Choosing the best eye cream is not a simple matter.
Active ingredients in skin care have become more complex and varied. Reading labels on anti wrinkle eye creams can be confusing and many of us end up spending a lot of money trying out products that just don’t work.
Searching for an eye care cream on the cosmetic counter presents you with a bewildering array of products most of which offer solutions to some specific problems – wrinkles, puffy eyes and dark circles.
Why use an eye cream?
Most of the eye creams on the market address skin aging around the eye area.
Eye wrinkles and sagging skin are often the first signs of aging for many of us as skin is thinner here than anywhere else on your face.
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 even more apparent around the eye area – aging skin gets thinner and this allows the blood vessels to show increasing the likelihood of dark circles under the eyes.
Finding the best eye cream
You may suspect that eye creams exist just to give manufacturers another chance to sell something new.
In fact – if you want to look after your skin properly as you get older – 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.
Eye creams that work are made especially for the delicate skin around the eyes – they are often lighter in consistency, sometimes clear gels or lightweight lotions and they target the worst problems of aging skin around the eyes.
The eye area is especially prone to irritation and allergic reactions – heavier creams may migrate more easily if applied too close to the eye – especially in hot weather during the day or overnight during heavy or restless sleep.
Eye creams are tested and formulated to stay put and to avoid irritating the eyes – many are non perfumed or hypoallergenic.
The potential for failure and the range of problems is greater with an eye cream than any other anti aging product so it’s sensible to buy the best you can afford.
Here’s a simple three point plan to find an eye cream that works for your special needs:
- Decide what problem is most important for you in addition to the normal signs of aging (eye wrinkles, crows feet, sagging skin) – are you concerned about puffy eyes or do you want an eye cream for dark circles?
- Go for physician grade anti aging eye creams with high levels of the active ingredients that specifically target your problem.
- 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.
Best eye creams for 2011
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.
Kinerase Extreme Lift Eye is an example of this type of eye cream. It 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. Probably the best under eye cream specifically for wrinkles.
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 include a combination of powerful ingredients 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.
I am a big fan of Murad skin care – the products are well priced and most people find they work! Murad Essential-C Eye Cream is based on vitamin C to protect and hydrates the delicate eye area and targets both fine lines and dark circles.
Using vitamin C to stimulate collagen and caffeine to reduce puffiness this lovely light cream also contains a broad spectrum sunscreen to protect against further sun damage and is designed for daytime wear. The effects of the sun are a major cause of future wrinkles and dark circles.
An alternative vitamin C based product to the Murad Essential C Eye Cream – although without an SPF – is La Roche Posay Redermic Eyes which contains silica to smooth and plump existing wrinkles and hyaluronic acid for deep hydration. Vitamin C restores tone and provides antioxidant protection. La Roche Posay is a leading European dermatologist led skin care company and this is one of their most popular products. Extremely reasonable in price and very well reviewed.
Murad also make one of the best anti aging eye creams on the market currently – Murad Renewing Eye Cream which targets the three main problems of aging skin around the eyes – crows feet, dark under eye patches and puffiness.
This award winning eye cream contains a special eye brightening complex and uses peptides to reduce puffiness and wrinkles with natural extracts to increase levels of hydration. Over 300 customer reviews on the Murad site with an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars. Can be used day and night and is non-perfumed so should not irritate eyes.
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.
For a great all round product which delivers results across all the areas of concern I would buy the Murad Renewing Eye Cream