Eye Cream Q & A

Does eye cream make a difference? Should I use it?

Absolutely! Eye cream is an essential component to your Basics 1-2-3 skin care routine (see link below). After cleansing, toning, and applying face moisturizer, then apply your eye cream—every day at least twice a day. The difference eye cream will make is to keep the skin directly under your eyes soft and hydrated, something that doesn’t happen naturally. You have no functioning oil glands there, so applying cream is the only way to keep that skin moisturized.

Can I put vitamin E around my eyes for eye cream?

I’m sure the reason you are asking this question is because you know the benefits of vitamin E. I prefer to reach for manufactured products when it comes to my skin. My eye cream might actually have vitamin E as one of the ingredients, which is a good thing, but it also contains numerous other ingredients that will help to soothe and moisturize this delicate skin. This is my preference.

If using vitamin E as an eye cream works for you, then I don’t think it is a bad thing. I just think it has limited capabilities vs. a cream that is produced specifically for the eyes. Perhaps for a happy medium, you could mix your eye cream with a drop of vitamin E oil. Mix these two in your palm and then apply to the eye area. This way you will get more than just straight oil on your skin, which could eventually get into your eyes and cause problems, or might even cause puffiness.

I am 34 and looking for something that will help combat these ever-increasing wrinkles under my eyes.

As I tell all my clients, the lines are only going to get worse! Seriously, it’s true. The natural aging of our bodies includes lines and wrinkles where we are expressing the most. At 34 years old, you are probably just beginning to notice the lines around your eyes because they are probably just beginning to form. Using eye cream, if you are not already, is important. It will keep the skin soft and maybe even make the lines look less noticeable. Eye cream will not decrease the wrinkles—even over time.

I have so many lines around my eyes. I use eye cream every day, but still the skin around my eyes is so dried out. Is there a super rich cream I can use to keep this area from drying out?

My recommendation is not to use a thick cream, but to use eye cream throughout the day, not just morning and night. The skin directly under the eyes has no functioning oil glands, so you need to keep a lipid substance there at all times to keep this skin soft and supple. In fact, you don’t want to use a super rich eye cream. Usually these will make your eyes look puffy due to the heavy oils they contain. The thin skin around the eyes absorbs the oil, which can produce edema or puffiness. I recommend using eye cream vs. face creams around the eye area. These have been formulated specifically for this delicate and sensitive tissue and are going to be your best bet.

Something you can do which can be very effective is to add a drop of oil to your eye cream, mix and apply. Like the recommendation for the reader asking about vitamin E as an eye cream, mixing just one drop of this or another oil can really enrich your eye treatment and successfully help with dryness around your eyes. I find this recommendation particularly helpful in the winter months.

The skin around my mouth and eyes is very dry and kind of flaky. Once I put my moisturizer on, it’s not as noticeable, but then when I wash again the dryness is back. It doesn’t happen anywhere else on my face. It happens a lot; it even happens during warm months and stays around for a few weeks, then sort of goes away until the next time. Any suggestions?

You may be experiencing eczema, or it may just be a severe case of dehydration. Usually dehydration happens across a wide area, while other maladies such as eczema would be more localized. If you use a cortisone cream on the area for at least three or four days (consistently) and the dryness goes away, it was more than likely a dermatitis. If the dryness is still there, try exfoliating the area and see if that helps.

Remember, if your body is deficient in certain vitamins and essential nutrients (like essential fatty acids, for instance), your skin may be showing the signs of this. Don’t just look to treat skin problems topically. Also look at your diet and stress levels to get a clue as to what may be going on inside, which is showing up outside.

I never go without eye cream now. I cannot believe what a difference it has made. Thank you for your help!

For more information, see: 

• The Basics 1-2-3 Program for proper skin care
• EYE CREAM: WHY you want to use it & HOW TO apply this all-important skin care product
• Scaly, dry skin on your eyelids? It could be eczema