How to find an eye cream that works

Choosing the best eye cream for you is not a simple matter.

Eye cream active ingredients have become more complex and varied. Reading labels on anti aging skin care can be confusing and many of us end up spending a lot of money trying out products that just don’t work.

But when it comes down to it, the bewildering array of eye creams on the cosmetic counter offer solutions to two specific problems – puffy eyes and dark circles.

Most of the eye creams on the market also address skin aging around the eye – eye wrinkles and sagging skin.

Puffy eyes and dark circles are both things that concern most of us as we get older. Skin becomes more fragile as we age and skin aging often shows up first around the eyes. Puffiness around the eye area goes with sagging skin and eye bags – in fact it can be a sign of skin irritation or inflammation which is a direct cause of skin aging over time.

As we get older aging is more apparent around the eye area – aging skin is thinner and this allows the blood vessels to show increasing the likelihood of dark circles under the eyes.

It’s important not to use an ordinary anti aging cream in the under eye area. Face creams are formulated to be a heavier consistency for long term hydration and are likely to overload the skin making wrinkles and sagging under the eye worse.

The great thing is you can do something about these problems and nowadays that doesn’t have to mean plastic surgery. To choose the best anti aging eye cream for you, follow a simple three step plan:

1. Decide what problem is most important for you in addition to eye wrinkles – are you concerned about puffy eyes or do you simply need an eye cream for dark circles?
2. Go for physician grade products with high levels of the active ingredients that specifically target your problem.
3. If you want to target puffy eyes and dark circles at the same time, choose an all round product – you lose some effectiveness but treat both at the same time.

So what are the ingredients and best products to look out for?

An eye cream that aims to give you an eye lift and target puffiness will include actives like: caffeine, retinol, alpha hydroxy acids (AHA), copper peptides, and vitamin C to tighten skin and stimulate collagen growth.

Strivectin SD Eye Cream is an example of this type of eye cream – exactly the same active pentapeptides as the best selling Strivectin SD Cream but reformulated to avoid eye irritation.  As an alternative  Kinerase Extreme Lift Eye specifically targets lines and wrinkles using a mix of peptides and high levels of the anti aging active ingredient – Kinetin.  Excellent research and customer feedback support both products.

Eye creams for dark circles are most likely to include: vitamin K, kojic acid, and a skin lightening active like licorice extract or vitamin C

There are an increasing number of eye creams targeting dark circles on the market and one of the best reviewed on many skin care sites is DDF Erase Eye Gel with high levels of vitamin K to strengthen capillary walls in the delicate eye area.

Eye creams in the ‘all round’ anti aging category- will include a combination and aim to target all the under eye problems: puffiness, dark circles, wrinkles and sagging.  There are a huge number of products to choose from.

Sticking with the physician-grade products you can try MD Skincare’s Lift and Lighten Eye Cream or Kinerase Extreme Lift Eye – a powerful combination of highly active ingredients to firm, tone and plump out wrinkles.

La Roche Posay Redermic Eyes contains silica to smooth and existing wrinkles and hyaluronic acid for deep hydration.  Vitamin C restores tone and provides antioxidant protection.  Extremely reasonable in price and very well reviewed.

If you want to reduce eye wrinkles and eliminate puffy eyes or dark circles buying a specialist eye cream is vital. The dermatologist grade eye creams listed here are a good place to start.

Related Articles:

• Eye cream for dark circles
• What causes dark circles?
• Puffy eyes – the no cost solution