By Hannah Sivak, PhD
Senior Scientist
Skin Actives Scientific LLC

Do you need a special cream for the eye area or can you use your face cream?

The question we have to answer is: is the skin in around the eyes special in any way? The answer is yes. The skin of the eye lids is the thinnest skin in the body, and that makes it special.

Why is thin so important? Because whatever happens in that area will show more than anywhere else in the face. Plus, our eyes are a focal point in our face, even we look at this area with more attention that we pay to the rest of the face.

Blood vessels can be seen thorugh the skin. Inflammation will affect this area more. If a blood vessel leaks even a bit, the hemoglobin in the blood cells will be transformed into pigments that will stay beneath the skin for a long time, and these pigments can be seen through the thin skin, a part of the "dark under-eye circles" that may us look tired and even sick.

With age, the skin gets thinner. The already very thin skin of the eye lids will become even thinner, and will show age more than the rest of the face.

So, do you need a special skin for the eye area? I think so. One that will preserve the dermal matrix, with hyaluronic acid, pamitoyl tetrapeptide and collagen peptides. There are actives that will maintain the elasticity and integrity of the blood vessels, like horse chestnut's escin, grape seed proanthocyanidins and hesperidin methyl chalcone. Rosehip oil will provide some essential fatty acids. Chrysin will help dissolve pigments derived from hemoglobin. Liquid crystal will give your skin radiance while also providing essential molecules to the cell membranes. And lots of anti-oxidants to fight the free radicals produced by our own body or those that surround us in the busy city.  Also, this area is more sensitive than the rest of the face, so alpha lipoic acid, a great active that can "sting", has to be used at very low concentration in the eye area.

So, go ahead and get a special cream for the eye area. But remember that activity is not the same that expensive, look at the ingredient list and see whether you are getting what you are looking for.