One of the biggest questions I get asked by women 35+ - “Is Eye Care just as important as Skin Care”?
I have now been in the industry for almost 18 years. I specialize in natural skin care, performing many facials, body treatments, waxing and nails for a living for many years. So naturally, women ask me questions about their skin and the aging process.
Commonly, I have come to the decision that one of the most asked questions by anyone 30+ is what do I do for my eyes? At that point I always ask the question “Well what do you do for your eyes currently?"
Now at this point only half of my clients will say that they’re doing anything for their eyes. Most of them say they use eye cream when they remember...
So my answer is the following:
When I was going through school we were taught skin starts to age at the age of 25+. This is the time that we should be taking those little extra measures with our skin care regime to prevent the aging process from accumulating and showing signs like lines/wrinkles, pigmentation and sagging skin. All of these conditions can appear in the eye area. It’s often the first area to show the sign of aging because of how delicate it is. This fact is true. I ask you: "do you use a protectant around your eyes? Do you use an eye cream with peptides and antioxidants and hydrators in it, to maintain the skin appearance, youth, collagen and elasticity?".
The most common answer I hear is: "I just use what I picked up at the drugstore". They have no idea what’s actually in it... Personally I think you need to start thinking of your skin care as you do your food. Look at what’s in it, is it all synthetic and fake? Or does it have antioxidants, vitamins, natural oils, derived extracts to name a few hopeful ingredients. If not let me give you a quick rundown for the eye area:
The eye area is delicate. The fragile skin around your eye has an entirely different structure than the skin elsewhere on your face. Thus, the area needs more protection.
From the age of 25 and up I have been wearing eye cream. You could blame it on the fact that I’ve been in the industry since the young age of 20. However, this is the type of fundamentals a Esthetician learns in school.
Another important fundamental is SPF! Sunscreen around the eyes is just as important as the face. I always ask my clients if there’s any SPF in their base products or eye products that they put around their eyes? Do they wear a hat or sunglasses when they’re outside? This allows me to take in consideration the possibility of cumulative damage through UV rays. A key thing to remember is some of these skin issues that you’re having like pigmentation lines and wrinkles is an accumulation of things you have or haven’t done like continuous sun exposure over the years. I like to remind people that pigmentation, lines and wrinkles due to the sun are not from one time at the beach. They are from all the times in the car and running around the city that they live in without proper sun protection.
I like to tell them about the Jane Iredale mineral makeup line. And how their powders and all of their make up contain titanium dioxide and mineral bases. It offers a little bit of protection around this area and is safe around the eyes. They also have the Dream Tint SPF that can go everywhere on the face. I think they’re wonderful and I use them myself during the summer. Eminence and Jane Iredale have their SPF sticks for those with oilier complexions or for those who want more coverage.
Next let’s address your eye cream. Are you wearing it on the daily? Especially in this Calgarian environment that gets so dry and cold many months of the year? I’m just gonna go with I hope so!
I like to be able to customize peoples eye cream to their concerns. Eminence Organics has several different eye creams to choose from. They have the Cucumber Eye Gel which is great for puffy, swollen and sensitive eyes. It has cucumber to cool and tone, Burberry, and evening Primrose oil to soften the appearance of the eyes. A great hack is to keep it in the fridge so it’s cold when they put it on in the morning/ evening.
If you have dark circles, the Wild Plum Eye Cream is for you! With the high iron count from the wild plums it helps diminish dark circles overtime. It also has Grapeseed oil, calendula and green tea. Who wouldn’t want this I cream!
Another favourite is Eminence's big hitters, which is one of my personal favourites! The Marine Flower Peptide Eye Cream. This product is ultra luxurious and hydrating with its botanical hyaluronic acid. With ingredients like natural peptides, collagen boosting red algae to help with feeding collagen. This is the perfect advanced anti aging eye cream for the daily. I personally love it so much!
And last but not least is the Hibiscus Ultra Lift Eye Cream. I bring this one out when I'm going to go somewhere nice. I put this on when I need to feel tight and lifted! When I wake up and my eyes are extremely puffy. You absolutely can use this on the daily, I personally have the Marine Flower Peptide Eye cream and then I use this as needed depending on my lifestyle at the time. The hibiscus in it helps with the elasticity and the ice wine helps with lifting the eye area. The caffeine drains the puffiness from under your eyes and helps you look more alive and younger! This Eye Cream is like superman to me!
Eminence has some bonus products which I love. Such as the Naseberry Eye Exfoliate. The naseberries are natural gentle enzymatic exfoliant ingredients, packed with vitamins C,E, and K.
Don't forget about the Raspberry Eye Mask. What doesn’t this mask have in it? You can mask your eyes two or three times a week especially after you exfoliate them. This one has Gingko, ginseng, seabuckthorn berry and yellow clover to nourish and brighten.
I’d like to add that I have really sensitive eyes. Thus, it's essential for me to use NATURAL Eye Cream and makeup. I only use Jane Iredale makeup and mascara because other make up skin irritates my eyes. Irritation and inflammation around your eyes on a daily will definitely cause signs of aging as well. So if you’re like me and you’re finding that every night your eyes were getting itchy with the make up products on it and then spending a day without make up products on they felt much better. You may want to consider switching your makeup to a cleaner more natural makeup line like the Jane Iredale mineral makeup.
For removing makeup around the eyes: DON'T use a drugstore makeup wipe!
These make up wipes are filled with ingredients that irritate and disrupt the balance of your skin! The harsh texture of the cloth is nothing but overly irritating for the eye area! Eminence, on the other hand has a gentle pH balance make up remover that has cucumber, lavender, chamomile and calendula which soothes the eye area and does not strip the skin of its nutrients or hydration.
Did someone say double cleansing? Oil cleansing is a great way to remove stubborn makeup, dirt and sunscreen. We have a local Calgary line here at the Spa called Illuminate that has three custom oil cleansers for your skin type that are absolutely beautiful. Oil cleansers are a fantastic pre-cleanse for people who wear heavy makeup, excessively sweat or need a little extra TLC.
Well everyone I hope that helped you answer a bunch of questions about which Eye Care products are meant for you. If you have any more questions please feel free to come to the spa and we would love to answer any of your eye concerns.