By Sahar Fatima
I’ve never been one to go out of the way to care for my skin. Sure, nobody likes a pimple on the face, so I do the whole cleanser/toner/moisturizer routine twice a day. But I’ve never understood eye skin care. I don’t even make time for eye makeup removal – I remove my mascara while washing the rest of my face. I mean, what’s so special about my eyes that I should take time out of my busy Prime-Time-television-watching schedule to pamper them?
In fact, the sensitive skin around the eyes is different from the rest of your face and demands the extra attention. It is much thinner, with no fat and very little muscle, and has a lot of blood vessels close to the surface, which often cause dark circles to appear.
Luckily, taking better care of my eyes doesn’t require as much time as I thought it would. There are a number of simple measures that can prevent dark circles and wrinkles, and help maintain overall healthy skin around the eyes.
Makeup
Try to avoid wearing makeup as much you can. However, if you’re like me, and going natural is only appropriate if you’re aiming for the just-returned-from-a-funeral look, be sure to take certain precautions.
Never pull your skin too tight when applying eyeliner – this can result in wrinkles under your eyes. Also, removing makeup is a must. Look for non-oily, hypoallergenic eye makeup remover pads.
Creams and Serums
Skin around your eyes needs moisturizing, just like any other part of your body. Eye creams or serums should be light in texture as heavy creams block pores, and cause swelling and irritation. Avoid rubbing the product into your skin. Instead, pat small drops of it under your eyes and lightly massage. This action also boosts circulation, reducing dark circles.
Pampering
Give your eyes the spa experience. Take a few minutes in the morning for a sage or chamomile teabag compress to reduce puffiness. Cucumbers are also classic cooling agents that help with swelling. If the thought of having food on your face disgusts you, eye patches are a great alternative. Infused with vitamins and antioxidants, they help reduce wrinkles and puffiness.
Even without the extra care, sleeping well each night will help prevent dark circles and puffy eyes, and will greatly delay the appearance of wrinkles.
Image courtesy stock.xchng
Comments
It was great to know the sciece behind why dark cirlces form underneath the eyes, and why lightly massaging actually works (blood vessels)! I never thought about it in that way but it is really good understanding why your tips work rather than just blindly following it.
Thanks for the information :).
Loved it Sahar! And I'm going to stop pulling on my eye just for eyeliner. It's not worth the wrinkles.
Wow thanks for writing this, I've learned so much, and you've definetely motivated me to start taking care of my eyes! I'm hoping to read more of your articles soon Sahar Fatima :).
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