Do you want the good news, or the bad news? We’ll start with the bad.
Yesterday. You should have started using eye cream yesterday. And by yesterday, we mean five to 10 years ago.
“I personally recommend starting your skincare regime as early as possible, usually in the teenage years,” says pro skin technician and founder of Double Bay salon Karpati Medispa, Eva Karpati.
The delicate skin around our eyes is the first to go, ageing wise, as it has no oil glands to keep it firm and glowing.
But before you punish your past self for taking such a blasé approach to skincare (how very dare you!), fret not: prevention may be better than a cure, but new high-tech innovations and formulations can ensure those first signs of fine lines are nixed in no time.
Origins No Puffery Cooling Rollerball, $40, Mecca.
Estee Lauder Anti-Ageing Global Power Eye Gelee, $88.
Resultime Eye Perfector Serum Vitamin C, $79.
If you’re in your twenties, Karpati recommends you start with daily application of an eye gel, rather than cream. “An eye gel is best as your skin is much thinner and an eye cream gets especially heavy when you’re young,” she says. “The skin needs more hydration rather than oil when you’re young to keep its existing suppleness and structure (which keeps wrinkles away).”
You’ll know pretty quickly if your product is too heavy, as milia (those tiny skin-coloured bumps) will appear.
If this is your first foray into eye care, look for a light formulation that works as hard as you do: think hydrating, dark circle fighting and de-puffing.
Sensitive skin types should look for eye gels with anti-inflammatory actives, advises Karpati. “If you use eye cream and you have sensitive skin, never put it on your eyelid as this is where the irritation occurs,” she says. “Focus only on the crows feet.”
Her favourite is French brand Resultime’s Eye Perfector Serum Vitamin C gel for younger skins and 5 Expertise Eye Cream with Vectorised Micro-Collagen when you’re ready to step things up a notch.
