I know I’ve touched upon a sensitive topic here. When it comes to eye creams there are the believers and the die-hard non-believers. While some people swear by this potion, others claim it’s nothing but a money-sucking hoax. Surely your regular moisturizer is moisturizing your whole face? Does it get to your eye region and say, “Whoa hold up folks we can’t go here, this is for eye creams only, back up!” If you’re smiling to yourself right now, then chances are you side with the non-believers.

Whichever way you look at it, your eyes are one of the two focal points of your face. The other is your lips. A typical day can include around 20,000 blinks. That plus the fact that we’re constantly touching our eyes after a long day’s work and we’re in for trouble. The stress that the skin around your eyes endures is significant when considering the delicate area. The fragility also explains why this is the first place you show signs of aging and why most eye creams boast “anti-aging” benefits. Your eyes face a significant loss of hydration throughout the day and your sleep schedule could be making things worse. That’s where eye creams come in.

What is Eye Cream?

Eye creams may not seem like much but they may be able to help.

What is eye cream? Eye creams tend to come in smaller packages than a regular moisturizer with (what we hope is) a more concentrated solution of active ingredients. Your sensitive under-eye region will benefit from these ingredients. The problems you’re dealing with under your eyes – such as dark circles or puffiness – is usually not what you’re dealing with all over your face. You want to respect the delicate nature of your eye region and not irritate it by using substances that will be too strong for the area.

The truth is you could get away with using a regular moisturizer without the added bother of eye cream. But if your moisturizer is thick with fragrances or acne reducing ingredients I would keep it far away from my eye region. Any well-formulated natural based moisturizer can and should improve hydration, as we all as the appearance of the skin. The way I look at it is it’s not that you necessarily need an eye cream, but the question is would you benefit from using one?

Dr. Nazarian from the Schweiger Dermatology Group says her general rule when it comes to eye creams is “if you’re old enough to ask, you’re old enough to use one.” Having said that, a company that has an extensive array of eye creams is Olay. They’re armed to lift your troubled eyes. So, what is eye cream? well, now you know.

Olay Eye Treatments Overview

The eye treatments offered from Olay are definitely worth trying.

If you’re looking for a drugstore brand that can take care of your eye concerns, then Olay’s eye treatments have got you covered. They offer eye treatments for individual issues you might be having with your eyes whether its bags, crow’s feet, dark circles or under eye wrinkles. While most of their eye products focus on their anti-aging qualities they claim to help with the overall rejuvenation of your eye area. According to Olay, your “eyes should show emotion not your age.”

I just want to briefly go into the two main active ingredients in their eye creams. The first being Niacinamide. You can also call it Vitamin B3. It’s best known for its ability to reduce enlarged pores, even out the skin and reduce fine lines. These are all the things you’re looking for in a good eye cream (so far so good). It’s an essential vitamin that our body needs that it can’t produce itself. It contains antioxidant and antibacterial elements which increase collagen production (needed for skin tightening and elasticity) as well as cleaning the sensitive area.

The next main ingredient used in all of Olay’s eye creams is Glycerin. It’s basically an emollient making the skin supple and moisturized. Not only does it maintain water balance, but it fills in those dry cracks in your skin. Your skin will look tighter and brighter with these ingredients.. It’s no surprise Olay has packed them into their eye care range.

Olay Eyes Ultimate Eye Cream Review

Olay’s Ultimate Eye Cream claims a lot in the name alone. It aims to fight wrinkles, dark circles, and under-eye puffiness all in one tiny pot. I mentioned the two active ingredients above: Glycerin and Niacinamide. A dynamic duo to reducing the puff and upping the ante on those fine lines.  I massaged it around the area from the inner to outer corner and lightly over the lids. Because of these tightly packed moisturizing substances, eye creams tend to be on the greasy side forming a thicker texture than regular creams.

I admit it took some time to see some real change but if you give it a chance you should begin to notice that it starts to blur those fine lines around your eyes. I don’t think that realistically there is a magic cream that can totally erase those lines because it stems from a natural reduction in collagen production. The only thing to do is try to up your intake of antioxidants to rectify this. When it came to the puffiness there wasn’t much of a difference after use. The dark circles are a little lighter though and my skin feels more hydrated in that region.

Overall, it’s a good quality drugstore eye cream and the tiny jar lasts a while for its size so that’s comforting. I do wish it was available in a tube form though to reduce opportunities for bacteria to touch it and also stop it from evaporating on its own. I’m still on the ledge about whether this product is a necessary addition to my rather minimalist skin care routine. I like to stick to the basics when it comes to putting products on my face so I’m not sure this is another one I need.

DIY Natural Eye Cream Recipe And Guide

Coconut oil is a great ingredient for a DIY eye cream.

What prompted me to make this DIY natural eye cream at home was the fact that Olay is not cruelty-free. While the brand themselves does not do any animal testing, they allow their products to be tested on animals in places where regulations require it. In addition to this, although the ingredients in Olay’s Ultimate Eye Cream are unavoidably beneficial there is something to be said for sticking to natural alternatives.

Using chemicals that work cannot be disputed as long as these chemicals stay on the skin only. 60% of the time this is not the case and these substances are dissolved into our bloodstream. When natural products are absorbed into the bloodstream they do little to no damage. If anything, they’re probably valuable inside your body too!

With this in mind, here’s an easy at-home recipe to cure your puffy-eyed woes. Mix ½ cup of coconut oil softened and ½ teaspoon of Vitamin E oil until you get a creamy mixture. Coconut oil contains antioxidants and antifungal properties. This means it can strengthen skin tissue while moisturizing the skin. Meanwhile, Vitamin E oil helps to regenerate new skin cells and lighten those dark circles. Add 3 drops of rosehip oil. It contains fatty acids to restore damaged skin tissue as well as Vitamin C to brighten the skin.

You can’t go wrong with this powerhouse home-made eye cream. Apply daily to the eye region after your regular moisturizer to hydrate those bags and reduce fine lines. The only downside is that you should finish this up within two weeks or so as it doesn’t contain preservatives. Which if you ask me, isn’t really a ‘downside!’

Top Olay Skin Care Products Review: All Of Olay’s Best

Conclusion

As far as it goes in terms of the eye cream believers and non-believers let me say this. Many people laugh at the 5-second germ rule too, but when your slice of perfectly greasy, cheesy pizza falls on the floor suddenly you’re not laughing anymore. My point is that when push comes to shove we’ll try anything to salvage our complexion from the daily struggles. (“There’s no atheist in a foxhole” as they say).

I personally believe that there’s no reason to ruin a good thing. If your eye region is looking fine without the eye cream then you probably don’t need it. However, I have friends that swear by this stuff and based on the ingredients I can see why. That being said, undereye, puffiness could be hereditary so no amount of eye cream will minimize those Prada bags. Puffiness can also stem from a lack of sleep or stress.

Be sure to cover all your ‘natural’ remedy bases before running off to purchase a tiny tub of magic. Eye creams such as Olay’s Ultimate Eye Cream can be expensive and full of chemicals you don’t want to be putting on your delicate eye area. So, if you want the results without the price tag you can also hit up a DIY recipe and enjoy the subtle transformation with dollars still in the wallet. The truth is that there’s no harm in trying.