Eye contour care

The eye contour area is extremely difficult to treat, whether by skin care techniques, injections or surgery. That's why it's so important to take care for this area of the face all year round. The beauty and youthfulness of our eyes depend to a great extent on the quality of our skin around the eyes.

Wrinkles around the eyes

The signs of aging appear relatively early around the eyes.

To fight wrinkles, retinol, vitamin C, peptides and especially argireline will be your friends to have an effect on fine lines. Moisturizing products will also have a smoothing effect, so you'll see rapid results. Gentle cleansing is also recommended to avoid drying out the eye contours and creating dehydration lines.

Bags under the eyes

The brown ring:

As you know, pigmented dark circles are very complicated to treat. What's more, we're dealing with the eye contour area, so we can't be too aggressive with our cosmetics. But to achieve results, we need to multiply the number of active ingredients.

Interesting active ingredients include vitamin C, gentle exfoliants, PHA, lactic acid, niacinamide, tranexamic acid, azelaic acid and alpha arbutin. Of course, you shouldn't use them all at once.

The blue ring

However, there are also genetic hyperpigmentations, particularly in India and Asia, and one way of determining whether this hyperpigmentation is genetic or acquired is that the hyperpigmentation will also affect the upper eyelid. In this case, treatments are much less effective. As far as lifestyle habits are concerned, the most important thing is to wear sunglasses.

The blue ring:

For blue circles "which can have a pink or purple tint", the thinness of this skin means that the vessels and orbicularis muscle can be seen through.

Caffeine and vitamin :

An interesting active ingredient for limiting vessel dilation is caffeine, which can provide vasoconstriction to reduce the appearance of vessels and reduce oedema. Another interesting product is vitamin K, which helps reduce hemosiderin deposits.

Retinol:

Vitamin A and its derivatives are an interesting active ingredient for thickening the dermis and slightly reducing dark circles, induced by the presence of the subcutaneous orbicularis muscle.

It is truly the anti-aging active ingredient par excellence, acting deep down in the dermis by stimulating the production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. It is therefore of interest in blue circles, by thickening the dermis, but also in the rest of the face. As part of our daily routine, good sleep management is essential for improving the appearance of blue circles.

Bags under the eyes:

If you have a problem with puffiness, or if the puffiness is due to edema, you can take action to reduce it through skin care and lifestyle habits.

The main problems specific to the eye contour area are :

If, on the other hand, your bags are due to a fat hernia, the results will be minimal. If your bags are larger when you wake up in the morning, there is an edema component. In the case of oedematous bags, there is a major advantage in treating them, because in the long term, oedemas distend the skin, creating a veritable yo-yo effect.

As part of our lifestyle, we need to be aware of allergies, look for allergens and treat them. Massages and rollers tend to improve puffiness, but it's essential to find the cause, and therefore the allergens.

The other thing is to limit salt consumption, and give priority to drinking water in the morning to limit puffiness due to edema.

Specific features of the eye area:

Here's a quick reminder:

1) The thinness of the skin:

Eyelids have the thinnest skin on our bodies

2) Eyelids are often dehydrated

In fact, this area contains far fewer sebaceous glands and is therefore much drier than the rest of our facial skin.

Do I moisturize my eye area enough? All you have to do is look at yourself and see if dehydration lines appear throughout the day? If the answer is yes, you're not moisturizing your skin enough. You'll need to use a special eye contour moisturizer.

3) The eye area is very sensitive to UV rays

Another special feature is that this area is particularly sensitive to UV rays, especially the lower eyelid. In fact, the rim of the eye socket is a particularly sensitive area. exposed to UV and therefore all the more susceptible to hyperpigmentation. So, as you can see, it's very important to protect yourself from the sun.

A common mistake is not to apply sunscreen close enough to the free edge of the eyelid, but to do this you need to use non-irritating sunscreens, and not those containing avobenzone or oxybenzone.

For the more sensitive, organic and mineral sunscreens are ideal, as they are generally less irritating than chemical sunscreens. Another mistake is not protecting our lips from the sun with a lip care.

4) The orbicularis muscle is glued to the eyelid skin

The last particularity is that the orbicularis orbicularis muscle is present over most of the eye contour area, as it is on the lips. It is a skin muscle, meaning that it has attachments to the skin, and these contractions are responsible for the appearance of dynamic wrinkles.

In the crow's feet area, botulinum toxin injections can reduce these wrinkles relatively easily, but in the lower eyelid area, medical treatments are difficult and can be disappointing, so skin care remains our best option.

Should I invest in a specific eye contour product?

It's a huge debate and there's no clear answer, but I'll give you my opinion anyway. Firstly, it's a legitimate question, because some eye contours are really overpriced. Some people can easily do without them, but for others you have to be careful, because comedogenic products can encourage milium grains.

In general, products with non-irritating active ingredients can be used around the eyes, such as peptides, niacinamide, vitamin C derivatives, vitamin E, as well as the following moisturizing care such as ceramides and hyaluronic acid.

As for irritating active ingredients such as pure vitamin C or retinol, it really depends on your skin type: some people tolerate them very well, others not. On the other hand, eye cream-type products often have a texture and concentration adapted to the eye contour area.

This is why we can recommend specific and non-specific products for the eye contour area.

What you must avoid is drying out your eye contour area by using overly aggressive products, as this will diminish the radiance of your eyes. This doesn't mean you can't use gentle exfoliants such as PHA, lactic or mandelic acid, or even low-dose retinol.

However, when introducing these active ingredients, start gradually and moisturize your eye contour area sufficiently to enable your skin to better tolerate them.

On the other hand, if you have a specific problem around the eyes, certain active ingredients will be indispensable in combating these problems. But when you're young and your eye contour isn't very pronounced, I advise you not to buy overpriced products. Keep it simple and opt for inexpensive products.

So what are the most effective treatments for improving the eye contour?

Oil, cream, serum, gel - which cosmetics should you buy to improve your eyes? I give you my opinion

The cleaning phase:

Cleansing oils and balms: they must be gentle and pleasant, yet effective, i.e. they must remove all impurities.

Cleansing care Use as a second cleanser in the evening

Use micellar water only if you're in a hurry, as it can irritate the eye area over time.

The cosmetic treatment phase:

Serum or cream: you need to choose the best serums for your specific problems:

The serum, being lighter and less oily, should be used before a cream. You are not obliged to use a serum and a treatment cream at the same time.

Morning care: you can use a purifying oil, an eye contour serum and a sun cream.

Evening care: You can use a serum and a moisturizing night cream, or simply a treating night cream. For an example of a skincare routine, read this article.

• Serum: If you're at a loss when it comes to choosing "moisturizing, retinol, peptide, vitamin" or marques serums. I suggest effective serums for the eye contour area in this article. Moisturizing serums provide a rapid smoothing effect. Treatment serums will diminish fine lines and wrinkles over time.

• Eye contour cream: If you'd like recommendations for creams suitable for the eye contour area, you can access this article. Moisturizing creams are ideal for irritated skin. Creams can also treat dark circlesPeptides, vitamin C derivatives, retinol and antioxidants help reduce puffiness and the signs of ageing (fine lines and wrinkles).

• Mask: To see which mask I recommend, and there aren't many. Masks are useful if you need a momentary boost, no need to use them every night.

To see how to achieve a special eye contour beauty routine, you can read this article.

The cosmetics I recommend can be found in parapharmacy or directly delivered by purchase on the internet.

And we don't need to remind you that smoking is harmful to your skin, and that a balanced diet, organic if possible, will improve the quality of your skin. The aim of Skin Care and cosmetics is to improve texture, fine lines and signs of ageing with the right care products.

If you have a medical problem, don't hesitate to consult a doctor, and if possible one who specializes in dermatology.

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Medical references: The best scientific articles eye

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Al-Niaimi F, Chiang NYZ. Topical Vitamin C and the Skin: Mechanisms of Action and Clinical Applications. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2017;10(7):14-17.

Tokudome Y. [Improvement of the Skin Barrier Function with Physiologically Active Substances]. Yakugaku Zasshi. 2019;139(12):1549-1551. doi:10.1248/yakushi.19-00181-1

Dhaliwal S, Rybak I, Ellis SR, et al. Prospective, randomized, double-blind assessment of topical bakuchiol and retinol for facial photoageing. Br J Dermatol. 2019;180(2):289-296. doi:10.1111/bjd.16918

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La Roche-Posay, "Ingredient and Safety Guide." Accessed Sept. 12, 2020.

Mancuso A, Cristiano MC, Pandolfo R, Greco M, Fresta M, Paolino D. Improvement of Ferulic Acid Antioxidant Activity by Multiple Emulsions: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation. Nanomaterials (Basel). 2021 Feb;11(2):425. doi:10.3390/nano11020425