There are a few skin-care commandments that pretty much all dermatologists can agree on: You should wear sunscreen every day, retinol is the best-of-the-best ingredient when it comes to keep skin well-functioning, and soap-based cleansers have no place in anyone’s face washing regimen. While the skin-care community has come together to give us a lot of evidenced-backed truths to support our routines, there’s one thing that pros continue to be split on: eye cream.
Experts in This Article
board-certified dermatologist at Dermatology Physicians of Connecticut and associate clinical professor in dermatology at Yale School of Medicine
“‘Do we really need eye cream?’ has been an age-old question among dermatologists. If you surveyed 100 dermatologists, you’d get a 50/50 split between people who say you need it and people who say you don’t,” says board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD. But for her (and in effect, her patients), it’s a non-negotiable. Why is she so staunchly on team eye cream? “Because eyelid skin is thinner, which means it has less collagen and elastin [than the skin elsewhere on your face], and is definitely more prone to sun damage,” says Dr. Gohara.
Because the skin is so thin under your eyes, there are a lot of different issues that can come up—namely puffiness, dark circles, and fine lines and wrinkles. And while you can certainly cover them up with a concealer, eye cream is specifically formulated to nix these things, by incorporating specific ingredients. For example, if you want to ditch dark circles, look for caffeine; if you’re trying to banish lines, grab something with retinol in it to stimulate collagen.
But no matter what ingredients you’re opting for, you’ll want to be sure that the formulation isn’t too intense. “Eyelid skin is thin, so you’ll want to use lower percentage [active products]—things that are a little more gentle,” says Dr. Gohara. “If you use 20 percent vitamin C on your face, use 10 percent on your eyes. If you use a stronger retinoid on your face, bring it down a notch for your eyes so the irritation is less but the effect is definitely still there.”
To find out which eye cream is the right one for you and your individual under-eye skin concerns to wear 365 (including some drugstore options!), press play on the video above and allow Dr. Gohara to break it down for you.
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