A Guide to Caring for the Sensitive Skin Around the Eyes

When it comes to caring for your skin, all of it is equally important and must be properly tended to. However, the skin around the eyes requires different care and attention than the rest of your face. It’s one of the thinnest and most delicate areas of the body, making it prone to conditions such as flaky eyelids. Aside from the eye skin naturally having less collagen and fewer oil glands than other body parts, this sensitive skin can also experience dryness, sagging, roughness, and discoloration through the use of harsh chemicals and improper product application techniques. So, here’s a brief guide to keeping sensitive skin around the eyes healthy and safe from any damage.

Prioritize sun protection

The skin around your eyes is at high risk for sun damage due to its thinness and photosensitivity, but it’s often forgotten during sunscreen application. Thus, it helps to use an eye-safe sunscreen with minerals like zinc oxide and titanium oxide, as traditional chemical sunscreens can potentially sting and irritate the eyes. The Supergoop! Bright-Eyed 100% Mineral Eye Cream provides complete protection at SPF 40, as well as color correction with its blend of probiotics, caffeine, and pomegranate.

Wearing sunglasses when outdoors also serves as a physical barrier against harsh sunlight. Even if you currently wear eyeglasses, you can get prescription sunglasses for combined sun protection and vision correction. High-quality, sun-safe frames come in styles like the Ray-Ban Clubmaster for maximum eye coverage and with polarized lenses like Oakley’s Holbrook to prevent ultraviolet rays from damaging your skin and eyes.

Live a healthy lifestyle

Healthy lifestyle habits can also make a huge difference in improving the condition of the skin surrounding your eyes. For diet, among the foods and supplements that can help reduce dark under-eye circles are tomatoes with antioxidants that promote blood circulation, cucumbers that boost collagen production, and vitamin C that can decrease photodamage.

Staying hydrated can also aid in brightening the skin around the eyes and reducing puffiness. Since water flushes out toxins from your system, adequate fluid intake can bring a natural glow and plumpness to the skin around your eyes. In contrast, consuming too much salt, caffeine, and alcohol can worsen dryness.

Another healthy lifestyle technique to help battle dry skin and dark circles is sleep! Chronic fatigue leads to eye bags, dry eyes, puffiness, and dark circles in the thin skin under the eyes.

Use eye-friendly skincare products

In terms of skincare, opt for products that are specifically formulated for the eyes or are labeled as eye-safe. Instead of relying on the same moisturizer you use for the rest of your face, use a hydrating and nourishing eye cream. The RoC Retinol Correxion Eye Cream has a gentle formula but still contains active ingredients like hyaluronic acid for hydration and retinol to improve skin texture and avoid fine lines. If you're looking for a more natural alternative to retinol, the skin care ingredient bakuchiol is effective and does not cause the same issues with dry eyes or eye irritation as retinol.

Incorporating a cleansing oil into your skincare routine is also advisable, considering traditional soap-based cleansers have surfactants, emulsifiers, and preservatives that create an imbalance in the natural layer of sebum on the eyelid skin. As mentioned in a previous post about oil cleansing, this technique benefits the sensitive skin in the eye area not only in terms of removing dirt and pore-clogging impurities for a clear complexion but also in maintaining the skin’s natural pH levels.

Lastly, you can use facial oil serums that are specialized for each skin type, striking the right balance between dissolving excess oil around the eyelids and being gentle enough to protect the skin’s moisture barrier.

At bareLUXE™ Skincare, we offer these products through a base blend of carrier oils with active botanicals that help brighten your skin and prevent signs of aging. Check out the rest of our website to learn more.