Eye Secrets for a More Youthful Appearance

Hi Beautiful!

The eye area is the number one thing I get asked about as a licensed esthetician and makeup professional. 

Today we'll cover puffy eyes, dark circles, eye bags and ways to improve your over-all eye health for a more youthful appearance.

Before we dive in, it's important to understand how to apply your eye care for best results. Stay around your orbital bone area and don't apply product below the fold of your upper eye. 

When product heats up with your skin it spreads and can get into your eyes leading to irritation and puffy eyes.

So let's start with puffy eyes. 

Sometimes it seems inescapable. There are so many things that can contribute to this undesired look. It could be as simple as consuming too much salt the night before. It can also be caused by things like lifestyle, medications and allergies. 

If you experience puffy eyes know that there are many things you can do to relive the symptoms and their  appearance. The easiest (and more affordable) option is applying cold compresses. This can be done with tools you buy on Amazon (I'm currently having fun using this ice roller) or simply by using a cold spoon from your fridge. You can also get creative and use frozen tea bags or ice cubes wrapped in gauze.  

Another way to help with puffiness is to use topicals such as caffeine, arnica and aloe. Caffeine helps constrict blood vessels, arnica helps with swelling and aloe is a wonderful all around anti-inflammatory agent. 

For puffiness, we love to use our Whipped Olive Oil Face Butter because Organic Aloe is the first ingredient! 

You can also use a little Hyaluronic Acid (slip is important when moving around the eye area so you don't pull or tug at skin) and do a light massage with either your fingers, a Gua Sha Stone or Jade Roller.  Always work away from your face. HA is a great choice because it may also help with puffiness by rehydrating the eye area.

Moving on to dark circles. 

If you experience dark circles, I promise you're not alone.  Dark circles can also be caused by lifestyle, such as lack of sleep, alcohol use, smoking, not getting enough rest or using certain medications.

Most types of dark circles, when not genetic, are caused by vascular issues. For this reason, caffeine can be highly effective because it constricts the blood vessels to help with blood pooling underneath your eye area. 

For a morning quick fix, we recommend using our Eye Dream of Coffee for dark circles and puffiness. 

If you experience hyperpigmentation (darkness) around the eye area that's not vascular, it may be due to rubbing your eyes too much or it could be structural, which caffeine will not help much with.

For hyperpigmentation around your eyes, include products with brightening agents, like our Vitamin C + Correcting Serum and exfoliate a couple times a week using our Bright and Reveal Exfoliating Pads.

If you have structural issues, you're more likely to benefit from products that strengthen the over-all integrity of your eye area over time, which may include incorporating antioxidants to help protect the existing integrity of your eye area and using collagen stimulating ingredients, like Peptides & Retinol.

Let's talk eye bags.

Eye bags can be frustrating because, like structural issues, you may experience disappointment if you fall into the marketing hype that tells you a certain eye cream will "fix" them.

The truth is that most eye bags will only see dramatic improvement by taking dramatic steps, such as surgery.

Having said that, there are things you can do to improve the look and integrity of your eye bags, too.

I recommend focusing on your results in terms of longevity rather than opting for quick fixes that leave you feeling disappointed. 

Focus on products with ingredients like peptides, antioxidants, Retinol, certain acids and soothing agents that will nourish your delicate thin tissue and stimulate collagen for better results over time. 

If this sounds like something you need, we recommend starting your restorative process by incorporating our Age Defying PM Kit or Youth Restoring PM Kit, into your beauty routing regularly to help balance, restore and strengthen your eye area. 

Last but not least, we can't sign off without talking about eye wrinkles! 

Wrinkles near your eyes appear visible first because you have delicate thin tissue under and above your eyes that makes it more vulnerable to damage and weakness. 

Did you know that 80% of skin damage stems from sun damage?

That's why sunscreen is so important when it comes to preventing pre-mature aging, especially around the eye area. 

To tackle wrinkles, some key ingredients to look for in a night cream are Retinol, Peptides, Hyaluronic Acid and Acids.

During the day, look for ingredients like Vitamin C and SPF inside a good moisturizer, like The Good Sunscreen, to prevent water loss, collagen loss, and offer free radical protection.

Look for products with Retinol, like our Advanced Retinol Night Cream, to layer with a good nighttime eye cream, like our Restorative PM Eye Cream for multi-benefits. To take advantage of both and save money, consider our Age Defying PM Kit.

If your skin is extra sensitive and still in repair mode, focus on hydrating eye creams like our Restorative PM Eye Cream to help restore your eye area while you sleep and our Soothing Eye Balm to help comfort your eye area during the day.

It's also important to note that there are other contributing factors when it comes to wrinkles (aka impression lines/scars) such as the way you sleep.

If possible, I recommend training yourself to sleep on your back occasionally with your head slightly elevated. This can also help with fluid build up which may improve puffiness as well! Win-win! 

There are also wonderful exercises, such as walking, stretching and yoga poses that may help improve some eye-area symptoms, too.

Plus, it just feels really good. 

Remember, the more you know the more you glow!

With love and appreciation, 

Jentri