Whether you tend to suffer from dark circles, puffiness, fine lines or dullness, we’ve created a list of some of the key eye cream ingredients you should be looking for. Read on for your personal eye contour prescription!
Ingredient: Caffeine
Helps with: Brightness
If your eyes are prone to dark circles, caffeine should be at the top of your list when shopping for a new eye cream! In case you’ve missed those coffee facial scrubs all over Instagram, this naturally stimulating ingredient is renowned for its brightening effects, as well as boosting circulation. This helps to decongest any constricted or broken blood vessels - responsible for the bruised look dark circles tend to have - in the undereye area.
Ingredient: Gingko biloba
Helps with: Microcirculation
Rich in anti-aging flavonoids, ginkgo biloba extract has been shown to encourage lymphatic drainage, which reduces the appearance of puffy undereye bags. As well as its circulation-boosting properties, this ingredient has been shown to act as a free radical scavenger, fighting against signs of oxidative stress - one of the principal causes of premature skin aging.[1]
[1] http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S156816371630109X?via=sd&cc=y
Ingredient: Vitamin E
Helps with: Fine lines
If you’re looking to tackle fine lines and/or wrinkles, we’d recommend looking for an eye cream containing Vitamin E. Proven to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles[1] [2], this ingredient can also help improve skin’s moisture-retaining abilities - particularly important in the delicate under-eye area.
[1]Mayer P. The effects of vitamin E on the skin. Cosmet Toiletr. 1993;108:99–109.
[2] Möller H, Ansmann A, Wallat S. The effects of vitamin E on the skin in topical applications. Fat Sci Technol. 1989;91(8):295–305.
Ingredient: Green tea
Helps with: Puffiness
Just like ginkgo biloba, green tea helps to drain excess fluid that causes swelling or bags under the eyes. Even better: it doesn’t have to be bottled up in a formula to help soothe our undereye area. For a DIY spa treatment for puffy or swollen eyes, take two used green tea bags and place in the refrigerator to cool, before allowing to sit on the eye area for around fifteen minutes. As an additional step when looking to deal with symptoms of tired eyes, check out our facial massage tips for a quick and easy way to fight under-eye swelling.
Ingredient: Baicalin
Helps with: Free radical damage
Because the skin around the eyes is so delicate (anywhere from 3 to 5 times thinner than the rest of the face), it’s often the first place that signs of aging tend to show up. Baicailin has been proven to help fight damage caused by UVA rays[1], so we’d recommend keeping an eye out for this antioxidant if you’re particularly concerned about damage from external factors such as pollution and UV damage.
[1] Min W, Liu X, Qian Q, Lin B, Wu D, Wang M, Ahmad I, Yusuf N, Luo D. Effects of baicalin against UVA-induced photoaging in skin fibroblasts. Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China , Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.