By Kim Putens

Fine Lines – Dark Circles – Puffiness

“How can I get rid of the fine lines, dark circles, and puffiness around my eyes?”

The eye area is the most delicate and where the first signs of aging begin to creep up on us.   Most often, it is the area that is most neglected until we see that first wrinkle.   The most important thing to realize is that prevention is the best defense against the inevitable aging process.   Choosing to use an eye cream at an early age is the best defense against those fine lines creeping in before we’re ready.  There are also a few other remedies to weaken the defenses of those fine lines and to address other eye concerns.

Aging – When we begin to age, the eye area is the first to show those signs.  That is why it is the most important area to take care of.   Taking care of our eyes is quite simple – moisturizer.  Keeping the eye area moisturized is key to maintaining its elasticity and keeping the crows feet and wrinkles away.   Choosing an appropriate moisturizer is important.  Too light of a moisturizer won’t be effective and too heavy of a moisturizer will just make your make-up a runny mess.  To determine the right weight of a moisturizer, look for a moisturizer that absorbs into the skin just enough to still provide relief and still be a little slick.  Furthermore, the right moisturizer must not be too intense.   The eye area is the most delicate skin on our face and requires that we take great care to ensure it is treated accordingly.  A moisturizer designed specifically for the eye area is the best choice.  Choosing any facial moisturizer isn’t appropriate because they often contain too many active ingredients that are too much for the eye area to handle.   It’s also important to recognize that, for most of us, our eyes are more sensitive than the rest of our skin.  A moisturizer should be delicate in addition to being the appropriate weight.

Dark Circles – As a lifelong dark circle sufferer, I have particular sensitivity to these concerns.  I also understand what it is like to try every eye cream under the sun to attempt to deal with my dark circles.  I’m here to tell most of you – put down the eye cream, walk away and grab a concealer.  The reality is that eye creams formulated to combat dark circles do not address most dark circle concerns.  Eye creams that claim to fight dark circles are designed for dark circle conditions involving broken capillaries.   These broken blood vessels create a darkening under the skin that these dark circle-fighting creams work to disintegrate.  Unfortunately, for the majority of us (myself included), our dark circles are the result of discoloration or excess pigment around our eyes.  This is a function of the way we are built and no eye cream can change that.  But, there are ways to reduce them and hide them.  Most effective is making sure to get good sleep because those dark circles will only get darker from the lack of sleep.

Puffiness – Puffy eyes come in two forms:  chronic and circumstantial.  Chronic puffiness is typically a condition in which pockets of fluid (or bags) have collected under the eye area.  Aside from surgical methods to treat this, there are some eye creams available to address these issues. Circumstantial puffiness is the result of a lack of sleep, hay fever or an allergic reaction.  These types of puffy eye conditions are easily treated with cold compresses to the eye area when there is an occurrence.  Using something – like a bag of peas – that can mold to the eye area will be the most effective.    In both circumstances – chronic or circumstantial – there are eye creams loaded with an anti-inflammatory to help regulate the puffiness.   To know if a particular eye cream will work for you, test-drive it in the store.  Most of these eye treatments have immediate results that can be seen from the moment they are applied.  Try this – apply the eye treatment to one eye and leave the other untreated.  Check in the mirror to see if it has made a difference.  Continued use of these eye treatments will improve the continued puffiness over time and help to enlighten the eyes area.