Picky Guide: All About Eye Skincare

I scream, you scream, we all scream for eye creams! Skincare for your eyes is essential, and let us tell you why. The skin around your eyes is incredibly delicate and first part of the body to show signs of premature aging. No matter how old you may be as you’re reading this, it’s never too late (or early) to start on a diligent eye skincare routine.

Common Eye Area Issues

The skin around our eyes is thin, delicate and goes through a lot. On a daily basis, this part of our skin goes through blinking, squinting and makes tons of facial expressions. The most common issues of the skin around the eye areas are:

• Puffiness: Also known as under eye bags. Under eye bags are also called “aegyo sal,” meaning baby or “cute” fat in Korean, because they can give a cute and innocent look. But, as we get older, these bags may grow bigger due to reduced fat in our cheeks. When that happens, it can create hollow and tired looking eyes.
• Dark circles: Also affectionately known as panda eyes. The darker color under the eye area can make us look extra tired. One common reason could be due to your (genetic) bone structure, thereby casting an actual shadow on your eye area, leading to the appearance of dark circles. Dark circles can also be caused by having thinner skin, which shows the tint of vessels around your eyes. Also, pigment deposition due to sun exposure.
• Fine lines: Fine lines around your eye area are normal, especially when you make facial expressions. However, when these lines become static and visibly present even when you are not making facial expressions, it may make you look a lot older than you actually are.

Eye Care Tips

#1. Maintain a healthy lifestyle

Sleeping a minimum of 6 hours a night is essential for both your body and your skin! When your body is exhausted, both inside and out, it will definitely show on your skin, especially around the eye area! Other factors like diet and exercise can also improve health and blood circulation, which in turn will reduce under eye bags and dark circles.

#2. Gently remove eye makeup

The keyword to eye skincare is gentleness. Don’t be too harsh when you remove any eye makeup. Instead, invest in a good oil cleanser or makeup remover that doesn’t require you to rub your eyes.

#3. Moisturize

The skin around your eyes doesn’t have as many oil glands as other parts of your skin. Therefore, it’s completely lacking in the self-moisturizing department. This is also the reason why it is easier for our eyes to form fine lines. Read until the end of the article to see our recommendations for ingredients to look for in your moisturizer or eye cream to best moisturize your delicate eye area.

#4. Use your ring finger

Be gentle and use your ring finger when you apply product around your eyes. And, be sure to tap them in lightly! The ring finger is the most gentle finger to use and exerts the least amount of pressure. This makes it the best finger option for applying skincare to the delicate area around your eyes.

#5. Sun protection and sunscreen

Use sunscreen and sun protection every day! A wide brim hat, sunglasses, and of course sunscreen, can do wonders

What Ingredients to Look For in Eye Skincare

• Dark circles: For dark circles, the ingredients to look out for in your product would be arbutin, kojic acid, vitamin C, soy, and niacinamide.
• Fine lines: The best ingredients to use if you have fine lines are retinol (or other vitamin A derivatives), peptides, hyaluronic acid, and vitamin C.
• Puffiness: For those with puffiness or under eye bags, try to look for ingredients like caffeine, green tea, and peptides.

DIY Eye Cream!

If you need an eye cream but can’t afford the hefty price tag, don’t fret! Get creative and create your very own eye cream by using products that you already have. All you need to do look through a serum stash to find one that contains any of the ingredients listed above. Then, mix just a drop of that into a small portion (pea-size amount) of your moisturizer. This creates a potent, and potentially less irritating, serum-moisturizer DIY eye cream hybrid!

Ready to give your eyes some love and care? Download Picky on App Store and check out more eye creams with the exact ingredients you want for specific skin concerns. Don’t forget to also follow us on Instagram and see more on our blog for more skincare science content!