Eye Creams Everyone Should Own

Eye creams have without a doubt become the technologic darlings of one's little bag of skin care tricks. In fact, an eye cream is the essential skin care item every girl should own (in addition to a sunscreen, that is).

Are you faced with unflattering crow's feet, bags, under eye puffiness or droopy lids? Now more than ever the perfect choice of eye cream will rapidly create more youthful, beautiful eyes.

Crow's Feet

Usual Causes: A happy disposition combined with lots of smiling for deeply grooved lines and typical photo damage for the crinkles.

Best Bets: Peter Thomas Roth Mega Rich Anti-Aging Cellular Eye Cream or Obagi ELASTIderm Eye Cream for the deep lines.

Why wait for weeks for those lines to disappear when instant gratification is just an application away? DERMAdoctor Immobile Lines Instant Topical Line Relaxer contains 4 active naturally derived botanials which interfere with the release of a chemical from the nerve responsible for making muscles of expression tighten (and hence create unflattering crow's feet). Lines simply smooth out without causing an unnatural loss of expression so common with injectable wrinkle products.

Fine Lines

For those fine wrinkle lines, maintenance treatment is mandatory to nipping things in the bud and keeping them that way.

Best Bet: Vitamin A based treatments at night and antioxidants come morning.

Look to a host of products including the use of potent retinoid creams (vitamin A based) that when applied every other night work to fix sun-induced photodamage. Sure, prescription options like Tazorac or Renova are ideal. But if you can't obtain a prescription, there are some amazing over-the-counter retinol options. DERMAdoctor Poetry In Lotion intensive retinol 1.0 and Afirm 3X are superb. Can't tolerate this potency? Start out with a less concentrated level of retinol found in Afirm 1X.

Brand new to the U.S. market is DS Laboratories Viterol.A (viatrozene gel) 29% Lotion for Signs of Aging, which has encapsulated nanosomes of Vitamin A, helping expedite delivery into the skin. Containing viatrozene, this product is a clinically proven compound that dramatically reduces the appearance of aging in the orbital eye area.

Mixing it up can give even more rounded benefits. A glycolic acid based eye cream at night with or without a touch of retinol can help chemically exfoliate dry flaking areas created by the use of those potent retinoids plus help with blotchy skin discoloration by helping speed up the exfoliation process. Consider adding MD Formulations Vit-A-Plus Anti-Aging Eye Complex into your nightly eye cream regimen. It can be alternated every other night with your straight retinol, giving you access to more than one type of exfoliating bedtime eye treatment.

If Vitamin A simply isn't for your skin type but you want the results, consider trying Kinerase Intensive Eye Cream, which can be used twice a day to get similar clinical results without having to deal with potential redness, flaking or irritation.

Antioxidant creams used every morning help stimulate fibroblasts living within the dermis to produce collagen. Amino acid peptides have a similar function. When mixed together, one gets free radical fighting properties plus the ability to kickstart collagen formation two ways instead of just one. DERMAdoctor Wrinkle Revenge Rescue & Protect Eye Balm is the best of both worlds, containing the newest generations of amino acids plus a bevvy of antioxidants including white tea, grape seed extract, superoxide dismutase and ubiquinone (aka CoQ10).

Vitamin C has been a well recognized antioxidant powerhouse and Cellex-C Eye Contour Cream and Murad Essential-C Eye Cream SPF 15 make the most of this with two well rounded eye treatments.

If prone to dry or sensitive skin, not only will DERMAdoctor Wrinkle Revenge Rescue & Protect Eye Balm also be suitable for you, AHK copper peptides will also provide a soothing antioxidant option. Consider trying Neova Refining Eye Lift.

Dark Circles

Usual Causes: Heredity, thinning of the under eye fat pad, proliferation of blood vessels in this region (all due to the aging process). Rarely: true skin discoloration in this area due to chronic rubbing by allergy sufferers.

Best Bets: Vitamin K or Hesperidin Methyl Chalcone can make a big difference. With similar effects, herperidin methyl chalcone provides a non-irritating option for anyone prone to irritation or sensitivity with the use of topical Vitamin K.

Vitamin K treatments can be used alone (like AFA Rejuvenating Eye Cream) or in a combination antiaging eye cream like Peter Thomas Roth Power K Eye Rescue or MD Skincare Lift & Lighten Eye Cream Advanced Technology.

In the meantime, why wait for results? Treat your unwanted dark circles while concealing them with hesperidin methyl chalcone-based DERMAdoctor Eye Spy Daily Eye Treatment and Shadow Neutralizer applied beneath your foundation. DERMAdoctor Wrinkle Revenge Rescue & Protect Eye Balm offers the same benefits without the cosmetic color should you want to skip the color concept.

Are you seeing a terribly sunken, hollow look? Talk with your plastic surgeon or dermatologist about fat transplant. They take a little fat from the hip or buttock and inject it into the under eye area.

If your dark circles are really because the skin is dark (not what is showing from beneath the skin), look to a skin brightening agent like kojic acid in Peter Thomas Roth Power K Eye Rescue and make sure you wear your SPF 30 daily.

Bags

Usual Causes: Allergies, lack of sleep, photo damage.

Best Bets: If you suffer from hay fever or other seasonal allergies, check with your doctor about non-sedating antihistamines like Zyrtec or Allegra. While these don't tend to help with skin rashes, they can make a dramatic difference in bagginess.

Avoid smoke-filled rooms like bars the night before you need to look your best. Computer eyestrain, stress and even water retention can also contribute to under eye puffiness. If you find you awaken with bags, try DERMAdoctor Wrinkle Revenge Rescue & Protect Eye Balm. It contains enough caffeine and white tea to rival your favorite coffeehouse! And it will rapidly deflate those bags.

Another option is azulene which helps reduce inflammation. Cellex-C Under-Eye Toning Gel is a refreshing azulene-based serum for the immediate relief of tired eyes.

Another quick fix to help things along, try compressing moist, cool tea bags (the real-deal caffeinated ones). The tannins in the tea will help temporarily reduce your swelling.

Milia

Usual Cause: Smothering thin, delicate skin with heavy night creams or eye shadow.

Best Bet: Keep heavy creams off delicate lids. You're only going to occlude the pores and continually form these tiny pearls.

Have milia extracted by a dermatologist. Warning: Milia in this area are quite difficult to remove, even for a professional. Have your doctor deal with these, it will be worth it. Make sure to remove eye make-up nightly. Use a solution specifically made to cut through eye make-up, a cosmetic notoriously "sticky" in order to stay on all day long. Try using EI Solutions Long Wear Make Up Remover nightly to remove all traces of facial and eye makeup.

Sagging Eyelids

Usual Cause: Too much fun in the sun. Aging skin changes are taking their toll on this incredibly thin-skinned area. Collagen and Elastin fibers are crumbling leaving upper lid dermis without means of support.

Best Bets: Try using an antioxidant with fibroblast stimulating properties twice daily such as Cellex-C Under-Eye Toning Gel. It is light enough that it shouldn't create milia and gentle enough for this highly sensitive region. Warning: If your lids are drooping to the point of needing blepheroplasty (eye job), it's time for the surgery, not the cream. No cream can make the skin snap back like a rubber band once it has stretched to a certain point. Don't make the mistake of not adding in preventative treatment with an eye cream after the surgeon has worked his or her magic.

Under Eye Dryness

Common Cause: Dehydration. A major contributor to exaggerating the appearance of wrinkle lines around the eyes.

Best Bets: A moisturizer won't eliminate the wrinkles but it sure can soften their appearance. That's why night creams have become the staple of the cosmetic counter in a skin rejuvenation routine. Just don't forget. Keep it light, and keep it in perspective. Try an eye moisturizer like AFA Rejuvenating Eye Cream, Obagi Nu-Derm Eye Cream or MD Skincare Continuous Eye Hydration Advanced Technology. These are a good thing to keep on hand if your rejuvenation product (like a vitamin A cream) is dehydrating your skin while helping deal with the fine lines. That is why some women think their anti-aging cream is causing, not improving their wrinkles. This may seem contradictive, but is reality.

Eye Openers

It may be an eye-opening experience, but now you should be able to select the product best suited to your eye-care needs. If you find a product has an original and advanced formula, ALWAYS start with the original and then move up in strength. This helps reduce the risk of irritation.

The sooner the better when it comes to treating any skin concern and this certainly applies to changes associated with aging skin. Your 21st birthday is the golden moment to begin your preventitive regimen, but it is never too late to begin taking an active role in the skin rejuvenation process. And most of all, be patient. It takes time for any skin rejuvenation product to demonstrate its full potential. Give your regimen at least 4-6 months before evaluating your progress. Be sure to wear sunglasses as often as possible to protect this area from the harmful rays of the sun as well as help prevent deepening of fine lines caused from squinting. Your eyes are the main focal point of your face and should be taken care of delicately and diligently.

Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter. As always, we hope you have found it informative.

Audrey Kunin, M.D.

(Any topic discussed in this article is not intended as medical advice. If you have a medical concern, please check with your doctor.)

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