Me and My Under Eye Shadows

I think the most prominent signs of aging on my face  are the dark shadows under my eyes.  Most women over age 40 share my problem, but not all shadows come from the same source.  In fact there are three  major causes:

1.  Excess Pigmentation– the darkened areas are actually deposits of melanin, produced from too much sun exposure.  The melanin can accumulate both above and below the eyes and is often an inheritied trait.  That is to say, some people tend to make more melanin in that area.  This  is a major cause of my dark circles.  According to Dr Ellen Marmur, my dermatologist,  the dark pigmentation under my eyes are actually  groups of  10-12 tiny freckles.  My take-away from that is that I really need a turbo powered sunscreen for my eyes.  Its the #1 item on my beauty  shopping list.

2.  Pigmentation from blood hemoglobin—  the second cause  of dark shadows  is the presence of tiny fragile blood vessels that leak  minute  amounts of blood.  The hemoglobin in the blood darkens  and is seen as bluish shadows under the very thin skin  in the area. I  have seen eye care products with caffeine  and since  caffeine  consticts blood vessels, maybe that’s another  effective tool.    That might also be how cold tea bags can reduce  eye swelling. 

3.  Structural changes age we grow older —  Fat pads which give  youthful contours to our cheeks and jawline, also plump up the eye area.  As the fat pads naturally shrink with age, the loss of underlying volume leads to hollows under the eye, which then look dark and shaded. How do you tell  if this  is the cause of your under eye shadows?    Gently move the skin away from the shadow.  If the skin looks light and natural, then the discoloration is caused, at least in part, by age-related hollows. 

There is certainly no shortage of products that promise to reduce dark circles-  but do they deliever?  Some have good science behind them while others seem to  created in a  marketing brain storming session.  I’ve been  trying out different ones and taking before and after pix.  But I have only two eyes and there are  so many  options.  Happily,  friends  have offered the use of their dark circles for science.  I’m really curious to see  what we   discover.

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Do I Really Need to Buy an Eye Cream?

Since I have seven, count ’em seven signs of aging, I don’t want to buy beauty care products I don’t need.  So as I was assembling  my beauty tool kit I hesitated before buying  eye creams.  Do we really need separate products for the eyes?  The simple answer is YES– but  for reasons that may surprise you. The skin around the eyes is thinner and more vulnerable to just about everything– sunlight, irritation, allergies, infection, aging and discoloration. Problems arise here earlier and tend to be more obvious.

To both prevent and relieve  these issues, the eye area needs extra protection but milder formulations.  Ingredients such as alcohol, Vitamin C, fruit acids, even Retin A need to be in lower concentration.  

The eye area is also more vulnerable to infection from bacteria and mold that can  build up in skin care products.  This is why  eye area products tend to come in very  little jars or tubes.  The tiny openings  actually inhibit contamination.

Finally  eye care products for daytime use need to offer especially good  sunscreens.  Not only does sunlight  increase skin wrinkling, it causes the release of melanin that are a major cause of under eye circles.  I need an eye cream with of an SPF of t least 15– and 30 would be even better.

So what does all this mean when you are standing  in front of a wall of skin care products?   For daytime, I want an eye cream that is a gentle moisturizer with a strong sunscreen. Since anti-oxidents  like vitamin E or green tea can  reduce damage from sun exposure, they  could offer potential benefits.  At  bedtime, my eye cream could benefit from ingredients that encourage collagen growth such as retinols and peptides.  I’m going  on a field trip to find products that meet  my guidelines. I’ll pick up a few  good candidates and then blog the results over the next few weeks.  Under eye shadow are one of my biggest beauty complaints and I really want to  to get a handle on them.

Close-Up: Ceramides

Ceramides, a type of lipid, are the glue that hold cells together in the upper layers of the skin.  They help the skin look smooth,  soft and fresh.  As we get  wiser ( as well as older) we produce less and less ceramides.  By age 60, the level of ceramides have stopped by 30%.  The result?   The skin  tends to feel dry and look flaky as disconnected  skin cells fall apart.

Skin care products with ceramides are intended to replace  our missing natural ceramides.  Expert are devided ( again) as to whether or not the ceramides in a product can get deep enough in the skin and actually  glue cells together.  I really like the concept of ceramides and I hope that  research will soon prove its value.  They are just the type of ingredient  that would be gentle enough for the eye area.

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