What’s more: “As we hit our 30s, hyaluronic acid, our skin’s natural water absorber and plumper, begins to decline,” Mona Gohara, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Connecticut, explains—which is why applying the ingredient topically and making up for lost hydration is of the essence. In fact, many of the best eye creams for wrinkles are packed with HA and other powerful ingredients like blood vessel-constricting caffeine and collagen-boosting peptides to help fake a full night’s rest.
How to apply eye cream
A common rule of thumb is using your ring fingers to gently tap the eye cream into your skin, since you’re dealing with the thinnest area on your face. Dr. Kim has a process that may reduce puffiness, or at the very least, feel calming. “I dot [eye cream] around the eyes, place my index finger on the upper eyelid area and third finger on the lower eyelid area, and rub it in as I’m doing a lymphatic massage,” he says.
Do eye creams really work?
Ultimately, it comes down to the level of prevention you desire. “Because they are landing on thinner skin, eye creams tend to be thicker — a higher amount of oil, less water — than facial moisturizers,” Dr. Gohara explains, comparing the use of an eye cream to “putting extra padding on a spin bike.” And that extra cushioning just might pay off, since it’s also known that the eye area is one of the first to show signs of aging such as sagging skin, fine lines, and crow’s feet.
However, finding the right eye cream is another ordeal, as David Kim, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Idriss Dermatology in New York City, points out. “I see a lot of patients with milia around the eyes from using Vaseline or eye creams that are too heavy,” he says.
When should I start using eye cream?
Dr. Kim recommends incorporating eye cream starting in your mid-20s, which is “slightly before we start to lose noticeable amounts of collagen and our skin starts to lose firmness and the ability to hold on to moisture,” he explains. Whereas younger people might fare better with light, gel-like textures, he recommends people in their 30s reach for slightly richer, lotion-like eye creams with retinol, peptides, and vitamin C. If you struggle with dark circles, brightening ingredients such as vitamin C, kojic acid, tranexamic acid, arbutin, and licorice root “help decrease skin pigmentation over time, ultimately resulting in the lightening of the dark circles,” Rachel Nazarian, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, previously said.
