Should you use an eye cream?

In all honesty…..not necessarily.

If you’ve heard people say that the skin under the eyes (peri-orbital skin) is thinner and different from the rest of the face that is correct. We don’t have oil glands or visible pores in the peri-orbital skin which means that it is more prone to drying and showing sings of age before the rest of the face. So logically, this skin shouldn’t be exposed to drying products like AHAs or BHAs. These should be avoided around the peri-orbital area. However when it comes to moisturizing, everything you apply to the face can also be applied around the eye area. Things like peptides, niacinamide, antioxidants are great around the eyes. Even vitamin C but preferably an ester rather than L-Ascorbic acid so it is non-irritating. You can even introduce a retinoid around the eyes in a slow and gentle progression.

Generally speaking, eye creams often have lower concentrations of the anti-aging ingredients than face creams but they do tend to have higher concentrations of the hydrating ingredients. So basically, if you use a face hydrator around your eyes and you feel you have enough moisturization, then you’re good to go. If you still feel dry, you may be better off adding a more hydrating eye cream.

My recommendation is always this; if you have the choice of purchasing a lower quality face product so you can afford the eye product, forget it and buy a single better quality face product and use it for your face and peri-orbital skin. And if money is no object, then you can get both.

I personally use all of my non AHA/BHA products around the eye and I pay particular attention to use a retinoid around the periorbital area as well. Even though some retinoids like tretinoin can be drying, they are clinically proven to stimulate collagen production and really reduce wrinkles/crow’s feet over time with consistent use. So once my face routine is done, I go in with an additional eye hydrator to increase the moisture levels. A hyaluronic acid product can also help in diminishing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and crepey skin around the eyes. My favorite is LINES by Skin Better Science because it the hyaluronic acid (which is a HUGE molecule) is snipped into many tiny molecules that have a delivery system that allows the product to penetrate the skin.