The Essential Guide to Eye Skin Care

By: Margaux Reese
March 30, 2023

Skincare is an essential part of personal hygiene, but did you know the skin around your eye requires special attention?

Because of the thinner, more sensitive skin in this area, it’s more prone to early signs of aging and damage. With less muscle tissue in the area around your eyes, it’s much harder to hide signs of aging, sagging, and under-eye wrinkles.

However, there are things you can do to prevent early signs of aging and keep the skin looking smooth and supple. And who doesn’t want that?

Keep reading or use the links below to learn more about eye skin care to keep the windows to your soul looking healthy and vibrant.

Why Eye Skin Requires Special Care

Why is skincare important for your eyes? The skin around your eyes is thin, which increases the chances of damage. However, this is only one of the reasons why this small part of your face requires special attention. There are actually a lot of contributing factors to be aware of.

The skin around your eyes is overworked due to constant blinking, squinting, and other movements that you perform thousands of times per day. This issue is made worse by the fact that there are no oil glands around your eyes, so the skin gets drier than the skin on other parts of your body.

On top of all that, regular skincare products don’t usually work for under-eye skin care because they can cause irritation and vision damage, so getting the right products can be difficult.

In fact, most cleansing products warn users against using it around the eye, which then means dead skin cells might stick around and contribute to wrinkling in the area.

Illustration of an eye with text underneath that reads, “Under-eye wrinkles and crows’ feet can start to appear as early as your 20’s.”

The skin around the eyes has a lot of small blood vessels (called capillaries) that can cause puffy eyes. This phenomenon happens because the capillaries don’t drain fluid well when you’re fatigued.

This can be compounded with dark circles, which are caused by fatigue, trauma, aging, and other health issues, such as allergies.

With all of these elements at play, it can be difficult to reverse the negative effects on your skin, but not impossible. There are treatments specifically created to address these concerns. We’ll cover some of these eye-specific skin issues in greater detail below.

Most Common Eye Skin Care Concerns

Illustration of a woman in a towel holding a magnifying glass to her face with three zoomed-in circles that show crow’s feet, under-eye bags, and dark-circles and are labeled as such.

Three of the most common eye concerns that are fairly easy to spot are:

  • Under-eye bags: In some cases, puffiness under the eye can signal possible renal or thyroid issues. It is best to have regular checkups with a doctor to look for these issues. However, most often, eye bags are due to tiredness.
  • Dark circles: Dark under-eye skin can be caused by allergies, eye strain, age, dehydration, and excessive sun exposure.
  • Wrinkles: Wrinkles are often caused by extensive sun exposure, genetics, and smoking. In addition to adopting healthy habits, you can increase the skin's pliability by ensuring you have enough collagen in your diet or by getting a special supplement that boosts collagen in your system.

If you’re experiencing one or all of these concerns, don’t panic. There are treatments that can help you correct and further prevent them.

Eye Skincare Treatments

Skincare treatments don't always have to be expensive or tedious. The best strategy is to find effective, simple, and easy-to-do treatments that you can repeat day after day to get the best results.

Since lack of sleep, dry skin, and other issues that cause eye skin problems are extremely common, consistency is key when caring for the delicate skin around your eyes.

Here are some of our top recommendations:

Under-Eye Bags

There are several things you can try to improve eye bags. When deciding on the best course of action, it’s important to consider what might be contributing to the issue.

Using a cool compress can help reduce swelling and fight water retention. You can try to cut down on fluids before bed, reduce salt intake, and sleep with your head slightly elevated to improve drainage, which can reduce swelling.


Close-up image of a woman’s eye, showing dark circles.

Often, swelling is due to fatigue, so getting enough sleep is essential to eliminating eye bags. People with allergies may have eye bags even if they get enough rest. If you can’t avoid allergens, medications can relieve symptoms and also reduce eye bags.

Massaging the eye also helps with drainage and can offer quick relief in some cases. There are also treatments, like eye bag creams, that can replenish hydration and support collagen production.

However, if the condition doesn’t improve with skincare for eye bags, there is a more invasive option. A blepharoplasty is a surgical procedure done to remove the baggy skin tissue under the eye. It is typically a last resort for people with significant eye bag issues.

Dark Circles

Many people are self-conscious about dark circles under their eyes, but they can be fairly easy to get rid of. Again, you’ll want to consider the most likely cause. For example, if you’re tired or dehydrated, cosmetic treatments won’t be as effective.

Sleeping enough hours each night and drinking at least eight cups of water per day can help reduce dark circles.

Cold compresses and standard facials can help treat dark circles, and you can also take simple steps like wearing sunscreen wherever you go outdoors. It’s also possible to cover circles up with makeup for a temporary solution.

For persistent dark circles, there are also skincare treatments you can use. Eye cream for dark circles can help correct pigmentation and get rid of the puffy appearance.

One final step is to ensure you are getting enough antioxidants. These compounds reduce free radicals in your body, which cause a host of issues, including dark circles under your eyes. If you’re considering a supplement, make sure to talk to your doctor first.

Wrinkles Around the Eyes

Wrinkles are mostly brought about by age. To some degree, wrinkles are unavoidable. However, dry skin can increase the severity of wrinkles and cause them to appear prematurely. Upkeeping hydration and collagen through supplements and diet can help reduce wrinkles.

Mature white women using her hand to tug at the skin around her eye.

These steps are especially important for mature skin care because, typically, wrinkles increase as you age.

Certain eye treatments can also provide a collagen boost to the area and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

There are also several cosmetic procedures meant to reduce wrinkles. Micro-needling and cosmetic filler injections can make the skin look plumper by smoothing wrinkles to make you look younger.

Before making any major changes to your skincare routine, you may want to consult your dermatologist, especially if you have sensitive skin.

What to Avoid

When it comes to skin treatments used around the eyes, you want to avoid harsh ingredients. These could irritate the eye itself, but they could also increase dryness, leading to premature wrinkles and other issues.

Additionally, treatments like chemical peels can help remove dead skin, but you shouldn’t use them close to the eye because they could damage the thin skin.

You should only use products around the eye area that explicitly state it’s safe to do so. There are many facial treatments that aren’t, so always check the label.

Woman wearing sunglasses and a hat next to text that reads, “3 Ways to Protect Your Under-Eye Skin from UV Rays: Broad-spectrum sunscreen, Sunglasses, A hat or visor”.

Tips for Eye Skin Care

Here are some of the best ways to care for the skin under your eye:

  • Find a product that allows you to moisturize the skin around your eye.
  • Massage your eye area gently whenever cleaning and applying creams. This step will help with capillary drainage.
  • Stay out of the sun unless you have sunscreen and sunglasses on.
  • You should also avoid blue light, which radiates from computers and electronic devices since it can damage your eyes and the skin around them.
  • Get plenty of rest and sleep.
  • Limit alcohol intake and quit smoking.
  • Drink plenty of water and always stay hydrated when you’re working up a sweat.

By practicing some or all of the above recommendations, you can help better care for the skin around your eyes and minimize the signs of aging. Most of these tips are easy to incorporate into your daily routine. However, some adjustments may be more challenging than others.

Anything you can do to prioritize your eye skincare contributes to healthier-looking skin in the long run.

Keep the Skin Around Your Eyes Looking Youthful & Bright

The skin around your eyes is one of the first places to show the effects of aging, fatigue, and other health issues. Once these effects become evident, it can be difficult to reverse them. That’s why proper eye skin care is essential.

While making changes to your daily routine can be challenging at first, in the future, you will be grateful you took preventive steps.

For easy skincare for your eyes, try our Total Eye® Restore Regimen, which combines sunscreen, skin-firming ingredients, and cleansing and moisturizing elements. This complete system makes eye skincare effective and manageable, all while relying on safe, gentle ingredients.

Try our eye skincare treatments today to see how they revitalize the windows to your soul.