It is never too late to improve the look and feel of your under eyes.
Dark circles? Puffy eyes? Lines? Redness? Sensitive under eyes? Then, read on!
The skin around our eyes is the first place to show the signs of ageing and our lifestyle, it is lacking in oil compared to the rest of our skin, is approximately 40% thinner than the skin on the rest of our faces, is worked constantly when we blink (up to 19,000 a day!), smile, frown and squint and is prone to sensitivities. So, it needs the right product and the right techniques.....
Maybe you are fed up of irritating eye products, or faffing around with layering eye creams and serums and have no time for fussy under eye masks and pads, yet are looking for an effective solution for your under eyes? Perhaps your expensive under eye product isn’t delivering and you are left wondering why?
Have you tried our natural eye oil? It’s cruelty free, lightweight, has a nourishing non-comedogenic formula, perfect for all skin types. It's free from harmful mineral oils, harsh actives, preservatives, and added fragrances - ideal for the sensitive under eye. Rich in natural antioxidants, it protects against environmental aggressors, premature aging, dark circles, and puffiness while supporting the delicate skin barrier.
BUT it’s not just about using choosing the right product, it’s how we use it and incorporate it into our daily routine, along with some other tips and tricks which work together to improve the whole eye area…..eyes down!
10 Steps to Transform Your Under Eyes
1. Change Your Daily Habits
Lifestyle has a huge bearing on the look and feel of our under eyes – prioritise sleep, use a silk pillowcase, make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids, reduce sugar and salt intake where possible and try to manage your stress levels.
Nothing dulls, puffs and darkens eyes like a lack of sleep, chronic stress, smoking or over indulging in alcohol or a poor diet.
Get into the habit of treating your under eyes with care at all times – try not to rub them: continual pulling and tugging stretches your skin and breaks down your collagen and elastin fibres. It also damages the fragile blood vessels in the area meaning the blood pools underneath, creating a dark, shadowy and lined appearance. Use an spf and wear sunglasses to protect your eye area.
Consider swapping to natural, non-irritating make up, take screen breaks, make sure you are using a gentle cleanser and wash with lukewarm or cool water rather than hot. Also wash your face after washing your hair to wash away any haircare residue from around your eye area.
Make sure you are having regular eye tests - not only are they crucial for maintaining your eye health, but they also prevent eye strain and muscle tension, which is responsible for wrinkle formation.
2. Use a Separate Product
Formulations designed for the face are often too thick, heavy or contain essential oils, all which can weigh down or irritate the sensitive eye area, exacerbating lines, redness, and any puffy inflammation – the opposite to what we want, right?!
What's more, as the skin around the eye is so thin and delicate, it's more prone to sensitivity, so any face care products that contain active ingredients, fragrance, preservatives or harsh chemicals can easily cause irritation.
An effective eye product will be light in molecular weight, easy to apply without dragging the skin and contain very gentle ingredients that will moisturise, nourish and protect the delicate skin around the eyes, without overloading or swelling them.
3. Swap your Eye Cream for an Eye Serum/Oil
Your eye area not only craves a separate skincare product to deliver the sensitive, targeted care it needs but the product must also be the appropriate composition.
An eye serum-oil will penetrate deeper into the skin tissue than creams, filling the spaces between epidermal cells leaving fine lines plumped up and visibly smoother.
When it comes to bags and puffiness a natural eye oil will work better than gels or creams which tend to over hydrate, leaving the under eye looking water laden and even more puffy.
4. Embrace Natural & Less is More
Many eye products (especially ‘anti-ageing’ ones) containing retinoids, vitamin c or acids can exacerbate the signs of ageing, darkness, irritation and puffiness around the eyes; especially if you have dry, sensitive eyes with an already compromised skin barrier.
Eye pads and masks can be a popular choice amongst some, but they do deliver a potent concentrated set of ingredients to the under eye which are often quite harsh, stripping and can cause reactions especially for those of us with sensitive skin.
If you are using a product with harsh, synthetic ingredients or a concoction of serums and actives and they are not delivering results for you, consider paring back and opting for a simple natural eye serum/oil used consistently and you will be amazed at the difference – less really is more. The same applies to make up products under your eyes - too much often only serves to make eye creases and lines more visible.
5. Look for Effective Ingredients
Whilst lifestyle and genetics have a huge bearing on the look of our under eyes, so do the ingredients in our chosen eye product.
You can drastically improve the appearance of your eye area by looking for certain ingredients in your eye care that support healthy, refreshed and protected skin. These are:
Humectants: such as honey, hyaluronic acid or glycerine to bump up hydration levels and reduce darkness, dullness and dry looking under eye skin.
Antioxidants: such as borage oil, vitamins C and E, to help delay or prevent skin damage from free radicals which contribute to dark circles, puffiness and fine lines.
Moisturisers: look for oils high in fatty acids such as grapeseed, rice bran and argan oil which moisturise the delicate skin around the eyes to help plump it up and minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
We’ve taken the hassle out of scouring ingredient labels and have included all these elements in our eye oil for a quick and easy one stop eye care product.
6. Thoughtful Application
When applying your eye product do not rub or drag your skin but instead go gently.
Whether you are using a cream, oil or gel, simply tap or sweep the product on using your ring finger for the gentlest pressure; working from the inner to the outer corner of your eye without dragging.
Avoid overloading your eye area - take the smallest amount, pea-sized or one swipe if using a roller applicator, and keep away from your eye and lash line, instead following the eye contour bone.
Use consistently morning and evening after cleansing and toning and before face oils and moisturisers: cleanse – hydrating mist- eye oil – face oil – hydrating mist- face cream- hydrating mist.
7. How to Brighten Dark Circles
If dark circles are your challenge, an easy glide eye oil is so important as any rubbing or dragging bursts the fine blood vessels in this area causing the blood to pool and create that shadowy appearance.
Also try using a cool jade roller or cold compress to help constrict blood vessels and reduce darkness - within 30 seconds, your eyes will look instantly brighter and reenergised.
For brighter under eyes seek out vitamin K in your diet and eye products – eat plenty of vegetables such as kale and fennel along with shellfish, eggs and turkey.
Our eye oil contains vitamin k, omega 6, omega 9, carotenoids and, of course, raw honey to brighten the under eye area, co enzymes such as Q10 for ageing skin, a combination of natural acids, including ferulic acid believed to be up to 10 times more antioxidant than vitamin E, making this eye oil a great choice for revitalising your under eye area.
We also use borage oil in the formulation to help protect the delicate skin around the eye by replenishing lipids in your skin's outer barrier structure and deeply hydrating to help brighten under eye circles.
Top tips: neutralise dark circles by pairing our eye oil with a natural warm-hued concealer to avoid the concealer caking and try a natural, cream coloured eye liner on your waterline to make your eyes pop.
8. How to Depuff Under Eyes
If puffy under eyes are your nemesis, try to move more in the day, be sure to prop your head up when you sleep to assist with natural fluid drainage, watch your salt intake, drink plenty of fluids and cool the area using cold compresses, spoons or a jade roller left in the fridge overnight.
Choose an eye product with anti inflammatory ingredients and ones that will assist in circulation – our eye oil contains anti inflammatory, soothing raw honey, rice bran oil and borage oil which help activate microcirculation and assist in draining and decongesting swollen tissue, making it ideal for battling puffiness under the eyes. Our eye oil is naturally high in gamma linolenic acid which has been clinically proven to depuff and promote skin health on a cellular level.
For puffy eyes do a quick lymphatic massage in conjunction with your eye oil:
Apply your eye oil and then use circular gentle sweeping motions with your ring finger all the way around the eye area, above and below; this works to drain excess fluid or toxins that create that puffy appearance. Then gently massage the lymph notes located in the inner corners of your eyes with your ring fingers, these work like little drains to filter away toxins leaving you with instantly tighter, depuffed under eyes.
Our eye oil also has a cooling roller ball applicator to help depuff – why not pop in the fridge too for an even cooler, depuffing treatment?
9. How to Smooth Lines and Wrinkles
Fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes are completely normal – the only way to fully prevent these would be by never moving our faces and I don’t know about you but we would rather see smiling faces than frozen ones!
That said, you can definitely help plump and smooth the skin around your eyes by hydrating inside and nourishing from the outside with our eye oil.
Nothing makes lines and wrinkles more visible than dehydrated and dry skin, so treat your under eyes consistently to our extremely moisturising, naturally plumping oil to smooth out and unshrivel.
Raw honey with its natural acids will help exfoliate the eye area without stripping or irritating to aid skin regeneration and slough dead skin cells. Take your eye oil gently up over your eyes with your ring finger to help with crepey eyelids.
10. Cocoon Eczema, Flaky and Sensitive Under Eyes
If you are challenged by very dry, flaky and sensitive eyes then you can rest assured that our essential oil free and fragrance free eye oil will help nourish and soothe without irritating.
Many of our customers who suffer from blepharitis, topical steroid withdrawal skin or eczema rely on it to help comfort and cocoon the under eye area and for fostering a smoother, more nourished looking and feeling under eye .
For extra nourishment for very dry flaky eye skin, follow up our eye oil with our sensitive bee balm as an overnight treatment.
A Multi-Purpose Oil
It's not just your eyes that can benefit from our natural eye oil.
Try using it on your brows to promote growth and set, to help plump frown lines, on your nails and cuticles and it also makes a luxurious, healthy feeling and nourishing lip oil for a plump luscious pout.
Oh, and a little goes a long way so it really is great value!
That's it for this week lovely. We hope this blog will prove a handy guide for helping lift your under eye area and enhance your whole complexion, naturally.
As always, if we can help you with choosing the right eye product for you or with any other skincare questions, please just hit reply and we'll be here to help.
Hope you enjoyed.
Much love,
Cath, Bec and the bees x
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