Are your eyes showing the tell-tale signs of life? Or telling tales on you?
Thanks to every good laugh or cry. Every smile. Every frown. The skin around your eyes will be etched with expression lines. As the etched lines become deeper, it shows you’ve lived, you’ve laughed and cared (a truly beautiful thing, which makes each of us unique).
The dreaded puffiness and dark circles!
There’s a multitude of reasons that this troublesome duo effect some of us and not others. But first, we must consider this…
Why your skin ages first around your eyes
This area has less oil glands. The skin around your eyes is thinner than on the rest of your face. As time passes the skin gets thinner still. The oil levels in your skin drop with age.
Then there’s the laughing, smiling, rubbing, crying, squinting, side sleeping, allergies. The list goes on. But it’s not just your skin that’s changing.
Your bone structure changes and your muscle mass reduces with age. So does the fatty pillow that cushions your eyeball. Changes in bone and muscle structure are unique to you. The changes determine how your eye structure looks with age.
If the fatty pouch protrudes with age, it may be accompanied by puffiness. Usually the puffiness will lessen during the day. The protruding pouch remains. Sometimes referred to as an eye bag.
These changes along with genetic traits are served to you regardless.
How your care for the skin around your eye area will help. We can’t reverse the passing of time or the ageing of your skin. We can help you look fabulous for your age, with the correct care and products. Our ‘go to’ product for your eyes is the Multi-Tasking Eye & Lip Balm. It works on the 5 signs of eye ageing (lines, wrinkles, puffiness, dark circles and eye lid droop).
Upon waking
Puffiness around your eyes when you wake is the congregation of fluid. It’s known as Edema. Fluid is more likely to get trapped in your lower lids as you get older. Once you wake and start blinking your eyes usually release the retained water. They start to look less puffy.
Influences that may cause excess Edema
Diet - Avoid carb heavy evening meals or highly salty dishes. Water retention appears all over your body but especially around your eyes and lower face.
Alcohol may serve a double whammy of skin and organ dehydration (see information on dark circles) combined with the lack of good sleep. Try and avoid drinking at least 90 minutes before bed. This will help you get the best sleep.
Lack of sleep and sleeping environment - Edema is especially attracted to tired eyes. Good sleep promotes good function of your body and your skin.
Keep your bedroom cool and if possible ventilated. Fresh air will help you sleep well.
Hormone changes - Can promote general water retention. If you’re prone to puffy eyes, you know where the Edema will pool!? Yes, under your eyes.
Dark Circles - Dark circles are common to men and women. Mostly seen below the lower eyelids, are often accompanied by puffy eyes or bags.
Influences that may cause dark circles
Remember the eye area has less oil glands. The skin around your eyes is thinner than on the rest of your face. As time passes the skin gets thinner still. The oil levels in your skin drop naturally.
Age - A combination of red and blue blood vessels contain oxygenated and unoxygenated blood. It becomes stagnant under your skin. This presents as a purple colour. More easily seen through the fine skin around your eyes.
Dehydrated skin condition
The lack of moisture in your skin will make it look dull regardless of it being your body or your face. Lines of dehydration are common with this skin condition.
Combine the lines of dehydration with dull, dehydrated skin. The overall look of the area will be dark and ‘crinkly.’ Our Rehydrating Concentrate and Rehydrating Cream pack a powerful punch against skin dehydration. Not only will they work to drip feed your skin with moisture all day long, they work to rebuild your damaged skin barrier to keep precious moisture locked within your skin.
Dehydrated body
Not taking enough water onboard will result in your eyes looking sunken due to the proximity of the skin to the underlying bone. There’s not a lot of ‘padding’ under the skin here. So even mild dehydration will show.
Genetics and UV
Periorbital hyperpigmentation is a genetic predisposition. Non-white ethnic groups and darker skin tones are more prone to hyperpigmentation around the eyes.
Over exposure to the sun produces an excess of melanin. (The pigment in your skin). Too much sun or burning the skin around your eyes may lead to the pigment around your eyes to darken more.
Family history dictates how your eyes look as a child. Childhood dark circles may worsen or slowly disappear going into adulthood. Dark circles can also be a predisposition to other medical conditions such as thyroid imbalance.
Tiredness and fatigue
Remember. Good sleep promotes good function of your body and your skin. Give yourself a helping hand with plenty of good sleep.
As the skin is thinner around the eyes it allows for the colour of stagnant blood in the vessels to show through. Red blood and blue blood show oxygenated and unoxygenated blood. The combination of the two = purple.
Allergic reactions
May trigger dark circles. During a reaction your body releases histamine. Other than itching and puffiness, histamine causes the blood vessels to dilate and become more visible through your fine skin.
The urge to rub your eyes increases. This can worsen your symptoms causing inflammation and swelling.
How to care for the delicate skin around your eyes
Treat this delicate area with products specifically designed for your eyes. The skin around them is much thinner. Your face moisturiser isn’t designed for this area. It’s not just about the correct ingredients to work their magic around your eyes. There’s more to it than this. It’s about the products molecular weight. Heavy face creams and oils may make your eyes more puffy than usual.
It’s important to note that eye creams are NOT expensive face moisturisers in a small tube (well, at least ours isn’t).
Multi-Tasking Eye & Lip Balm – Find out more about our product here which works with the 5 signs of ageing around your eyes. Lines, wrinkles, puffiness, dark circles and eyelid droop.
