Out of all the places on your body, skin is the thinnest near your eyes. It also moves frequently as you make expressions throughout the day, and is easily exposed to the sun’s UV rays and a host of environmental stressors. This means that the skin around your eyes is one of the first places to see those pesky signs of aging, including fine lines and wrinkles.
These little lines—which can fan out from the outer eye area and even develop under your eyes—can pop up as early as your 20s and get deeper over time. For all the above reasons, it’s important to truly take care of this delicate skin. Below we’re outlining an effective, game-changing skincare and makeup regimen that will help you do precisely that.
Why Do Fine Lines and Wrinkles Form?
We mentioned above that the area around your eyes is notably delicate, and therefore one of the first areas to see signs of aging. Let’s dive a bit deeper into the how and why behind this reality. While sun damage and environmental stressors can wreak havoc on our eye area, this part of our face moves a lot more than other areas.
Plus, as we grow older our skin starts producing less of what helps keep it looking plump, hydrated, and firm. For example, collagen and elastin production reduces, and we lose sweat and oil glands that help keep skin moisturized.
Though it’s impossible to press pause on the clock, there are steps you can take to curb the premature formation of fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes. You can also use skin and eye products—and even cosmetics—to help minimize and conceal the look of fine lines and wrinkles that already exist.
How To Prevent Fine Lines and Wrinkles Around Your Eyes
Ring up any dermatologist and they’ll likely shout out two extremely effective ways to help slow down the formation of fine lines and wrinkles: sunscreen and retinol. Let’s discuss both.
Sun Protection
SPF is one of your skin’s best defenses against the too-soon arrival of fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes. Though the sun gives us life, its UV rays are incredibly potent. The bottom line is that consistent, unprotected exposure expedites signs of aging.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends wearing an SPF of at least 15 every day, or 30 or higher if your skin is fair.I Sunscreen curbs signs of aging while reducing your chances of developing skin cancer.
Even with sunscreen on your side, try to be strategic about when you’re out in the sun. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to avoid the sun during its peak hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. While you’re at it, hang out in the shade when possible, carry a sun umbrella and/or wear a hat, and steer clear of tanning beds.
Pro Tip: All finishes of IT Cosmetics’ best-selling CC+ Creams are formulated with SPF.* That means this color-correcting, full-coverage foundation works overtime to protect your skin from the sun. You’ll love that it’s infused with collagen and peptides to visibly smooth your skin, niacin to brighten, and hyaluronic acid to plump.
Topical Retinol Skincare Products
You can use a topical retinol skincare product to prevent the visible development of fine lines and wrinkles near your eyes.A derivative of Vitamin A, retinol helps build collagen and improve skin tone and texture.
The key to using retinol (especially for beginners!) is finding one that won’t irritate your skin. That’s where IT Cosmetics’ innovative Hello Results Wrinkle-Reducing Daily Retinol Serum-in-Cream really comes to the anti-wrinkle rescue. This serum in a cream can be used on the face, including around the eyes. It’s formulated with skin-loving ingredients that help prevent your skin from getting red, flaky, or sensitive while delivering visible changes.
What’s more, Hello Results is formulated with niacinamide to visibly even out your complexion, and vitamin B5 to soothe your skin. Plus, it contains hydrating and antioxidant-rich vitamin E, as well as ceramides to strengthen your skin barrier.
Hello Results should be applied to clean skin, and a pea-sized amount once a day is all you’ll need. Smooth onto your skin, starting with the forehead, then outer sides of your face, chin, and neck. Then gently apply around the eye orbital bone, which includes under-eyes and eye corners. (Note that retinol is not recommended for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.)
Minimizing The Look of Existing Fine Lines and Wrinkles
Now that you know how to slow the development of fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes, let’s outline some ways you can visibly minimize those that already exist. Sunscreen and a retinol product such as Hello Results are a great place to start. You’ll also want to incorporate hydrating, moisturizing face and eye products into your regimen as well.
Hydrating ingredients (such as hyaluronic acid) draw water into your skin from the air, and moisturizing ingredients (including oils, butters, and fats) help lock that water in. The result is skin that instantly looks plumper and smoother.
Confidence in an Eye Cream™ is formulated with both types of ingredients, making it one of our best eye creams to visibly minimize fine lines. Plus, collagen boosts elasticity for a more youthful, smooth appearance, and antioxidant-rich licorice root soothes and improves the look of an uneven complexion.
One reviewer enthusiastically writes, “I will never not use this cream! It is so smooth and makes the skin around my eyes glow! I also used it on my frown lines between my eyes and they disappeared!”
To apply, dip the Heavenly Skin 2-in-1 Tap & Smooth Eye Cream Brush #706 into the eye product and gently tap it around the orbital bone. You can use the stone end to roll and smooth for an even application and indulgent treat.
As for concealing the appearance of fine lines under eyes, try IT Cosmetics’ best-selling under-eye corrector concealer. Bye Bye Under Eye™ Anti-Aging Concealer is a truly life- changing, multi-tasking eye product that's clinically tested to make you look younger. It conceals, smooths, and delivers skin-loving ingredients to this delicate area—without creasing or cracking on you.
Growing older and wiser is a blessing, and fine lines and wrinkles are a part of life. However, there are effective ways to curb and minimize the appearance of these lines. It’s all about investing in yourself—you deserve IT!
*CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ is the #1 CC cream in the U.S. based on annual NPD units and dollar sales: 2016-2019.
**The NPD Group, Inc./US Prestige Beauty Total Measured Market, Skincare Product Dollar and Unit Sales: January-December 2019.
Sources:
- “Sunscreen: How To Help Protect Your Skin From The Sun.” U.S. Food & Drug Administration. 2019. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/understanding-over-counter-medicines/sunscreen-how-help-protect-your-skin-sun
