Dark circles, puffiness (eye-bags), and wrinkles…Why is the skin under our eyes so sensitive?

You can tell if a person is happy or sad, in an instant, just by looking into their eyes! In fact, the eye area is generally the first place we focus on when looking at another person. With such a crucial role to play, it’s natural that we would want this area to look its best.

Eye contour

Disappointingly, the skin around your eyes is the part of your body that can show the earliest signs of premature aging, stress, and fatigue. Even more so with active women and athletes!

This is because the eye contour skin is thinner, and more delicate, than the skin on any other part of your body. In addition, this area is also under constant exertion from the strain of 22 muscles in perpetual motion performing approximately 10,000 blinks per day.

Fine lines and wrinkles, under-eye bags, and dark circles are quick to form, so rather than treating these ailments once they appear, we should take action to prevent them. Applying basic methods of protection, like wearing sunscreen, sunglasses, hats and visors assist to combat sun and even pollution damage, plus further avenues of protection and nourishment, such as eye contour creams and serums, need to be included to combat damage due to stress, and aging.

What is an eye contour cream?

An eye contour cream, as its title suggests is a cream specially formulated for this specific skin zone – the eye contour.

These creams, sometimes referred to as serums, should contain a combination of a few of the following ingredients: Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide, Vitamins C and E, Eyeliss, Adipoless, Chenopodium Quinoa Seed Extract, and Ceramide complex. The benefits of these include a rich source of antioxidants; restoring and maintaining full-fledged skin functions; deep hydration; skin firming, lightening, and smoothness; reduction of hyper-pigmentation; an increased collagen production; and reduction of excess dermal glycosaminoglycans, which improve the skin’s protective barrier. They also protect the capillaries against environmental aggression and the consequences of stress and tiredness; as well as limit the formulation of new blood vessels, keeping skin and vascular structures intact.

When should we start using an eye contour cream?

Prevention is always better than cure, and so ideally, you should be introducing and using an eye contour cream before dark circles, bags and wrinkles appear. This helps to not only delay their development, but also lessens the severity of natural eventualities such as crows feet.

Of course, if you are already facing these concerns, an eye contour cream will assist in greatly reducing the severity currently present, and will radically slow down further damage from occurring.

How do we use an eye contour cream?

Most eye contour creams should be used morning and night as part of your daily skincare routine. Please take note that if your eye contour cream contains photosensitive or photo-inactivate ingredients, it is recommended that it only be used at night.

Following your cleansing routine, apply the cream using your ring finger, in small dots over the bone of both the upper and lower eye contour. Each eye requires no more than a pea sized amount of cream. Gently extend the cream with soft dabbing movements, starting from the inner and moving towards the outer part of the eye. Your ring finger is actually your weakest finger, and this helps to ensure that you do not cause stress or damage to the area while applying the cream.

Be careful to stay on the bone line and never to apply eye creams directly along the lid line as eye contour creams travel and you want to avoid discomfort and irritation to the eyes.

Which eye contour cream should you use?

There are so many eye creams to choose from, so the best way for you to decide which to use is by looking at the ingredients. Take a special note of which key ingredients are used. Will these assist in repairing your present problems? Do they assist in preventing damage caused by your specific lifestyle?

For example, if you lead an active or rigorous lifestyle, you will want to choose an option that can be used both morning and night to protect your eyes for your workouts, and then to repair any ailments before they set in.