What does eye cream do and why you need it

Skin concerns do not stop once they reach the eye area. Much like the skin on the rest of your face, under-eye skin can show signs of ageing, accrue dark circles, suffer from puffiness and become prone to dryness.

However, unlike the skin covering your cheeks, chin and forehead, under-eye skin is incredibly delicate and thin with fewer oil-producing glands, meaning the skincare products you apply elsewhere may not be ideal for your eye area.

Enter: eye creams. These products are generally formulated for the easily sensitised, thin skin under the eyes and can tackle several concerns, including ageing, lack of brightness and dryness. Want to find out which eye cream best suits your concerns for ultimate under-eye skin health? Read on for our guide to eye creams, gels and lotions.

How do I know which eye cream I need?

Knowing which eye cream you need means defining your under-eye skin type as well as your eye area skin concerns.

Before adding to cart, look at the skin under your eyes. This will help determine what eye cream texture will work the best for you. Do you have dry skin around your eyes? If so, a richer eye cream, ointment or thick lotion is the way to go. Have normal skin around the eyes? An eye gel or light serum works.

Next, take stock of your under-eye concerns (puffiness, dark circles, eye bags, crow’s feet, dryness, etc.) as this will determine what to look for when shopping for eye area products.

What is the most important ingredient for eye cream?

The most important ingredient in an eye cream depends on which under-eye concern you are working on. Here is a quick cheat sheet of ingredients to look for based on eye area issues.

• Eye creams for dark circles should include skin-brightening ingredients like vitamin C, liquorice root, kojic acid, zerumbone, niacinamide, retinoids and other antioxidants. A vitamin C eye cream is a great option for dark circles.
• Anti-ageing eye creams and gels that help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, skin laxity and crow’s feet often include peptides, retinol, antioxidants, hyaluronic acid and other skin-restoring ingredients.
• Eye creams and lotions for tired, puffy eyes or under-eye bags work best when formulated with peptides and soothing ingredients and when they include a cooling metal-tip applicator.
• Dry under-eye creams and lotions call for hyaluronic acid, ceramides and emollients such as natural plant butters and oils.

What should you avoid in eye cream?

Many of the things you should avoid in your facial skincare products you should also avoid in an eye cream. Skip any eye area products with denatured alcohol, essential oils and volatile fragrances. The eye area is already sensitive – why push it with known skin sensitisers?

If you are looking to keep your eye cream as beneficial as possible, you should also avoid jar packaging. Every time you open a jar, it exposes your product’s ingredients to light and air, making them less effective. Look for air-restrictive packaging. Board-certified dermatologist Dr Corey L. Hartman adds, “Airless pumps and containers with direct, cool metal applicators can come in handy to avoid finger contact altogether.”

Beyond this, the eye area needs to be babied due to its delicate nature. Remember, it is often the first place where unwanted seasonal skin changes and reactions show up. For this reason, it is best to avoid eye creams with high concentrations of bioactive ingredients. Lower concentrations are just fine for the under-eye area!

Do I need retinol or vitamin C eye cream?

Eye cream with vitamin C or retinol can be extremely beneficial for your under-eyes if your concerns include brightness, anti-ageing, skin laxity and protection from environmental aggressors, like pollution and UV rays.

Retinol (and retinoids) as well as vitamin C (and its derivatives) have antioxidant properties which help defend and protect thin under-eye skin from the pro-ageing external agents that we encounter daily, making the two ingredients good for overall skin health and anti-ageing purposes.

How to use an eye cream

• Cleanse, tone and exfoliate skin.
• Apply a pea-sized amount of eye cream, gel or lotion to the area around the eyes, avoiding the lash line.
• Pat in the eye product – do not rub or drag the sensitive skin around the eyes – with your ring finger.
• Apply cream to the eyelid if the specific product’s packaging says you can do so.
• Apply the rest of your facial treatments from thinnest to thickest texture.
• Finish with a facial moisturiser with SPF during the day and a regular hydrating moisturiser at night.

Do I put on eye cream before or after moisturiser?

Although eye creams can come in moisturising, creamy formulas, they are a treatment and fit into the treatment step of your skincare routine.

Treatments, such as eye cream, serums and boosters, are applied before moisturisers, in order from thinnest to thickest texture.

Is eye cream really necessary?

Eye creams are effective skincare products that can help with visible signs of ageing, puffiness, dark circles, dryness and more. They are perfect for the person looking to target stubborn under-eye concerns, which usually become visible in your mid-20s. If you are not one of those people, then eye cream is not necessary! A simple hydrating, fragrance-free moisturiser applied under the eyes is good enough for already healthy, hydrated under-eyes with few-to-no concerns.

Can I use regular moisturiser as eye cream?

Generally, you can use your go-to fragrance-free moisturiser as an eye cream. However, as we know, the skin around the eyes is thinner, more sensitive and produces less oil. For these reasons, take the following into consideration:

• Avoid applying moisturisers with high percentages of bioactive ingredients around the eyes.
• Ensure your face moisturiser contains antioxidant, soothing and hydrating ingredients.
• If your moisturiser has a thick, emollient or occlusive texture, do not apply too close to the lash line.

What happens if you do not use eye cream?

Not using eye cream is fine, but neglecting the eye area altogether is not. Skipping out on applying moisturising, nourishing and protective ingredients to the eye area can result in worsening concerns, dryness and more visible fine lines and wrinkles.

Dr Hartman adds, “Not to mention that neglecting the eye area leaves this vulnerable skin more susceptible to environmental allergens which can cause irritation and promote premature ageing.”

Related articles

• The truth about puffy eyes
• Which eye product is right for you?
• How to find the best eye cream