Hi Caroline,
I'm 27 and have recently started to notice more fine lines under my eyes. I've been using Clinique ‘All About the Eyes’ rich cream every day, but am now beginning to wonder whether it’s actually having the effect that it’s supposed to. Is it possible that the cream or concealer that I'm using is causing more fine lines? What is the best eye treatment for someone my age?
 

The area around our eyes is usually one of the first to start to weaken due to the extra wear and tear on the muscle and tissue – e.g. every time we squeeze our eyes shut or squint we are working the muscle surrounding our eyes. From your description, it sounds like the skin around your eyes is dehydrated. Dehydration occurs when essential moisture is lost from the skin and we notice fine lines appearing as a result. This loss of moisture can be due to a number of factors, but is also commonly caused by a reduction in lipids in our skin. Our skin cells produce lipids which help to trap moisture between the cells in a sandwich-like action. If the lipid production is insufficient, then we have a reduced ability to keep the moisture in our skin and we lose that plump firm look. Genetics affect the lipid levels in our skin as does age - from 30 onwards there is a natural decline in lipid production by our skin cells, also working in an air conditioned environment will disrupt the lipid layers.

Choosing an eye cream can be tricky as you need to base the choice on whether you need more oil (i.e. nourishing) around your eyes, or more moisture (hydration). For you I would say to look for an eye cream with more hydration properties.

I’m sure that your current eye cream won’t be causing the lines under your eyes but maybe it is not providing enough hydration. There are eye creams available that have hydration as a main focus; I also like to have an SPF in my day time eye cream as most of our ageing is due to UV damage. Another option is to look for a hydrating serum that you can layer underneath your eye cream for extra hydration.

Treatment-wise, every skin treatment (i.e. facial) should include your eyes especially the masque step which is when a good hydrating masque should be applied. There are also specific eye treatments available from most skin centre’s which take about 20 minutes and are a great quick fix.

Finally, always be very gentle around your eyes – use your ring fingers to apply an eye cream as they are usually our weakest finger and avoid pulling the skin.

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