their claims be confirmed? The products above are ones that I have never tried. Not to say that they aren't effective. My personal short list of eye treatment products that I love are Theraderm
Peptide Repair Eye Crème, SkinMedica
TNS Illuminating Eye Cream, NUDE
Advanced Eye Complex and DermaRadiant
Ageless Eyes. Are you confused? You should be. There are just too many out there. So where do we turn?
Good question. One that you should be asking your dermatologist. To be completely honest, if a
retinoid is the most effective
anti-aging product out there, why do we even need an eye cream? I have not banned eye treatment products ... I am just wiser when it comes to my purchases. I listen to my dermatologist. I try not to be sucked into the glamorous marketing campaigns. I always fall back on the inherent truth, retinoids are the most effective anti-aging products.
