Do You Really Need To Be Using Eye Cream?

Do you really need to be using eye cream? Can't you just use your face stuff on your eye area? Here are a few factors that will help you determine if you should be using an eye cream or not. PS: This is all based on the thousands of patients I have seen in my clinic over the last 20 years.

First, your age, if you're under the age of 30 probably don't need eye cream and that's because you still have beautiful skin. Your collagen regenerates and regenerates very quickly. If you are over the age of 30. Absolutely. You should start experimenting and looking into eye creams. Eye creams with actives can benefit collagen. You're not replenishing it like you used to.

Number two, there's a group of patients highly prone to dry eyelid skin, whether it's eczema related or makeup related – meaning you wear concealer and/or lots of eye makeup. When removing it, that also damages the eyelid skin barrier. This group of patients highly benefits from using an eye cream with emollients. We're talking ceramide fatty acids, triglycerides – and in a very specific ratio in the eye cream. Here, I don't care how old that person is! Dry under eyes always indicates a special eye cream.

Third group: sensitive skin. The eyelid skin is 4 times thinner than the skin on the face. Skin care products for the face are formulated for a specific type of epithelium, an epithelium that happens to be 4 times thicker than that eyelid skin epithelium. So sometimes when you're using face products, it's great for your face but it doesn't work for your eyes. Usually patients get drying, redness, and/or irritation of the eyelid skin over time. For cases like this, I definitely want to separate products for skin care for the face versus products for eye care such as eye cream.

Love + Healthy Eyes,

Dr. Tanya Gill