One of the first areas of our face to show the signs of aging is our eyes. Getting up at 6am to fit in our work-out, working our 40 + hour work weeks, socializing and family responsibilities all contribute to a less than perky orbital aura. Puffiness, fines lines and dark circles around our eyes make us look older than we feel and therefore a little extra effort is required to keep our eyes looking their best.
A great analogy I was taught about the skin is to think of it like different grades or textures of paper. The skin on your body is like the thickness of cardboard- it’s more durable. The skin on your face is like writing paper- much finer than the skin on your body. Finally, the skin of your eyes and lips is like tissue paper- extremely fragile. Looking at the skin from this perspective has really helped me to appreciate how important it is to treat the skin around the eyes differently than the skin of the face and body.
Being so thin and delicate, the skin around the eyes often shows the bluish veins sitting just below. As we age we loose the cushioning volume provided by the collagen and elastin fibers in our dermis,thus dark circles become more predominant. This thinning of the dermis also lends itself to fine lines and wrinkling. Puffiness, another aging culprit, is often a hereditary condition exacerbated by diets high in sodium, lack of sleep and dehydration (I’m not too sure who wouldn’t suffer from these things!)
So with these conditions in mind, how do we address improving the appearance of our eyes?
The perfect treatment to pair with a facial is the Revitalizing Eye Rescue. This refreshing treatment for the eyes involves a gentle, brightening exfoliation to smooth and soften the skin, pressure point, lymphatic and Swedish massage techniques to help clear the stagnant lymph and deoxygenated blood responsible for dark circles and puffiness, chilled marble stones to relax and soothe tired eyes as well as a hydrating and ultra-calming oatmeal mask. This all ads up to the look and feel of rested and rejuvenated eyes.
It’s very important to follow up any professional skin care treatment with home care that will maintain your results. Here’s some tips for how to keep your peepers refreshed post-treatment.
- Use an eye cream everyday, morning and night. Some eye treatments are specifically designed to protect your skin from UV or to create an optical reflection which illuminates and refracts dark circles and sunken eyes. Try: Total Eye Care from Dermalogica or Pep Up Pen from Colorescience.
- Always wear sunglasses. 80-90% of visible aging of the skin is due to sun damage. Sunglasses are the best way to prevent aging around your eyes- not only will you be blocking the uv rays, you can avoid expressions lines from squinting.
- Always cleanse your skin at night. Before you go to bed, make sure you’ve removed every bit of dirt, debris and make up from your skin- gently of course. This will help to minimize pores and prepare your skin to absorb antioxidants from your eye cream as it rest and regenerates overnight. Try: Pre Cleanse from Dermalogica followed by Gentle Cleanser from Pr0-Derm
Once all of these precautions are covered- inevitably there are going to be signs of aging that will need a more clinical approach. That is where cosmetic acupuncture, botox and fillers come in.
- Cosmetic Acupuncture is a holistic approach to treating the signs of aging which can be targeted specifically for the eyes.
- Botox can be used to soften expression lines by paralyzing the muscles- don’t worry- a subtle approach can prevent the frozen/ wind tunnel look.
- Hyaluronic fillers can be used to fill loss of volume that leads to a sunken and puffy look around the eyes.
With all these tools in our kit- we’ll keep our eyes looking as bright and young as we feel. And when the wrinkles do eventually come- it’s with a lot of grace.